Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theatres, gives me a choice.
We’re supposed to have a 20-minute interview in Las Vegas at CinemaCon, a four-day gathering of movie theater owners and Hollywood studios designed to breathlessly hype the year’s upcoming blockbusters, but he’s distracted. Executives from Warner Bros. want him to come backstage before their presentation to schmooze with the filmmakers they brought to Caesars Palace. So here are my options: Stick to the plan, with Aron’s mind flittering elsewhere, or cancel other commitments to get dinner and much more time on the record. The second choice, a publicist’s nightmare, makes it more likely that the AMC chief will say something controversial. But Aron has endured a pandemic that shut down his business, withstood roller-coaster share prices and sidestepped nagging speculation that he’s about to get canned. He thrives on risk.
Hours later, we’re at Carmine’s,...
We’re supposed to have a 20-minute interview in Las Vegas at CinemaCon, a four-day gathering of movie theater owners and Hollywood studios designed to breathlessly hype the year’s upcoming blockbusters, but he’s distracted. Executives from Warner Bros. want him to come backstage before their presentation to schmooze with the filmmakers they brought to Caesars Palace. So here are my options: Stick to the plan, with Aron’s mind flittering elsewhere, or cancel other commitments to get dinner and much more time on the record. The second choice, a publicist’s nightmare, makes it more likely that the AMC chief will say something controversial. But Aron has endured a pandemic that shut down his business, withstood roller-coaster share prices and sidestepped nagging speculation that he’s about to get canned. He thrives on risk.
Hours later, we’re at Carmine’s,...
- 5/23/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Wall Street is betting that Netflix’s stream machine was continuing to fire on all cylinders coming into 2024.
After netting a whopping 13.1 million new subs in Q4, Netflix is riding a wave of momentum that remains buoyed by the company’s paid-sharing strategy, as it converts password borrowers into paying members, according to analysts. Netflix “remains the undisputed leader in streaming TV,” Macquarie Equity Research’s Tim Nollen said in a research note to clients Monday.
Netflix is scheduled to report Q1 2024 earnings after market close Thursday (April 18). The company previously said it expects Q1 net adds to be higher than the year-earlier period, when it gained 1.75 million subs. And financial analysts anticipate the number to be much, much higher, with several raising their price targets on the stock — which has zoomed 86% in the last 12 months — ahead of the Q1 earnings report based on upward revisions to their financial estimates.
After netting a whopping 13.1 million new subs in Q4, Netflix is riding a wave of momentum that remains buoyed by the company’s paid-sharing strategy, as it converts password borrowers into paying members, according to analysts. Netflix “remains the undisputed leader in streaming TV,” Macquarie Equity Research’s Tim Nollen said in a research note to clients Monday.
Netflix is scheduled to report Q1 2024 earnings after market close Thursday (April 18). The company previously said it expects Q1 net adds to be higher than the year-earlier period, when it gained 1.75 million subs. And financial analysts anticipate the number to be much, much higher, with several raising their price targets on the stock — which has zoomed 86% in the last 12 months — ahead of the Q1 earnings report based on upward revisions to their financial estimates.
- 4/17/2024
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
With hits like Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Kung Fu Panda 4, the domestic box office may finally be shaking off the ashes from the double strikes, now counting close to $1.8 billion, with moviegoing gaining momentum.
We told you quite early — at last year’s CinemaCon — that the strike clouds were bound to send a monsoon across the business, and indeed they did.
But despite the theatrical business’ increasingly robust expectations for late summer and beyond — many peg Marvel Studios/Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine as the breaking of the dam — things have felt a bit touch and go, and there’s been much chatter that exhibition is set for a reckoning; that mid-level exhibitors are bound to fold into each other, and even that the No. 1 circuit AMC Entertainment, which is saddled with about $4.8 billion in debt, is bound for bankruptcy.
Not so — or not...
We told you quite early — at last year’s CinemaCon — that the strike clouds were bound to send a monsoon across the business, and indeed they did.
But despite the theatrical business’ increasingly robust expectations for late summer and beyond — many peg Marvel Studios/Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine as the breaking of the dam — things have felt a bit touch and go, and there’s been much chatter that exhibition is set for a reckoning; that mid-level exhibitors are bound to fold into each other, and even that the No. 1 circuit AMC Entertainment, which is saddled with about $4.8 billion in debt, is bound for bankruptcy.
