On Wednesday, the world’s biggest movie theater chain, AMC Theatres, let its customers know things are looking grim by publicizing the “substantial doubt” it has that it can stay in business.
This might not be too much of a surprise to those paying attention to similar headlines prior, with the company previously saying it wouldn’t be showing Universal films anymore after the studio had such great success with its on-demand releases.
Still, Wednesday’s announcement shows exactly how much of an effect the coronavirus had–and still has–on the world of entertainment.
“We are generating effectively no revenue,” AMC said in a regulatory filing from Wednesday.
“Even if governmental operating restrictions are lifted in certain jurisdictions, distributors may delay the release of new films until such time that operating restrictions are eased more broadly domestically and internationally, which may further limit our operations,” the company said.With a liquid cash balance of $718.3 million, AMC believes that it has enough money to get theaters back up and running by “summer or later.”