AMC shares climb as Beyonc?'s 'Renaissance' reigns

By James Rogers

In addition to showing "Renaissance: A Film by Beyonc?" in its theaters, AMC is also distributing the film globally

Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. are up 7.6% Monday, boosted by the strong opening weekend performance of "Renaissance: A Film by Beyonc?."

Beyonc?'s concert film topped the domestic box office in its opening weekend, bringing in $21 million in North American ticket sales. In addition to showing "Renaissance" in its theaters, AMC (AMC) is also distributing the movie globally.

AMC continues to ride the popularity of concert movies from big-name stars. The movie theater chain and meme stock darling also enjoyed a boost in recent months from "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," which broke records after its opening on Oct. 12.

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"Great news! Along with Taylor's movie, AMC's new Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce opened #1 at the domestic box office this weekend," tweeted AMC CEO Adam Aron on Monday. "1st time in history two concert films were #1 in the same year."

Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey also highlighted the successful debut of Beyonc?'s film, noting that "Renaissance reigns" in a note released Monday. "'Renaissance' is projected to have the best domestic box office gross for a post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the last 20 years," he wrote. "'Renaissance' marked the second consecutive No. 1 domestic box office opening for AMC Theatres Distribution, following 'The Eras Tour.'"

"The success of these films highlights the drawing power of popular musical acts for both theaters and record labels," he added.

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During a conference call to discuss AMC's third-quarter results last month, Aron said that Taylor Swift and Beyonc?'s movies could pave the way for other concert films at AMC.

"In working with two of the most admired pop stars on the planet, we already have touched lightning," he said. "We are optimistic, though, that this will lead to much more ahead ... we believe that we will have several more concert film products in 2024 and 2025. We intend to be working with some of the most known and most loved musical artists the world has ever known."

AMC's stock has fallen 79.5% in 2023, compared with the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 18.9%.

-James Rogers

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12-04-23 1459ET

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