Not so — or not...
- 4/7/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith, Anthony D'Alessandro and Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix might want to think twice about that reported post-SAG-strike price hike.
According to a new study by CivicScience, if the streamer raises prices on its ad-free tier 39 percent of all Netflix users say they will “most likely” cancel their subscription outright. Another 31 percent say they will mostly likely choose to subscribe to Netflix with ads. The rest, about 29 percent, plan to subscribe to ad-free Netflix.
When isolating the ad-free users, the numbers change a bit: 35 percent say they’ll likely cancel Netflix, 17 percent plan to downgrade to ad-supported Netflix, and 48 percent will probably stay put. The main difference between the two POVs is, obviously, that those already on Netflix’s ad-supported tier would be unaffected by a price increase at ad-free, and thus would maintain their own status quo.
Readers can see the data in graph form below.
CivicScience had “close to” 4,000 U.S. (and Puerto Rico) adult respondents to its survey,...
According to a new study by CivicScience, if the streamer raises prices on its ad-free tier 39 percent of all Netflix users say they will “most likely” cancel their subscription outright. Another 31 percent say they will mostly likely choose to subscribe to Netflix with ads. The rest, about 29 percent, plan to subscribe to ad-free Netflix.
When isolating the ad-free users, the numbers change a bit: 35 percent say they’ll likely cancel Netflix, 17 percent plan to downgrade to ad-supported Netflix, and 48 percent will probably stay put. The main difference between the two POVs is, obviously, that those already on Netflix’s ad-supported tier would be unaffected by a price increase at ad-free, and thus would maintain their own status quo.
Readers can see the data in graph form below.
CivicScience had “close to” 4,000 U.S. (and Puerto Rico) adult respondents to its survey,...
- 10/12/2023
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Earlier this year, as Taylor Swift was launching her $1 billion-dollar-grossing The Eras tour, she dropped into Hollywood for a spell. She met with a number of major studios to see if she might be able to drum up interest in distributing an Eras concert film. However, in the end, she chose to distribute sans a conventional studio partner.
This month, Hollywood is learning just what happens when you disappoint Taylor Swift. The concert film she ended up producing and distributing herself through an independent deal with the theater chain AMC is on track to open as the biggest hit in the history of October releases. It’s already crossed $100 million worldwide in ticket presales and some projections have it opening on Oct. 12 at more than $150 million in North America alone.
Even if those predictions turn out to be slightly hyperbolic, you know who won’t be seeing a nickel of that money?...
This month, Hollywood is learning just what happens when you disappoint Taylor Swift. The concert film she ended up producing and distributing herself through an independent deal with the theater chain AMC is on track to open as the biggest hit in the history of October releases. It’s already crossed $100 million worldwide in ticket presales and some projections have it opening on Oct. 12 at more than $150 million in North America alone.
Even if those predictions turn out to be slightly hyperbolic, you know who won’t be seeing a nickel of that money?...
- 10/6/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Strong quarterly earnings reports for AMC Theatres and Cinemark have shown two things about the state of moviegoing right now.
As TheWrap previously noted, several summer films that flopped at the box office against their inflated budgets were nonetheless bringing substantial revenue to movie theaters. But the theater chains’ strong second-quarter numbers also tell us that people are going all in on the moviegoing experience.
On Tuesday, AMC Theatres reported 66 million tickets sold in second quarter 2023, the highest quarterly attendance seen at its locations since Q4 2019, just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the chain is still dealing with immense operating costs, revenue rose 15% year-over-year to $1.34 billion in Q2 and allowed AMC to report a small profit of $8.6 million after Wall Street projected another quarterly loss.
Cinemark also saw a big revenue boost to $942.3 million, up 27% year-over-year, and went from a Q2 2022 loss of $73.4 million (61 cent loss per...
As TheWrap previously noted, several summer films that flopped at the box office against their inflated budgets were nonetheless bringing substantial revenue to movie theaters. But the theater chains’ strong second-quarter numbers also tell us that people are going all in on the moviegoing experience.
