AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens[1] and one of the United States's four national cinema chains (Regal Entertainment Group, National Amusements, Inc. and Cinemark Theaters being the others) of the 12 largest on the continent that did not go bankrupt during the 2001-2002 recession,[2] due in part to the fact that its theatres often dominate lists of the top 50 most profitable theatres in North America.[3] Its mascot is the animated filmstrip Clip who has starred in the pre-show policy trailers from 1991 until a brief hiatus for most of 2009 until the autumn of 2009. While it also has locations in Canada, within the United Kingdom, France, and Hong Kong the chain is known as AMC Cinemas.[4][5][6] Within Spain the chain is known as AMC Cines.
Regal Entertainment Group (Regal) is the parent company of Regal Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (REH), which is the parent company of Regal Cinemas Corporation (Regal Cinemas) and its subsidiaries. The Company operates theatre circuit in the United States, consisting of 6,768 screens in 548 theatres in 39 states and the District of Columbia as of December 31, 2009, with over 244 million annual attendees for the year ended December 31, 2009. Regal operates multi-screen theatres and has an average of 12.4 screens per location. The Company develop, acquire and operate multi-screen theatres in mid-sized metropolitan markets and suburban growth areas of larger metropolitan markets throughout the United States. The Company also maintains an investment in National CineMedia, LLC (National CineMedia or NCM). National CineMedia concentrates on in-theatre advertising and creating complementary business lines that leverage the operating personnel, asset and customer bases of its theatrical exhibition partners, which includes the Company, AMC Entertainment, Inc. (AMC) and Cinemark, Inc. (Cinemark).
Theatre Operations
The Company operates its theatre circuit using its Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards brands through its wholly owned subsidiaries. Regal operates multi-screen theatres. Its multi-screen theatre complexes typically contain 10 to 18 screens, each with auditoriums ranging from 100 to 500 seats. In addition, many of the Company’s theatres feature modern amenities, such as wall-to-wall screens, digital stereo surround-sound, multi-station concessions stands, computerized ticketing systems, plush stadium seating with cup holders and retractable armrests, neon-enhanced interiors and exteriors, and video game areas adjacent to the theatre lobby.
Film Exhibition
Regal licenses films on a film-by-film and theatre-by-theatre basis by negotiating directly with film distributors. Films are licensed from film distributors owned by major film production companies and from independent film distributors that distribute films for smaller production companies. Film distributors establish geographic film licensing zones and allocate each available film to one theatre within that zone. In film licensing zones, where Regal is the sole exhibitor, it obtains film licenses by selecting a film from among those films being offered and negotiating directly with the distributor. In zones where there is competition, a distributor allocates films among the exhibitors in the zone.
The duration of Regal’s film licenses are negotiated with its distributors on a case-by-case basis. The terms of license agreements depend on performance of each film. Marketable movies that are expected to have high box office admission revenues has longer license terms than movies with more uncertain performance and popularity. For the year ended December 31, 2009, ten major film distributors accounted for approximately 95% of Regal's admissions revenues. Five of the 10 film distributors each accounted for more than 10% of admission revenues during the year ended 2009. In addition to box office admissions revenues, the Company generated approximately 26.8% of its total revenues from concessions sales during the year ended 2009
The criticism about AMC's lack of diversification was prompted by the fact that the theater industry had felt increasing pressure from an onslaught of other channels for movie viewing since the 1970s. Indeed, home videos and cable television, particularly, had been vying for consumer entertainment dollars. In response, AMC's competitors had diversified out of the
1920:The company's first theater is leased.
1963:The first multiscreen theater is built.
1968:AMC is incorporated as American Multi-Cinema Inc.
1981:AMC introduces the industry's first cupholder armrest.
1988:AMC's holdings reach 1,500 screens.
1995:The first 'megaplex' is built.
1999:Longtime chairman and CEO Stanley H. Durwood dies.
Despite record sales during the late 1980s, AMC was having financial trouble that intensified during the early 1990s. Notwithstanding a history of extremely sound management of its theaters--Durwood himself was known for always flying coach class, buying his suits off the rack, and driving an economical Honda Civic--AMC had let is operating costs escalate during its rapid expansion. Furthermore, the company's cash flow was being devoured by a crushing debt load. AMC lost money every year between 1988 and 1992, with the exception of one year in which it gleaned $567,000 in earnings from its operations. To combat slumping profits, AMC reined in its growth efforts beginning in the late 1980s and concentrated on whipping existing operations into shape. The company added a string of new theaters in 1988, bringing its total number of screens to nearly 1,700, but then stopped expanding and started slashing costs.
