Investors were hardly amused by AMC Entertainment Holdings's (AMC 2.34%) stock performance on the first trading day of the week. The major cinema company saw its share price shrivel by more than 4%, following a relatively weak holiday weekend.
A turkey of a weekend
In the movie exhibition business, weekends are crucial, as they are when many people have the time and inclination to go to cinemas. Holiday weekends are even more crucial, given the extra time those folks have to take in a flick.
Image source: Getty Images.
Therefore, the long Thanksgiving weekend matters to companies like AMC, and this one provided some cause for concern. Total U.S. box office gross ticket sales amounted to $182.8 million over the three-day stretch starting last Friday. That was down rather substantially from the $274.8 million tally in the same period of 2024.
The four top-performing films of the 2025 weekend all made less than the upper quartet in 2024. This year, Zootopia 2 from entertainment king Walt Disney earned $98.6 million, compared unfavorably to another Disney sequel, Moana 2, which grossed nearly $140 million in the same period last year.
Interestingly, both 2024's Wicked and its 2025 sequel Wicked: For Good landed in second place on their respective Thanksgiving weekends. The former did better, reaping over $81 million, compared to the latter's less than $63 million.
NYSE: AMC
Key Data Points
Warm and safe
The weather might have affected movie theater attendance, as in many parts of the country it was stormier, snowier, and colder than during the Thanksgiving weekend of 2024. Meanwhile, many streaming services were aggressively promoting Black Friday deals, and some people likely opted to stay indoors with a movie on TV instead of venturing to the local cinema.
Given that, I wouldn't push the panic button on AMC stock. Actually, I think the company is doing rather well, given the intense and persistent competition from streamers. Investors bullish on the company should stay the course with its equity, I believe.
