AMC Entertainment Touts Recovery With Walmart and Visa Partnerships

AMC Entertainment said the slow crawl out of the pandemic leaves the theater chain better positioned than competitors, innovating with partnerships like bringing its popcorn to Walmart stores, and a co-branded Visa card, with its biggest problem the dearth of big movie releases.

AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron said the chain is “outrunning our competitors” with the Regal Cinema’s parent Cineworld in bankruptcy, noting that AMC closed over 100 underperforming theaters during the pandemic, and opened 54 new ones that Aron said are producing better results than those shuttered.

Aron’s biggest worry is the lack of hit films coming out of Hollywood for theatrical release, telling investors and analysts on AMC’s Q4 2022 earnings call on Tuesday (Feb. 28) saying that “Depending upon how you count, the number of major movies released in 2022 was somewhere between a third and a half fewer than the total number of such major films released in 2019 before the pandemic. Fortunately, now, finally, that is all changing. We currently estimate that 30 or more movies will gross more than $100 million domestically in 2023. That compared with only 18 doing so in the just completed 2022.”

AMC sees its new retail partnership with Walmart as a major win. “In the weeks that follow, AMC Perfectly Popcorn will hit the shelves exclusively at more than 2,600 Walmart stores in the United States with three varieties of ready-to-eat popcorn in the following flavors: classic butter; extra butter; and for those seeking a lower sodium solution, Lightly Salted,” Aron said, adding that “this first-of-a-kind approach by a theatrical exhibitor to distribute ready-to-eat and microwave popcorn at retail outlets all across the country further differentiates AMC.”

There will be a dedicated website to find locations selling Perfectly Popcorn, it will be available on Walmart.com, and AMC is considering selling the product in theaters as well.

AMC also discussed plans to improve its AMC Stubs loyalty program, “and especially AMC Stubs A-List,” he said. “About half of our total clientele in the United States participates in Stubs and about 15% of our total activity in the United States comes from A-List members. These are very important programs. We’re constantly reviewing them for possible changes and improvements.”

It’s waitlisting the forthcoming AMC Visa Entertainment card, which will allow Stubs members to earn Stubs points “both when they spend at our theaters and when they spend away from our theaters” for gas or other purchases.

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