NEW YORK, May 30, 2026, 10:01 EDT
AMC Entertainment Holdings climbed into the weekend, rallying sharply Friday as investors responded to better theater traffic and a packed June film calendar. AMC shares finished Friday at $1.73, up 9.49%. The stock hit $1.79 at its peak in active trading, with about 42.3 million shares changing hands.
NYSE is closed Saturday, wrapping up a week that was already shortened by the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. Normally, the exchange trades from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. AMC shares finished at $1.73 on May 29, up about 15% from $1.51 the Friday before.
AMC shares were reacting more to a box-office update than to news of a new filing. The company said May 26 that over 5 million moviegoers attended AMC and ODEON Cinemas during the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. This was AMC’s best Thursday-to-Monday period for U.S. attendance in 2026. CEO Adam Aron said the weekend showed “the power of the big screen experience.” AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
Disney’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” pulled in most of the box office this weekend. Reuters said the Star Wars film was set to bring in around $102 million in the U.S. and Canada through Monday, plus about $165 million worldwide. Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, said the movie helps “stabilize the Star Wars universe.” Reuters
Industry numbers for the Memorial Day weekend didn’t all impress. AP said the domestic box office over the four-day holiday was set for about $211 million, well below last year’s $330 million record. The same report mentioned an unusual second-weekend rise for “Obsession.” That sort of move is “really unheard of,” Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian told AP, putting it down to a social-media “FOMO factor.” AP News
AMC shares moved differently from rivals. Cinemark finished at $28.00, up 2.75%. IMAX closed higher too, up 1.12% at $39.68. Both stocks trade on theater attendance figures. But AMC’s cheap stock and meme pedigree can make moves bigger when box office hopes shift.
AMC’s rally is drawing eyes back to its first-quarter numbers. On May 5, the company posted revenue of $1.045 billion, a net loss of $117.1 million, and adjusted EBITDA at $38.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA here is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization—AMC’s gauge for operating profit before some expenses. CEO Adam Aron said, “the box office is back,” and still expected revenues to keep rising into 2026.
Week ahead, the setup doesn’t offer much leeway: traders want to see if Memorial Day momentum sticks in June. Fandango has “Masters of the Universe” and “Scary Movie” on June 5, “Toy Story 5” coming June 19, and “Supergirl” following June 26. That’s multiple releases for theater chains to show whether the last weekend’s bump was more than a one-off. Fandango
AMC is still facing balance sheet risks. In its latest quarterly filing, AMC said its current cash burn can’t last forever. The company said it would need revenues back to at least pre-COVID-19 levels to support steady positive operating cash flow. The filing noted that estimating future liquidity is tough. Film releases, production, and box office results are all still unpredictable.
The stock heads into June with some momentum, but the story isn’t settled. Better weekends might lift revenue, concessions and sentiment. But if the slate turns weak, repeat viewings drop, or cash worries return, Friday’s pop could fade fast.
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