AMC Among Cinema Stocks Seeing Post-Memorial Day Bump

Movie theater stocks are continuing their rally from last week, further buoyed by surging box office numbers thanks to “A Quiet Place — Part II” and “Cruella.”

The biggest winner is AMC, which continues to see its stock surge both from stronger turnout at its theaters and support from traders on Reddit and Twitter. The stock is rapidly approaching its highest price since 2016, finishing up 23% on Tuesday at $32.04/share. That is a 135% increase in just one week, having previously stood at $13.61 last Tuesday.

Other theater stocks have seen more modest movement but are still trending upwards. Cinemark saw its stock increase 7.5% to $24.37/share, while IMAX increased 3.1% to $22.27.

The trend comes after “A Quiet Place — Part II” set a new post-pandemic high for the box office with a $57 million opening over the extended Memorial Day weekend. “Cruella,” meanwhile, opened to a $26.5 million domestic launch in theaters while also releasing as a $30 premium offering for Disney+ subscribers. Overall weekend totals hit $80 million for the three-day period and $100 million for the extended weekend.

Also on Tuesday, AMC announced that it has raised $230.5 million through a stock sale to Mudrick Capital Management, which in turn sold the shares for a profit. AMC CEO Adam Aron said on Twitter that the company plans to use the new cash for theater upgrades and potential acquisitions, including some of the top locations once held by the recently shuttered Arclight Cinemas.

“No one is out of the woods yet, but we like AMC’s improved liquidity, the increases of vaccinated people and the imminent release of new blockbuster movies,” Aron wrote. “We are seeing some terrific opportunities to pick up important theatres from other faltering chains. This can be a real way for AMC to grow again, creating immediate value for AMC shareholders.”

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