AMC hits record revenue as A-List subscription members drive 20% of US attendance

AMC Entertainment, the world's largest movie theater chain, just hit the highest quarterly revenue in its 106-year history at $1.60 billion for the second quarter of 2026. The numbers show a powerful bounce back for the silver screen, with worldwide attendance climbing 13.5% to 71.3 million patrons.

According to Fortune, AMC Stubs A-List, the monthly subscription program that lets moviegoers reserve up to four films a week including IMAX, now accounts for 20% of all US attendance with more than 1.1 million members. Fletcher Williams, a 25-year-old living in Los Angeles, saw six movies at AMC theaters last month and paid $29.99 instead of the roughly $150 full price.

Adam Aron, the chairman and CEO of AMC, told analysts in July that membership has more than doubled over the past five years. The open question is whether that loyalty can do what a run of blockbuster movies has not yet done: make AMC consistently profitable while it carries roughly $4 billion in debt.

The hole from the pandemic was deep, with annual revenue falling 77% in 2020. Despite the record revenue, AMC posted an $11.4 million net loss in the second quarter as interest and other charges absorbed much of the gain. Food and beverage sales jumped 15.3% to $576.1 million, as members like Sophie Guaman of New York City save money on concessions during their visits.

In October, AMC completed a $3.97 billion refinancing that pushed almost all of its debt maturities to 2031 and 2033.

Photo: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons