In December, evidenced by Warner Bros.' decision to release all of its 2021 movies to theaters and on HBO Max the same day. This means the theater industry will feel the effects of the pandemic until at least the end of this year and likely beyond.
AMC has faced its own set of issues resulting from COVID-19. Shortly after theaters closed, the company got into a well-publicized feud with Universal Pictures following the success of Trolls World Tour's PVOD release. However, the two were eventually able to come to an agreement allowing the studio's movies to be available on-demand after 17 days in theaters. Despite that step forward, by August 2020, AMC had lost over half a billion dollars due to theater closures. More recently, the company revealed it could run out of money by early 2021, later sharing it can't receive funding from the recent COVID-19 relief bill.
However, AMC Entertainment now has a rare bit of good news to share. Appearing on CNBC's Closing Bell, CEO Adam Aron said the company raised $204 million over two weeks in December. This puts AMC closer to its goal of $750 million needed to survive the pandemic. However, Aron cautioned, “We’re not there yet…We are off to a very good start. But we will need to raise more capital to make it to the other side.”
It makes sense AMC isn't celebrating just yet, as the coronavirus has proven to be unpredictable. However, it is a good sign for the company and the viability of the theater industry at large. Though theaters will still face a number of challenges once they're able to operate at full capacity, the most important thing right now is making it to that point. As of now, the majority of movie fans have gone nearly a year without seeing a film on the big screen. It stands to reason they'll turn out in droves once it's safe to do so. This could provide theaters with the much-needed boost needed to bounce back from the prolonged closures.
Hopefully, the money raised in December is only the beginning for AMC Theatres. As Aron noted, there's still a long way to go. However, this latest piece of news is a good sign worth acknowledging. With any luck, 2021 will be a far better year for the theater industry and those who value the big screen experience.
Source: CNBC
