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Kansas-based AMC said that 65 of its locations in the U.S., including 13 in the greater Los Angeles market, set their own single-week box office records from July 21 to July 27. The statement did not specify the amount AMC made in ticket sales during the period.
This summer’s boom in demand has been underpinned by Internet-driven hype around “Barbie,” a pink-splashed fantasy comedy based on the popular doll, and “Oppenheimer,” a three-hour biopic about the American physicist pivotal in the creation of the first nuclear weapon. Excitement on social media around the two pictures, which has come to be known as “Barbenheimer,” led many viewers to book tickets as a double feature.
The phenomenon has boosted cinemas, which have been struggling to refind their footing after the COVID-19 pandemic and compete against streaming services. It also comes as Hollywood’s writers and actors are on strike over residuals from streaming media and concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in content creation. The labor action has roiled the movie industry and put some projects on hold.
AMC chairman and chief executive Adam Aron noted that the popularity of the two films demonstrates that audiences are “ready, willing, and eager to come out to movie theatres in huge numbers.”
Shares in AMC rose on Monday.
