NEW YORK, May 29, 2026, 16:02 EDT
AMC Entertainment Holdings shares finished up 9.5% Friday at $1.73, logging their biggest gain of the holiday-shortened week. Volume picked up too, with 39.4 million shares traded, nearly double Thursday’s 19.2 million. AMC closed near the upper end of its $1.55-to-$1.79 session range. The stock is still far from its 52-week high at $3.60. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Memorial Day.
Why it matters: AMC is seeing a summer box-office boost, but the stock is still behaving like a levered turnaround play. The company needs weekend crowds to deliver hard cash, higher concessions, and cut into its debt, not just fill seats.
AMC said Tuesday more than 5 million people went to AMC Theatres and ODEON Cinemas worldwide over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. AMC’s U.S. theaters saw their best Thursday-through-Monday crowd in 2026. CEO Adam Aron called the weekend a sign of the “power of the big screen experience.” AMC said The Mandalorian and Grogu merchandise was its third-best for any movie opening. The company mentioned new films coming up: Scary Movie, Masters of the Universe, Toy Story 5, and Supergirl. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu led the Memorial Day box office, pulling in an estimated $102 million in the U.S. and Canada during the four-day weekend, according to Reuters. Worldwide, Disney expected about $165 million. Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Reuters the release might “stabilize” Star Wars at theaters after a long break. Reuters
Weekend box office saw more than one standout. AP said Obsession picked up steam in its second weekend, expanding when most wide releases usually drop. Paul Dergarabedian, who leads marketplace trends at Comscore, told AP, “The moviegoers rule” and called the film’s jump “really unheard of.” AP News
AMC moved ahead of other theater names and the larger market. Cinemark was up around 2.3%. IMAX added 1.8%. SPY, which tracks the S&P 500, gained 0.3%, and QQQ climbed 0.5%.
Aron said earlier this month that “the box office is back.” But Friday’s action could reverse if summer movies slow or if full theaters don’t bring more free cash flow—cash AMC has left after running the business and big expenses. AMC’s first quarter revenue landed at $1.05 billion with adjusted EBITDA of $38.3 million. But the company also reported a net loss of $117.1 million, burned through $174.7 million in free cash, ended with $339.2 million in cash and showed $3.96 billion in corporate borrowings. AMC raised around $71.7 million before fees with at-the-market share sales, which help with liquidity but can dilute current investors.
AMC now faces a more focused but still tough test in the market. The shares don’t have to rely on every movie being a Star Wars-scale hit. What matters is a regular lineup that keeps audiences coming back, so the company’s finances don’t dominate the narrative.
