An improving box office in Hollywood led AMC Entertainment Holdings to increase attendance and theatrical revenues in the first quarter of 2026.
Attendance in U.S. markets rose 14 percent to 30.7 million moviegoers, versus 27 million a year earlier, while international attendance rose 12.6 percent to 16.8 million ticket buyers, versus 15 million visitors last year, as AMC expects Hollywood’s box office rollercoaster ride to continue through 2026.
During the last quarter, AMC Theaters played tentpoles like Hail Mary project, Compared to the same period the previous year when it relied on Disney snow white And Christmas keepsakes like Moana 2 and evil to lead the box office.
That allowed the debt-laden parent of AMC Theaters in the first quarter to report total revenue of $1.04 billion, up from $862.5 million a year earlier. The large bidder also narrowed its net loss to $117 million, versus $202.1 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA improved by $96 million year-over-year.
As AMC embarks on a gold rush for premium screens in the domestic complex by introducing immersive auditoriums as diverse as Imax, Dolby Cinema, iSense, XL and laser projection-equipped screens, the question for investors is whether better box office trends will impact exhibitors’ ambition to trim losses and boost revenues to pay off debt.
“We have shown repeatedly in previous quarters that where there is significant industry growth, with industry revenues rising, AMC’s adjusted EBITID can correspondingly rise,” AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron told analysts during a post-market call with his prepared remarks.
Aaron added that his company’s long-term debt currently stands at about $3.9 billion, which is far less than the $5 billion debt load AMC Theaters already faced in the coronavirus pandemic, before then reaching $6 billion in total long-term debt at the end of 2020.
In its latest fiscal quarter, the global cinema giant saw admission revenues rise sharply to $578.4 million, compared to $473.5 million the previous year. Food and beverage revenues also increased to $347.3 million, compared to $283.4 million in the same period last year.
Aaron expects box office revenues to continue to rise through the remainder of all of 2026, with the current second quarter already being lifted by Illumination. super mario galaxy movie, Biography of Michael Jackson Michael From Lionsgate, Universal and Disney’s The devil wears prada 2.
“The momentum in the industry is clear with renewed commitments by our studio partners to increase the number of theatrical film releases and extend theatrical windows to at least 45 days,” Aaron added earlier in a statement accompanying its latest financial results.
On the analyst call, Aaron discussed the current negotiations between studios and exhibitors over the now-evolving theatrical window about 45 days before films are available in homes. “This is good news for the movie industry, and we’re thrilled that AMC has played a central role in driving this whole initiative of respecting longer theatrical windows moving forward.”
“We believe him. We believe him,” Aaron added of Paramount chief David Ellison’s commitment to release 30 films a year with Warner Bros., despite some industry skepticism, that his combined studio would eventually achieve its goals. We have great respect for the leadership at Paramount.”
The head of AMC Theaters also singled out Netflix for praise as it plans a wide theatrical release window for the Greta Gerwig film. Narnia in February 2027. “This is the biggest opportunity our industry has ever had to embrace Netflix as a provider of theatrical content,” Aaron said.
He added that Netflix was looking forward to seeing how it would come out Narnia The release did well at the box office after other collaborations which included Stranger Things: The End It debuts simultaneously on the streaming device and in nearly 600 theaters. “I think the three things we’ve already done with Netflix have been successful, which are Narnia “It will be successful, and we will find other successful opportunities to work with Netflix,” Aaron argued.
The AMC Theaters president also spoke about its partnership with Arena One to bring real-time concert events to theater audiences. “We are very optimistic. “We think it will be a very profitable activity for us, one that we have on an exclusive basis, and one that we believe represents a significant potential opportunity to get real dollars to the bottom line,” Aaron told analysts.
