‘Avengers: Endgame’ Tickets Push AMC Stock Up By 10%
The unquenchable thirst to know how the surviving Avengers resurrect the dead has driven Marvel-mad fans to scoop-up movie tickets to “Avengers: Endgame” in record numbers, propelling shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings to a stunning 10 percent spike on Monday.
AMC shares hit a high of $16.80, and eventually settled at $16.31 for an 8.9 percent gain at Monday's market close. The upbeat closing sets the stage for what might be another good day, Tuesday, for the world’s largest movie theater chain.
AMC announced that advance ticket sales for "Avengers: Endgame" have already surpassed the combined first day sales for "Avengers: Infinity War", "Captain Marvel", "Black Panther" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
"Avengers: Endgame" hits AMC theaters nationwide on April 26 on iMax and 3D. Its fantastic presales almost ensures it’ll beat the box office records set in 2018 by "Avengers Infinity War," the fourth highest grossing film of all time. "Infinity War" was also the highest grossing superhero film ever and the highest grossing film of 2018.
In numbers, that translates into a gross of $678.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.37 billion in other territories, for a worldwide total of $2.05 billion. Because of its record presales, Avengers: Endgame is expected to top these numbers.
Analysts were also buoyed by the recent revenues racked-up by AMC’s “Stubs A-List” subscription program. Investment firm B. Riley FBR downgraded AMC in January due to concerns about how well Stubs A-List was doing.
The market answered that same month when Stubs A-List hit 700,000 subscribers. AMC’s overarching loyalty program called Stubs recently surpassed 19 million members, up from 12 million in 2018.
“We believe the impressive advance ticket sales for ‘Avengers: Endgame’ signals the start of the spring/summer period and we are increasingly optimistic around the potential contribution of Stubs A-List with our updated analysis after meeting with management at CinemaCon last week,” said Eric Wold, analyst at B. Riley in the research note.
Wold said the Stubs A-List program, which allows moviegoers to see up to three flicks per week for $19.95 a month, is the likely successor to MoviePass’ failed attempt at a similar program last year.
Last week, "Avengers: Endgame" set a first-day U.S. sales record within the first six hours of presales on Fandango. Atom Tickets said it sold three times more tickets in the first hour of sales than Infinity War did in 2018. Avengers: Endgame set a record on the site for the best first hour of presales.
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