On Tuesday, AMC Theatres reported 66 million tickets sold in second quarter 2023, the highest quarterly attendance seen at its locations since Q4 2019, just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the chain is still dealing with immense operating costs, revenue rose 15% year-over-year to $1.34 billion in Q2 and allowed AMC to report a small profit of $8.6 million after Wall Street projected another quarterly loss.
Cinemark also saw a big revenue boost to $942.3 million, up 27% year-over-year, and went from a Q2 2022 loss of $73.4 million (61 cent loss per...
- 8/9/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Wall Street reviews of Netflix’ latest earnings ranged from upbeat to more cautiously optimistic, with the latter taking hold today after a major jump in net new subscribers failed to ignite sales last quarter.
Asked why, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and CFO Spencer Neumann said they expect a revenue boost from newly launched paid sharing, which just started in May, and from the ad-tier that launched last fall, will be gradual and roll out in coming quarters. But uncertainty on the timing combined with an already frothy share price saw Netflix stock dip after hours Wednesday and lose ground today. It’s trading down almost 9% at $435.
Netflix reported yesterday it added 5.9 million new subscribers for the second quarter ended in June – smashing forecasts. Revenue rose 2.7% to $8.2 billion.
“Given the sheer number of unknowns, it is hard to have any conviction to the upside or to the downside,” research...
Asked why, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and CFO Spencer Neumann said they expect a revenue boost from newly launched paid sharing, which just started in May, and from the ad-tier that launched last fall, will be gradual and roll out in coming quarters. But uncertainty on the timing combined with an already frothy share price saw Netflix stock dip after hours Wednesday and lose ground today. It’s trading down almost 9% at $435.
Netflix reported yesterday it added 5.9 million new subscribers for the second quarter ended in June – smashing forecasts. Revenue rose 2.7% to $8.2 billion.
“Given the sheer number of unknowns, it is hard to have any conviction to the upside or to the downside,” research...
- 7/20/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix is already enjoying the spoils of its crackdown on password sharing. Watch other streamers follow in its footsteps, again; let’s call it the new Netflix effect.
The early returns on paid-sharing are promising. Immediately following Netflix’s note to U.S. subscribers on May 23 implementing the new rules, Netflix had its four biggest days of U.S. signups in more than four years. (Probably longer; that’s just as far back as the Antenna research goes.) At least partially on those efforts to monetize former freeloaders, last week, a pair of Wall Street analysts strongly increased their price targets for Netflix stock (Nflx). The equity analysts at Wells Fargo sees the stock worth $500 per share again in the not-too-longterm future.
March research from those same number crunchers estimate Netflix’s paid-sharing plan could bring $3 billion in additional annual revenue. Ahead of its paid-sharing rollout, Netflix estimated that 100 million...
The early returns on paid-sharing are promising. Immediately following Netflix’s note to U.S. subscribers on May 23 implementing the new rules, Netflix had its four biggest days of U.S. signups in more than four years. (Probably longer; that’s just as far back as the Antenna research goes.) At least partially on those efforts to monetize former freeloaders, last week, a pair of Wall Street analysts strongly increased their price targets for Netflix stock (Nflx). The equity analysts at Wells Fargo sees the stock worth $500 per share again in the not-too-longterm future.
March research from those same number crunchers estimate Netflix’s paid-sharing plan could bring $3 billion in additional annual revenue. Ahead of its paid-sharing rollout, Netflix estimated that 100 million...
- 6/14/2023
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
AMC Theatres looks like it decided to take a page from United Airlines, where AMC CEO Adam Aron was once a marketing executive: With the launch of its Sightline program to charge a little extra to reserve the best seats in the house, the world’s largest theater chain makes money on what users once had for free. What’s really going on is a lot more like LA Fitness: Create a revenue stream based on driving users to a membership that they’ll use less than they think.
Dynamic pricing is already part of moviegoing: In the U.S. it’s utilized for matinees, active military members, and people who are under 12 or over 60. Anyone who went to see “Avatar: The Way of Water” on IMAX proved they’re willing to spend more to get the best viewing experience. In international markets, premium-price seating has been the norm for years.
Dynamic pricing is already part of moviegoing: In the U.S. it’s utilized for matinees, active military members, and people who are under 12 or over 60. Anyone who went to see “Avatar: The Way of Water” on IMAX proved they’re willing to spend more to get the best viewing experience. In international markets, premium-price seating has been the norm for years.
