AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) shares are trading higher by $2.06, or 4.8% at $45.39 amid strength in high-short interest names for the session.
According to media reports, AMC has a total share float of 511.55 million, of which 79.5 million shares are sold short, representing 15.95% of shares sold short.
According to some sources AMC is the fifthth-most-mentioned ticker on the popular subreddit WallStreetBets.
AMC is involved in the theatrical exhibition business. AMC owns, operates or has interests in theatres located in the United States and Europe.
It was a rough weekend at the corner multiplex. Movie theaters across the country had just $61.6 million in gross ticket sales over the weekend, the weakest box office action in more than two months. Horror flick Candyman was the top draw, but in terms of audience counts, the showing proved to be more trick than treat.
This is literally the worst weekend performance of the summer season, and the trend isn't kind. We've seen box office receipts post sequential declines in five of the past seven weeks since peaking with Black Widow 's premiere. That particular week in early July was the only weekend that the industry broke above $100 million in ticket sales, a feat that happened every single weekend for movie studios during the 2018 and 2019 peak summer seasons.
An empty theater is obviously a bad look for the industry, flying in the face of the narrative of AMC as one of this year's hottest stocks. Consensus is the fumbled momentum for the exhibitors this summer is defying the otherwise buoyant stock chart. Let's take a closer look at what went wrong, and why it's too soon to dismiss AMC's chances to get back on track.
