(Reuters) -Theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc posted a more than 15% fall in fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday and said box office is yet to return to pre-pandemic norms, sending its shares down 9% in after-hours trading.
Movie theaters, which were shuttered during pandemic-related lockdowns, are struggling to draw in crowds as rising costs have made people spend more on groceries, rent and gas, while reducing spending on out-of-home entertainment.
“As we have been saying for a long time, the industry-wide box office will not return to pre-pandemic norms before 2024 or 2025 at the earliest,” AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said in a statement.
Movie releases were also light during the quarter due to a delay in production.
The company’s fourth-quarter net loss widened despite box office hits such as James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” and Disney’s Marvel superhero film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.
However, Aron remained optimistic that the company’s recovery will continue to show progress this year, aided by more movie releases.
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“We expect the recovery will continue apace in 2023, as Hollywood is expected to release approximately 75% more major movie titles than it did in 2022,” Aron added.
The company’s net loss widened to $287.7 million, or 26 cents per share, during the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $134.4 million, or 13 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter was $990.9 million, compared to analysts’ expectation of $977.7 million, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
