AMC Theatres is looking to ride a budding moviegoing recovery by becoming a big player in music, with more than 300 of its U.S. venues to host interactive, real-time viewings of live concerts starting next month.
The world’s largest cinema operator, with about 860 locations including 600 in the U.S., on Tuesday reported its best first quarter for box office revenue since before the pandemic as it narrowed persistent losses. It also announced a partnership with entertainment technology provider Arena One to bring live music performances to its theater screens in 89 U.S. markets.
During a quarterly earnings call Tuesday, AMC CEO Adam Aron said the program called Arena One at AMC will make use of “purpose-built stages” where concerts will originate and be beamed to theater screens. Tickets are expected to range in price from $40 to $75, depending on the artist and the market.
Aron said the venture represents an “entirely new chapter in live entertainment,” with each concert having the potential to reach a quarter-million customers. Concerts will launch June 17 with Bebe Rexha, followed by a June 18 performance by Paris Hilton, a June 19 concert by Kim Petras and a June 20 concert by Maren Morris, with more to be announced at a later date.
“We built a cinematic stage optimized to translate seamlessly to cinemas, but artists are defining what it becomes,” Peter Hamilton, CEO of Pennsylvania-based Arena One, said in a statement Tuesday. “They’re not adapting tours; they’re building something new.”
Leawood, Kansas-based AMC has invested significantly in upgrades to screen, sound and projection technologies during the past five years. It initially turned to concert films, from artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce, in response to Hollywood actor and writer strikes that significantly curtailed film production during 2023.
Strong start for 2026
Production has since revived, and customers are coming back to the movies, though industry box office has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. North American industrywide ticket sales got off to a strong start in 2026, as first-quarter box office reached about $1.77 billion, up 22% from a year earlier and marking the strongest first quarter since the pandemic started in March 2020, according to media data firm Comscore.
Across the industry, North American box office reached about $9 billion for 2025, rising 4% from 2024 but still well below the pre-pandemic 2019 tally of $11.4 billion, Comscore said.
For AMC, Aron said this year's first quarter and early second quarter were lifted by movie hits such as “Project Hail Mary” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” with more promising films slated to arrive throughout 2026.
“The box office is back, and in a big and powerful way,” Aron said during the earnings call with analysts.
AMC reported more than $1.04 billion in revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, up from $862.5 million in the year-earlier quarter. Its net loss for the quarter was $117.1 million, compared with a $202.1 million net loss for the opening quarter of 2025.
AMC Chief Financial Officer Sean Goodman said the company passed $1 billion in first-quarter revenue for the first time since 2019, greeting about 47 million customers worldwide. The company continues to shore up its balance sheet, trimming debt through refinancings and converting some debt into equity, among other measures.
Goodman said AMC closed five locations and opened one during the first quarter. Since 2020, it has closed 218 venues and opened 66 for a net reduction of 152, or 15% of its portfolio. Aron said about 10% of its existing leases come up for renewal each year as it continues to scout other locations for new construction or acquisitions for conversion to the AMC brand.
Lease terms are renegotiated where viable or locations are closed when new terms can’t be reached. Aron said the 66 locations opened in the last six years outgrossed the 218 that were closed, telling analysts that the company sees its real estate decisions as “a perpetual business strategy.”
“As our theaters come up for renewal consideration every single year, we’re going to be thrilled to renew some, we’re going to talk hard with landlords on others, and we’re going to close others,” the CEO said.