Shares in AMC Theatres plunged on Tuesday as the giant movie theater chain unveiled a fresh cash raise to retire costly debt after a strong opening weekend box office for Toy Story 5.
The day began with parent AMC Entertainment Holdings announcing it had a deal to sell 95.25 million shares at $2.10 each to raise around $200 million in fresh capital. AMC said it would use around $189 million in net proceeds after placement fees to redeem $125 million of senior notes at 6.125 percent in interest expense due in 2027 and for general corporate purposes.
AMC shareholders didn’t react well to the company’s latest move to reduce its high debt load as stock in the cinema giant fell by 74 cents, or nearly 27 percent, to $2.02 in early morning trading on the NYSE. The world’s largest movie exhibitor announced the stock raise after touting its best opening weekend box office so far in 2026 with the Toy Story 5 debut from Pixar and Disney.
AMC Entertainment chairman and CEO Adam Aron in a statement on Monday said “seeing multiple films across multiple genres perform well at the same time is such an encouraging sign for the theatrical business. With several major releases coming to theatres especially in July and across the entire summer, we expect that momentum to continue.”
The cinema chain has secured earlier agreements with creditor groups, debt holders and other lenders to give it more financial flexibility so it can focus on leveraging Hollywood box office at the local multiplex. On June 13, AMC announced it had closed a $150 million at-the-market equity offering launched in February to strengthen its balance sheet.
Debt refinancing deals for AMC Theatres aim to give the movie theater chain breathing room on its balance sheet to pay down long-term borrowings. To exchange new debt for existing borrowings, AMC typically has had to put up as collateral theaters and related intellectual property.
AMC Theatres indicated it had just under $4 billion in overall corporate borrowings for its third quarter ended Sept. 20, 2025.
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