Cinema Industry in 'Warlike' Mode Due to COVID-19: AMC CEO

The movie theater industry is among “the very hardest hit” in this pandemic, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said on a Q3 call Monday. AMC’s loss grew 1,553% from a year earlier to $905.8 million. Global theater lockdowns and average attendance hovering under 20% of capacity led to revenue falling 91% to $119.5 million. AMC made “great strides” in the quarter to “safely open our theaters where permitted,” said Aron, but attendance has been “minimal.” AMC's attendees numbered 10 million since reopenings, he said, “and we have not heard of even one instance where the coronavirus was spread.” Aron estimated 90% of AMC’s U.S. theaters are open in 44 of its 45 states: “Critical” markets of Los Angeles and New York remain closed through state mandates, he said. “In the past few weeks, and especially just in the last few days, we've been ordered to close our theaters for most of the month of November” outside the U.S., he noted. The “gravity of the situation” puts the theater industry in “almost a warlike position of resolve and determination,” said Aron. “We are fighting this virus with all of our smarts, and all of our minds. We are a resilient, resourceful and creative bunch in AMC and all of that energy is being deployed to fight the good fight.” The company is working feverishly to raise and preserve cash, the chief said. That's including the “groundbreaking" Universal pact July 28 enabling AMC to begin “participating” in a new premium VOD window through its AMC Theatres on Demand platform. Universal plans to release six movies theatrically, exclusively through AMC, in Q4, “something that no other studio that does not yet have a PVOD window established has been willing to try,” Aron said. AMC has “sufficient liquidity to last through to the beginning of 2021,” said Chief Financial Officer Sean Goodman. The stock closed 8.4% higher Tuesday at $2.34.