US movie theater chain operator AMC Entertainment reported a surge in fourth-quarter 2023 revenue as it continues to navigate the post-pandemic landscape, thanks in large part to concert films by pop icons Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
The company reported an 11.5% year-over-year increase in revenue in Q4 to $1.10 billion from $990.0 million in 2022, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.05 billion. This positive shift comes after a challenging year for AMC, marked by “diminished box office” sales and rising streaming competition.
Adjusted EBITDA surged 193% in Q4 to $42.5 million from $14.5 million in the same period in 2022.
Adam Aron, AMC Entertainment Chairman and CEO, said, “What is particularly noteworthy is how much AMC benefited from our trailblazing industry leading efforts with our highly successful distribution of two concert movies Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour and Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.”
“Literally, all of that increase in AMC’s Revenue and EBITDA is attributable to our having shown these two movies in our theaters in the US and internationally.”
Adam Aron, AMC Entertainment
“Literally, all of that increase in AMC’s Revenue and EBITDA is attributable to our having shown these two movies in our theaters in the US and internationally,” Aron added.
After a strong opening weekend in the US in October 2023, Taylor Swift’s concert film became the highest-grossing theatrical release of all time among both concert films and documentaries in January, after generating more than $261.6 million in box office revenue globally.
Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s films “represented fully one ninth of the complete fourth quarter domestic industry-wide box office,” said Aron.
“This is a stunning result given that neither of these films were on anyone’s drawing board until mid-year, and that they were the first movies ever distributed by AMC in our entire 103-year history. To that end, our praise for Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles Carter has no limit, and we offer our boundless thanks to these two world class artists for entrusting AMC to collaborate with them as to the theatrical exhibition of their two masterpiece creations,” the executive added.
“This is a stunning result given that neither of these films were on anyone’s drawing board until mid-year, and that they were the first movies ever distributed by AMC in our entire 103-year history.”
Adam Aron, AMC Entertainment
The films’ impact extended beyond just AMC’s bottom line. Aron told analysts during an earnings call on Thursday (February 29) that the two films “caused AMC’s US market share to noticeably rise.”
“That’s because our share on these two concert films, the two that we not only exhibited but also were the distributor for, were well more than 50% higher than our market share normally,” Aron said.
As a result of its strong revenue, AMC was able to trim its losses in the fourth quarter to $182 million from $287.7 million in the year-ago period. Full-year net loss also shrank by $577 million to $396.6 million, compared with $973.6 million in 2022.
Full-year revenue grew 23% to $4.81 billion from $3.91 billion in 2022, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $425.8 million from $46.6 million a year earlier.
AMC’s results in the fourth quarter of 2023 and full-year 2023 suggests that music-related films could be a valuable tool for both the music and film industries in the years to come.
Sony Pictures recently announced plans to produce for biopics about The Beatles, each one from the perspective of one of the four members of the legendary band. Set to be directed by Sam Mendes, the movies are expected to hit cinemas in 2027.Music Business Worldwide