- 2/7/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Netflix, after pulling itself out of a grueling series of setbacks in the first part of 2022, will face another test Thursday afternoon when it reports fourth quarter financial results.
In addition to kicking off quarterly earnings season for media and entertainment companies, the report will usher in a year of increased scrutiny for the streaming business. Having moved mountains (and billions of dollars) to try to compete with Netflix after years of letting it run away with the streaming game, media companies are still very early in their direct-to-consumer orientation process.
“Rather than being the new sliced bread, investors and executives have accepted that streaming is, in fact, not a good business – at least not compared to what came before,” MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman wrote in a note to clients this week. “But that pre-streaming era is now long gone and not coming back. If streaming is a mediocre business,...
In addition to kicking off quarterly earnings season for media and entertainment companies, the report will usher in a year of increased scrutiny for the streaming business. Having moved mountains (and billions of dollars) to try to compete with Netflix after years of letting it run away with the streaming game, media companies are still very early in their direct-to-consumer orientation process.
“Rather than being the new sliced bread, investors and executives have accepted that streaming is, in fact, not a good business – at least not compared to what came before,” MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman wrote in a note to clients this week. “But that pre-streaming era is now long gone and not coming back. If streaming is a mediocre business,...
- 1/19/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
AMC got its meme back Thursday, with the stock surging 27 at its high on heavy volume, way outpacing the broader market and other publicly traded theater chains.
The jump was its biggest since May as the stock revisited its days as huge chatroom favorite. Volatility is a hallmark of meme stocks with others like Bed Bath & GameStop also higher.
“Some days the shorts have control, and some days the retail investors have control,” said one Wall Streeter.
AMC ended the session off its highs but still up more than 13 at 8.18. The broader Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 195 points and the Russell 2000 was down as well. Among other exhibitors, Cinemark was up 1.25 at 13.78; Marcus firmed slightly to 16.31; Imax was off 0.65 at 16.78.
The giant movie chain has been clawing its way out of a stock slump since late August after issuing Ape securities, or AMC Preferred Equity units. Apes are also a...
The jump was its biggest since May as the stock revisited its days as huge chatroom favorite. Volatility is a hallmark of meme stocks with others like Bed Bath & GameStop also higher.
“Some days the shorts have control, and some days the retail investors have control,” said one Wall Streeter.
AMC ended the session off its highs but still up more than 13 at 8.18. The broader Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 195 points and the Russell 2000 was down as well. Among other exhibitors, Cinemark was up 1.25 at 13.78; Marcus firmed slightly to 16.31; Imax was off 0.65 at 16.78.
The giant movie chain has been clawing its way out of a stock slump since late August after issuing Ape securities, or AMC Preferred Equity units. Apes are also a...
- 12/1/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Imax, having just unveiled its third quarter earnings, saw its stock price jump on Friday as investors look to the film technology company as possibly better-placed than its exhibition partners to benefit from a continued Hollywood box office recovery.
“We view Imax as the best way to play the upcoming theatrical rebound, the best positioned to gain from consumers’ ongoing shift toward premium theatrical amenities, a solid way to position for a rebound in the Chinese economy, and over the longer-term, the best positioned to gain from theatrical alternative content,” Wedbush analysts Alicia Reese and Michael Pachter said in a Nov. 11 investors note that gave an “outperform” rating to Imax along with a 20 price target.
Shares in Imax climbed by 68 cents, or five percent, to 14.44 on Friday as of 11:30 am Pst. Wall Street bulls are betting on more near-term lift for Imax...
Imax, having just unveiled its third quarter earnings, saw its stock price jump on Friday as investors look to the film technology company as possibly better-placed than its exhibition partners to benefit from a continued Hollywood box office recovery.
“We view Imax as the best way to play the upcoming theatrical rebound, the best positioned to gain from consumers’ ongoing shift toward premium theatrical amenities, a solid way to position for a rebound in the Chinese economy, and over the longer-term, the best positioned to gain from theatrical alternative content,” Wedbush analysts Alicia Reese and Michael Pachter said in a Nov. 11 investors note that gave an “outperform” rating to Imax along with a 20 price target.
