AMC says theaters to reopen globally in July

(Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc said on Tuesday it was expecting to reopen its theaters globally in July after the COVID-19 crisis forced it to shut them for months that hurt its first-quarter results.

The company said it was planning to reopen almost all its U.S. and UK theaters in July, in time to showcase Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film “Tenet” slated for release on July 17 and Walt Disney Co’s “Mulan” on July 24.

The world’s largest movie theater operator recently flagged “substantial doubts” about its ability to continue operations, if forced to keep its theaters closed for a longer period due to social distancing measures.

Much like most other out-of-home entertainment businesses, movie theater chains have felt the impact of lockdowns and social distancing measures, which further added to challenges due to a broader consumer shift to streaming services.

AMC’s total revenue fell 21.6% to $941.5 million in the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $951.4 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net loss widened to $2.18 billion, largely due to an impairment charge of about $1.85 billion related to assets and goodwill.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)