AMC Theatres, the largest movie chain in the world, is in serious trouble. It was only back in April that AMC filed for bankruptcy, just as theaters around the world were beginning to feel the full brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak. But at the time, AMC execs were confident they would pull through, if perhaps a bit leaner. Well, now they’re not so sure.
Without going too much into the boring details, AMC has filed an update on their financial situation, and the gist of it is that they are on the verge of going out of business. While they remain hopeful, all it could take is one major obstacle to send them teetering over the edge. The problems in a nutshell are two-fold: there is no income coming in as all theatres remain closed; and there is a drastic shortage of new movies on the horizon.
Now you know why there’s so much riding on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to basically save the business.
From AMC’s statement: “We cannot be certain that we will have access to sufficient liquidity to meet our obligations for the time required to allow our cash-generating operations to resume or normalize. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity and any relief provided by lenders, governmental agencies, and business partners may not be adequate and may include onerous terms. Due to these factors, substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.”
Furthermore: “Even if governmental operating restrictions are lifted in certain jurisdictions, distributors may delay the release of new films until such time that operating restrictions are eased more broadly domestically and internationally, which may further limit our operations.”
It’s funny, because when this whole coronavirus thing shut everything down, we all thought it would be the little art house shops and indie chains that collapsed first. While they have certainly been hit hard, it’s AMC that may be in the greatest jeopardy.
Tenet is currently set to open on July 17th. If Warner Bros. dares move it…look out.