AMC Theatres Rides Box Office Rebound to Record Revenue in Third Quarter

AMC Entertainment on Wednesday posted sharply higher box office and revenue for its third quarter as it had Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day in its theaters.

The box office momentum will help the mega-exhibitor answer to investors whether it can leverage a steadier supply of Hollywood tentpole releases, premium screen demand and film lovers returning to the multiplex to get out from under costly debt obligations.

Overall revenue was up 31 percent to $1.71 billion, compared to $1.3 billion in the same period of 2025. That compares with the most recent second quarter when AMC saw overall revenue jump 14 percent to $1.59 billion.

AMC swung to a Q3 net income of $109.3 million, against a year-earlier net loss of $298.2 million, due mainly to non-cash charges associated with a July 2025 refinancing to fully redeem 2026 debt maturities.

“In its simplest terms, AMC functioning in a $10 billion-plus box office environment is a very different animal from one that was trapped in a $7 billion to $9 billion box office environment as was the case in the past four years or, for that matter, a $2 billion to $9 billion box office over the past 6 years,” AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron told analysts during an after-market call.

The adjusted EBITDA came to $347.5 million, compared to $122.5 million and representing another quarterly record. Besides being lifted by an ongoing Hollywood box office rebound, AMC is riding a premium screen gold rush at the local multiplex by offering varied immersive auditoriums like Imax, Dolby Cinema, iSense, XL and laser projection-equipped screens.

During the latest quarter, the exhibition giant saw total admissions revenue rise to $953.5 million, compared to a year-earlier $715.1 million. Food and beverage concession revenues came to $589.5 million, up from year-earlier $451.8 million.

U.S. market attendance amounted to 52 million patrons, while international markets attendance added another 22.7 million cinema-goers at overseas venues during the third quarter. That all comes ahead of a key upcoming holiday season test for AMC as The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three will play on its screens.

The latest financial results follow ongoing efforts by AMC with lenders to secure flexibility to refinance its high debt load and reduce its overall interest expense. The company recently completed refinancings to push around $4 billion in debt maturities to 2031 and 2033.

Debt refinancing deals for AMC Theatres aim to give the movie theater chain breathing room on its balance sheet to pay down its long-term borrowings and ease balance sheet strains. To exchange new debt for existing borrowings, AMC typically has had to put up as collateral theaters and related intellectual property.

“After six long years navigating AMC through unchartered waters, we can finally say with relief that we have brought our ship into port,” Aron told analysts. “What you are seeing now is a company proving quarter after quarter what it can achieve when an inspired movie slate combines with a powerful fleet of movie theaters.”

Earlier, in a statement that accompanied his latest quarterly results, Aron explained that financial performance was “thanks to our industry-leading loyalty programs along with the vast and growing number of AMC’s premium large format and extra large format auditoriums, combined with disciplined cost management, superb execution and the operating leverage inherent in our business.

The CEO added, “Our success was driven by a resurgent box office, market share gains in both domestic and international markets, and the achievement of all-time record revenue per patron.”

On the analyst call, Aron commented on Paramount Skydance completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and touted the enlarged studio’s pledge to produce more movies with extended theatrical releases. “We’re confident that Skydance will do everything in its power to create and deliver appealing movies under both the Warner and Paramount brands going forward,” he argued.

Aron also reiterated AMC will release on its Imax screens the upcoming sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the Brad Pitt-starrer The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. Cinemark and Regal among major chains have decided against doing their own sequel releases due to Netflix’s ultra-short two-week release window on offer.

Cliff Booth will debut in theaters on Nov. 25, then hit Netflix on Dec. 23. AMC in 2027 will have two other Netflix movies on its release slate, Narnia and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both of which will have “a full theatrical window,” Aron said.

He also discussed AMC using AI tools in Europe to program which movies go into which auditoriums in its theaters. “The financial implications of this, if it works, could be so significant,” he told analysts about the potential labor savings and efficiencies in better targeting cinemas with the right titles.