AMC Entertainment Shares Slip After Holiday Weekend

Shares of AMC Entertainment (ticker: AMC) took a hit following a lackluster holiday weekend at the box office. One contributing factor to this underperformance was "Wish," the latest film released by Walt Disney (ticker: DIS), which failed to meet expectations and landed in third place in the three-day box office rankings, as reported by Comscore. "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" and "Napoleon" claimed the top two spots, respectively.

Despite this setback, the overall outlook for the movie industry appears brighter compared to last year. According to Comscore, domestic box office sales during the five-day holiday weekend (Wednesday to Sunday) reached an estimated $172 million. This figure surpasses the $122.8 million recorded last year, although it falls short of the record-breaking $315.6 million achieved in 2018, as previously reported.

While AMC shares dipped by 0.9% to $6.84 on Monday, the S&P 500 only experienced a minimal decline of less than 0.1%. In recent years, the movie theater chain has faced numerous challenges, including the impact of the pandemic and disruptions caused by writers' and actors' strikes. Its meme-stock status has further heightened its volatility.

Although the success of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," a concert movie that revolutionized the traditional cinema experience, provided some positive momentum for investors, it will not be enough to reverse AMC's fortunes. With an 81% decline in stock value this year, AMC is on track to have its worst year on record since December 2013, based on available data from Dow Jones Market Data.