AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. returned to quarterly profit as attendance climbed, though its nine-month loss and more than $4 billion in borrowings show the recovery remains uneven.
The theater operator recorded $1.711 billion in revenue, 31.6% above the year-earlier quarter, and $347.5 million in adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, up 183.7%. It earned $109.3 million for the three months through Sept. 30, versus a $298.2 million loss in the same 2025 period. Attendance worldwide was 74.917 million, a 28.3% gain, AMC’s SEC-filed earnings release showed.
The company said the third quarter marked its second consecutive quarter with records in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Before this year, its quarterly revenue high dated to the second quarter of 2019, while its adjusted EBITDA peak came in the fourth quarter of 2017. AMC’s Form 10-Q linked part of the earnings improvement to attendance around popular new releases. Chairman and CEO Adam Aron also cited loyalty programs, premium and extra-large-format auditoriums, cost management and a resurgent box office.
Aron said, “Today, we can finally say that AMC has recovered.” The company’s results also showed a $19.2 million net loss for the first nine months of 2026, compared with a $505 million loss in the same period of 2025. AMC reported $109.3 million in free cash flow for the third quarter and $124.7 million for the first nine months; Aron said he expected positive free cash flow for the full year.
AMC completed a $3.97 billion refinancing on Oct. 5, covering about 97% of its debt, according to the earnings release. The deal extended maturities to late 2031 and 2033 and lowered the company’s average interest rate. Its Form 10-Q listed $4.086 billion in corporate borrowings after the refinancing.
AMC said it temporarily suspended operations at all its theaters on or before March 17, 2020, amid COVID-19-related government restrictions, recommendations and precautions. Its 2020 annual filing reported a $4.589 billion net loss for the year.
Looking ahead, Aron said October domestic box office was about 35% higher than in October 2025. He said films scheduled for November and December could bring 2026 domestic and global box office to their highest levels in seven years.