Shares in Imax climbed by 68 cents, or five percent, to 14.44 on Friday as of 11:30 am Pst. Wall Street bulls are betting on more near-term lift for Imax...
- 11/11/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron is known for his rhetorical flourishes, whether in interviews with CNBC, appearances at CinemaCon or on earnings calls. But for the company’s second-quarter 2022 investor call on Aug. 4, he went full Braveheart. “Today, we pounce,” Aron declared, a reference to retail investor questions about when the company would make its next move.
“It is now time for us to take decisive and even valorous action,” he added, encouraging listeners to look up the word in the dictionary. As he has before, he framed his latest move as part of a larger battle between the good guys of AMC and unnamed “prophets of doom who may be rooting against us.”
And what was this “bold, decisive” move, one that could “transform” the company? It was something that in normal circumstances would make an accountant yawn: a special stock dividend,...
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron is known for his rhetorical flourishes, whether in interviews with CNBC, appearances at CinemaCon or on earnings calls. But for the company’s second-quarter 2022 investor call on Aug. 4, he went full Braveheart. “Today, we pounce,” Aron declared, a reference to retail investor questions about when the company would make its next move.
“It is now time for us to take decisive and even valorous action,” he added, encouraging listeners to look up the word in the dictionary. As he has before, he framed his latest move as part of a larger battle between the good guys of AMC and unnamed “prophets of doom who may be rooting against us.”
And what was this “bold, decisive” move, one that could “transform” the company? It was something that in normal circumstances would make an accountant yawn: a special stock dividend,...
- 8/9/2022
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In early January, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron announced a New Year’s Resolution to refinance high interest debt the chain took on to survive the pandemic. Today, the WSJ reports he’s “in advanced talks with multiple parties” to do just that but a dip in the company’s stock (and its bonds) hasn’t helped.
“The precipitous share price decline puts them in a more precarious position to refinance high interest debt and extend maturity — a worse position than they were a month or two ago,” said Alicia Reese of Wedbush Securities. Bur she noted that AMC had, earlier, been “really successful refinancing before the retail investors came in.”
If it can’t refinance or there’s a snag, it means the company would have to shell out cash, or more of it and sooner than it would like, to pay down interest due.
An AMC rep declined to comment.
“The precipitous share price decline puts them in a more precarious position to refinance high interest debt and extend maturity — a worse position than they were a month or two ago,” said Alicia Reese of Wedbush Securities. Bur she noted that AMC had, earlier, been “really successful refinancing before the retail investors came in.”
If it can’t refinance or there’s a snag, it means the company would have to shell out cash, or more of it and sooner than it would like, to pay down interest due.
An AMC rep declined to comment.
- 1/25/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said a Canadian court ruling requiring its biggest rival to pay a hefty fine is an “opportunity,” leaving Wall Street and AMC’s own legion of retail investors wondering what he meant.
Last summer, in the midst of the pandemic, Cineworld, the UK-based parent of Regal Cinemas, scrapped a deal to merge with Cineplex of Canada, citing breaches of contract. Cineplex sued and just yesterday a judge awarded it damages of $1.24 billion Cad (nearly $1B US) and denied a counterclaim by Cineworld, which said it plans to appeal.
“A Canadian court just ruled that Regal/Cineworld, our largest competitor in the U.S./Europe, must pay nearly $1 billion Usd in damages over the failed Cineplex merger. Will be appealed, but anything distracting or destabilizing our biggest competitor brings opportunity to AMC,” Aron tweeted along with an image of piles of cash.
He got some pushback.
Last summer, in the midst of the pandemic, Cineworld, the UK-based parent of Regal Cinemas, scrapped a deal to merge with Cineplex of Canada, citing breaches of contract. Cineplex sued and just yesterday a judge awarded it damages of $1.24 billion Cad (nearly $1B US) and denied a counterclaim by Cineworld, which said it plans to appeal.
“A Canadian court just ruled that Regal/Cineworld, our largest competitor in the U.S./Europe, must pay nearly $1 billion Usd in damages over the failed Cineplex merger. Will be appealed, but anything distracting or destabilizing our biggest competitor brings opportunity to AMC,” Aron tweeted along with an image of piles of cash.
He got some pushback.
- 12/15/2021
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
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