AMC Entertainment set a new post-Covid record for global admissions revenue this past weekend with Barbie and Oppenheimer leading a charge that drew 7.8 million moviegoers to theaters.
Warner Bros/Mattel’s Barbie racked up $162 million opening weekend. Universal’s Oppenheimer stands at $82.4 million for a $300 million weekend at the domestic box office.
For Imax, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer delivered a $35 million debut on 740 screens worldwide, representing the biggest share ever of a film’s global opening weekend box office with 20% of total receipts.
AMC has the biggest number of Imax auditoriums among major chains.
AMC said Saturday was its busiest day since July of 2019. In the U.S., Friday, Saturday and Sunday each set single day post-reopening attendance records. On Saturday, AMC recorded the fifth highest single-day U.S. admissions ticket revenues in its 103-year history – and its second-highest highest food and beverage revenue day ever after Avengers: Endgame in May, 2019.
The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon was in evidence with 87,000 members of the AMC Stubs loyalty program booking tickets through Sunday evening to see both films.
“AMC sends an enormous thank you and congratulations to Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and the entire team at Warner Bros., and to Christopher Nolan and the team at Universal Pictures. They’ve demonstrated that well-made, well-marketed films that captivate audiences can open on the same weekend and both enjoy great success,” said CEO Adam Aron.
Holdovers Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Sound Of Freedom helped nudge the numbers into post-Covid attendance records.
AMC Entertainment has 950 theatres and 10,500 screens worldwide.
For Imax, Oppenheimer — shot with Imax cameras — repped its the biggest July opening weekend ever, global and domestic, the biggest opening weekend of 2023, and the biggest opening weekend ever for a Christopher Nolan film.
“Oppenheimer is an undeniable demonstration of a paradigm shift in moviegoing, with Imax taking a commanding share of global box office as audiences show a clear preference for experiences that transcend the ordinary in cinema,” said Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. “As he has done throughout his career, Christopher Nolan pushed the boundaries of IMAX technology to deliver unforgettable storytelling with ‘Oppenheimer’ and audiences are responding in numbers we’ve not seen in our 50-year history.”
In North America, the film opened to $21.1 million, an Imax-record of 26.2% of the domestic box office from 411 screens. Internationally, it opened to $13.9 million for 14.8% of the box office on 329 screens.
AMC shares were up 17% at $5.15. Its preferred APE units were down slightly at $1.78 after a court ruling Friday that wasn’t great news for the company longer term despite the current booming box office.
Imax is up 4% at $17.