Of its 276 theaters, AMC closed 40 of the least profitable, reducing its total number of screens to about 1,600 by 1994. It also cut its work force by about 1,000. As it scrambled to meet its debt obligations, industry revenues picked up. Although AMC's sales wavered barely above the $400 million mark, its operating costs declined and the company posted a $1.3 million net profit in 1993. Although the company was more than $300 million in debt, analysts were optimistic, and it appeared as though Durwood's long-term strategy might pay off after all.
Having overseen a period of great expansion, Stanley Durwood's son Edward left the presidency of AMC in 1995, and Philip M. Singleton, chief operating officer, moved into the post. A former Marine Corp captain and fighter pilot, Singleton had been with AMC since 1974. He was joined by Peter C. Brown, who was appointed chief financial officer.
The Birth of the Megaplex in the 1990s
In the mid-1990s, founder Stanley Durwood was laying new plans to begin building a string of vast complexes with as many as 24 screens under the same roof. This concept was realized in Dallas in 1995 and quickly duplicated in other major markets. As with the multiplex, megaplexes consolidated operations costs and broadened its reach across more market sectors. Moreover, such tremendous spaces also permitted other revenue-generating efforts to flourish, such as restaurants, videogame parlors, and CD and book sales. Despite the million dollar pricetag for the construction of every megaplex, AMC was generally able to recoup its losses, although at the turn of the century the company did curtail its ambitions slightly, building more 20-plexes than 30-plexes. The comforts ushered in by megaplexes made any venues constructed before the 1990s seem old-fashioned.
Durwood died in 1999 of esophageal cancer, and Brown took over as chief executive officer and president. Meanwhile, AMC was busy going international, with a 13-plex in Fukuoka, Japan, and a 20-plex in Portugal, among other locations in Canada, England, and Spain. A joint venture with the Planet Hollywood theme restaurants, Planet Movie, was also planned, but stalled amidst the restaurant company's ongoing financial troubles. More promising, AMC and Hollywood.com, Inc., a web site for movies and entertainment, joined forces to sell movie tickets over MovieTickets.com in 2000.
Principal Subsidiaries: American Multi-Cinema, Inc.
Principal Competitors: Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corporation; Carmike Cinemas, Inc.; Regal Cinemas, Inc.
OVERALL
Beta: 0.92
Market Cap (Mil.): $2,136.07
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 154.56
Annual Dividend: 0.84
Yield (%): 6.08
FINANCIALS
RGC Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 27.51 23.67 9.39
EPS (TTM): -18.72 -- --
ROI: 3.62 1.59 0.84
ROE: -- 1.70 1.53
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1968
Employees: 8,000
Sales: $1.02 billion (1999)
Stock Exchanges: American
Ticker Symbol: AEN
NAIC: 512131 Motion Picture Theaters (Except Drive-In); 512132 Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
Name Age Since Current Position
Campbell, Michael 57 2009 Executive Chairman of the Board
Miles, Amy 44 2009 Chief Executive Officer, Director
Dunn, Gregory 51 2005 President, Chief Operating Officer
Ownby, David 41 2009 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Treasurer
Brandow, Peter 50 2002 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Thomas, Lee 66 2006 Independent Director
Bell, Thomas 61 2002 Independent Director
Kaplan, Stephen 52 2002 Independent Director
Yemenidjian, Alex 55 2005 Independent Director
Weigand, Nestor 72 2005 Independent Director
Tyrrell, Jack 64 2006 Independent Director
Keyte, David 54 2006 Independent Director
Brymer, Charles 51 2007 Independent Director
Address:
106 West 14th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
U.S.A.
Regal Entertainment Group (Regal) is the parent company of Regal Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (REH), which is the parent company of Regal Cinemas Corporation (Regal Cinemas) and its subsidiaries. The Company operates theatre circuit in the United States, consisting of 6,768 screens in 548 theatres in 39 states and the District of Columbia as of December 31, 2009, with over 244 million annual attendees for the year ended December 31, 2009. Regal operates multi-screen theatres and has an average of 12.4 screens per location. The Company develop, acquire and operate multi-screen theatres in mid-sized metropolitan markets and suburban growth areas of larger metropolitan markets throughout the United States. The Company also maintains an investment in National CineMedia, LLC (National CineMedia or NCM). National CineMedia concentrates on in-theatre advertising and creating complementary business lines that leverage the operating personnel, asset and customer bases of its theatrical exhibition partners, which includes the Company, AMC Entertainment, Inc. (AMC) and Cinemark, Inc. (Cinemark).
