Death of the Cinema? World’s Largest Movie Theater Chain AMC Lost $4.6 Billion In 2020

AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest movie theater chain, lost a whopping $4.6 billion in 2020 as pandemic-related laws forced cinemas to close or dramatically reduce capacity.

AMC reported $1.2 billion in total revenue and $4.6 billion in net losses in 2020 as the company faced the most challenging market conditions in its 100-year history, according to its fourth quarter earnings report. In 2019, the company reported a net loss of $149.1 million.

“This past year has presented AMC with the most challenging market conditions in the 100-year history of the company,” AMC President and CEO Adam Aron said in a statement. “As unprecedented as these times have been, so too is the unprecedented drive and commitment of the AMC team to take swift and decisive actions to ensure our survival and our success.”

Roughly 75 million people attended movies at AMC theaters around the world in 2020 compared to the 356.4 million that did so in 2019, the company said. In the U.S., 46.5 million people went to an AMC theater to see a movie compared to 250.3 million in 2019.

AMC shuttered its theaters’ doors in March 2020 as coronavirus first began spreading rapidly around the world. It then opened about 78% of its cinemas in October only to close them again in the winter as cases surged.

Aron expressed enthusiasm during the earnings call Wednesday evening, pointing to declining cases and increasing vaccination figures. Theaters have also been authorized to reopen in New York and parts of California, another cause for excitement, Aron added.

“We look forward to returning to an environment of unfettered movie theatre access for our guests, and we are eager to showcase the sizable and widely anticipated slate of new films that our studio partners have to offer,” Aron said.