Jennifer Saibil, The Motley Fool

Sat, Jun 7, 2025, 4:53 AM5 min read

• Memorial Day weekend set moviegoing records, and a lot of the sales went to AMC as the largest theater chain.

• With many expected hit movies slated for release, management thinks it's turned a corner.

• AMC stock is still down year to date and the company has a lot to prove.

• 10 stocks we like better than AMC Entertainment ›

AMC (NYSE: AMC) is the largest movie theater operator in the world, but being the leader in a troubled industry hasn't done much for the company over the past few years. With the advent of streaming and residual fears from the pandemic, moviegoing just isn't what it once was and AMC continues to struggle.

However, Memorial Day weekend was a boon for the company and AMC stock has been climbing. Let's see why and what it means for the future.

Streaming from home has taken a toll on the box office, but there is still life left in theaters. Four of the top 10 highest-grossing films ever were released since the pandemic started, including Avatar: The Way of Water in the No. 3 spot and last year's Inside Out 2. People are still going to the movies.

That fact was reinforced with a record Memorial Day weekend in May. Disney's live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch had the highest-ever four-day Memorial Day opening, and it was buttressed by a strong showing for Paramount's Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning. Altogether, these two topped a blowout weekend with $326.7 million in domestic ticket sales, and Lilo & Stitch is already the second-highest-grossing domestic film of the year.

Of course, that success trickled down to generate incredible financial results for AMC. Management said it set an all-time record for admissions revenue, food and beverage revenue, and total revenue for a weekend Memorial Day opening, and that the five-day stretch was the third-highest revenue for any five-day slot in more than 10 years.

As for attendance, this was the highest-attended weekend and highest-attended five-day period of the year, both domestically and globally.

Management didn't provide specific financial metrics for the weekend, so investors aren't likely to hear the nitty-gritty details until the second-quarter earnings release sometime in July or August. But management's update and optimism are boosting investor confidence.

It's nice for the company to have a solid, record-breaking opening, but can it last? Management thinks so, and the market may be pricing that in.