AMC Movie Theaters Bankruptcy Warning

[airboy]

AMC went deeply into debt to buy out a rival movie theater chain.  Then the plague shutdown hit.

They have issued what is in effect a bankruptcy warning in their latest public financial disclosures.  AMC is either the largest, or the 2nd largest movie theater chain in the USA.  If they go down - a huge swath of the country will be without a first run movie theater.

It sucks, but carrying a lot of debt makes your company very vulnerable to anything bad.

[-budd-]

That's to bad, one of the first things we are going to do as a family is go to a movie, and then dinner. i can't go to a theater unless it's those recliner seats, man once you enjoy a movie in those you can't go back to those regular seats. Except for Regal and AMC is there another national chain? Don't think so, in my area at least.

[Black Robin]

 That's too bad..!

[Jarhead0331]

I think traditional theaters were in trouble before the pandemic, which just accelerated the inevitable. With streaming services, the increasing popularity of more interactive forms of entertainment, and the relative high cost of a trip to the movies, it seemed pretty certain that movie theaters would need to innovate in order to remain viable and competitive.

[Grim.Reaper]

Sadly, I love going to the movies for the experience, but for the last number of years I don't think there has been more than 5-10 other people in there with me at most times......I even have been to many where I was the only person there.

[Dammit Carl!]

Man, that stinks - and no snark here, I do like going out to a movie from time to time.

Guess we're looking at another generational divide in the making: those who remember going out to movies and having those "stand in line for hours/saw it x times," moments and those who won't.

-get off my lawn and all that shit

[ArizonaTank]

I think traditional theaters were in trouble before the pandemic, which just accelerated the inevitable. With streaming services, the increasing popularity of more interactive forms of entertainment, and the relative high cost of a trip to the movies, it seemed pretty certain that movie theaters would need to innovate in order to remain viable and competitive.

Agree.

But like opera that came before movies, there will probably still be movie theaters well into the future...just not as many.

The days when the industry can support mega chains are probably ending. Small chains, and independent "coffee house" theaters will survive just like independent booksellers have managed to (although they are always under pressure as well).

I don't necessarily think that AMCs troubles are a bad thing. Over the years they have sucked all the oxygen out of markets, buying up rival chains and killing the small independents. Over the years they became so big, they attracted foreign investment. For several years AMC was owned by the Chinese Wanda Group (according to Wikipedia, Wanda is no longer the majority shareholder but still controls the board). Aggressive expansion that snuffs out competition is rarely good for an industry.

I lived in Northern Virginia several years back, and there was an independent theater that showed pretty much anything and everything. If there was an off-beat movie out there, they were showing it...at the same time they showed the standard comic book hero "blockbusters". They always seemed to be busy. It was a small business, and very personal. My wife and I were happy to go there, just to see what "treasures" of movie making they had found. As I watched the movie theater industry start to stumble, I began to think that this small theater concept still had legs.

Maybe if the huge mega chains are clipped, it will give some oxygen to the smaller, more nimble indies...  In Arizona, there is a smaller family run chain (Harkins) that is just so much better than an AMC.

[-budd-]

I do miss the small independent theaters, somehow they had more character. The ones in my area never got first run movies until much later. Wasn't there an issue with large chains freezing out the smaller theaters by making their access and cost to content difficult. I seem to remember something to that affect. Remember drive-ins, chillaxing in the back of a truck on a summer eve enjoying a movie outside. I go every once in awhile to movies, but the length of movies these days...wow, can't spend 2 1/2 hours or more hours in a theater. We usually go to comedies/horror flicks/ animated children movies as they tend to be shorter.

[Gusington]

We have a small chain theater near my town that is pretty good. I hope small or independent is the wave of the future, I never liked the massive theater chains except for those plush recliner seats mentioned above. I want one as my gaming chair and in my living room!

Honestly because I hate people I never really enjoyed going to the movies. At home, no one kicks the back of my chair or leaves the floor a sticky mess.

Dog farts a lot, but I have grown to almost enjoy that.

[Barthheart]

...
Honestly because I hate people I never really enjoyed going to the movies. At home, no one kicks the back of my chair or leaves the floor a sticky mess.

Dog farts a lot, but I have grown to almost enjoy that.

And the beer is cheaper....

[Gusington]

^That too.

No beer at my local small theater but at bigger, more fancy venues there is alcohol.

[W8taminute]

...

Honestly because I hate people I never really enjoyed going to the movies. At home, no one kicks the back of my chair or leaves the floor a sticky mess.

...

+1

[Gusington]

^A man of refinement and sophistication.

[Sir Slash]

I would miss the movie theaters if they were gone. Movies like Endgame and Infinity War just wouldn't be the same in my living room without a ginormous screen and surround-sound. Even with overpriced day-old popcorn. And do we really need more teenage Odd-Balls on the street right now?  :hide:

[Martok]

I would miss the movie theaters if they were gone. Movies like Endgame and Infinity War just wouldn't be the same in my living room without a ginormous screen and surround-sound. Even with overpriced day-old popcorn.

Speak for yourself.  The popcorn at my local theater (independently-owned) is amazing!  :)