LOS ANGELES (NewsNation Now) — Moviegoers are returning to theaters with AMC reporting its busiest weekend in 16 months.
3.2 million people watched movies at AMC theaters across the globe between July 8-11. The company reported in a press release that more than 2.5 million of those movie watchers were American.
The highly anticipated “Black Widow” opened to an estimated $80 million in the U.S. and Canada, a post-pandemic record box office total. The theater industry reported earning over $100 million total for the weekend with other movies accounted for.
Movie Theaters, especially major chains like AMC, reported significant losses throughout the pandemic. Theaters were slowly reopened across the United States as states relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.
AMC reopened with enhanced cleaning and mask requirements, but audiences have not returned to theaters until recently.
The company made headlines during the pandemic for being the target of so-called “meme stock investors” who helped skyrocket AMC’s stock to $62 in June from $2 earlier this year.