Theatre Operations
The Company operates its theatre circuit using its Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards brands through its wholly owned subsidiaries. Regal operates multi-screen theatres. Its multi-screen theatre complexes typically contain 10 to 18 screens, each with auditoriums ranging from 100 to 500 seats. In addition, many of the Company’s theatres feature modern amenities, such as wall-to-wall screens, digital stereo surround-sound, multi-station concessions stands, computerized ticketing systems, plush stadium seating with cup holders and retractable armrests, neon-enhanced interiors and exteriors, and video game areas adjacent to the theatre lobby.
Film Exhibition
Regal licenses films on a film-by-film and theatre-by-theatre basis by negotiating directly with film distributors. Films are licensed from film distributors owned by major film production companies and from independent film distributors that distribute films for smaller production companies. Film distributors establish geographic film licensing zones and allocate each available film to one theatre within that zone. In film licensing zones, where Regal is the sole exhibitor, it obtains film licenses by selecting a film from among those films being offered and negotiating directly with the distributor. In zones where there is competition, a distributor allocates films among the exhibitors in the zone.
The duration of Regal’s film licenses are negotiated with its distributors on a case-by-case basis. The terms of license agreements depend on performance of each film. Marketable movies that are expected to have high box office admission revenues has longer license terms than movies with more uncertain performance and popularity. For the year ended December 31, 2009, ten major film distributors accounted for approximately 95% of Regal's admissions revenues. Five of the 10 film distributors each accounted for more than 10% of admission revenues during the year ended 2009. In addition to box office admissions revenues, the Company generated approximately 26.8% of its total revenues from concessions sales during the year ended 2009
The criticism about AMC's lack of diversification was prompted by the fact that the theater industry had felt increasing pressure from an onslaught of other channels for movie viewing since the 1970s. Indeed, home videos and cable television, particularly, had been vying for consumer entertainment dollars. In response, AMC's competitors had diversified out of the
1920:The company's first theater is leased.
1963:The first multiscreen theater is built.
1968:AMC is incorporated as American Multi-Cinema Inc.
1981:AMC introduces the industry's first cupholder armrest.
1988:AMC's holdings reach 1,500 screens.
1995:The first 'megaplex' is built.
1999:Longtime chairman and CEO Stanley H. Durwood dies.
Despite record sales during the late 1980s, AMC was having financial trouble that intensified during the early 1990s. Notwithstanding a history of extremely sound management of its theaters--Durwood himself was known for always flying coach class, buying his suits off the rack, and driving an economical Honda Civic--AMC had let is operating costs escalate during its rapid expansion. Furthermore, the company's cash flow was being devoured by a crushing debt load. AMC lost money every year between 1988 and 1992, with the exception of one year in which it gleaned $567,000 in earnings from its operations. To combat slumping profits, AMC reined in its growth efforts beginning in the late 1980s and concentrated on whipping existing operations into shape. The company added a string of new theaters in 1988, bringing its total number of screens to nearly 1,700, but then stopped expanding and started slashing costs.
Of its 276 theaters, AMC closed 40 of the least profitable, reducing its total number of screens to about 1,600 by 1994. It also cut its work force by about 1,000. As it scrambled to meet its debt obligations, industry revenues picked up. Although AMC's sales wavered barely above the $400 million mark, its operating costs declined and the company posted a $1.3 million net profit in 1993. Although the company was more than $300 million in debt, analysts were optimistic, and it appeared as though Durwood's long-term strategy might pay off after all.
Having overseen a period of great expansion, Stanley Durwood's son Edward left the presidency of AMC in 1995, and Philip M. Singleton, chief operating officer, moved into the post. A former Marine Corp captain and fighter pilot, Singleton had been with AMC since 1974. He was joined by Peter C. Brown, who was appointed chief financial officer.
The Birth of the Megaplex in the 1990s
In the mid-1990s, founder Stanley Durwood was laying new plans to begin building a string of vast complexes with as many as 24 screens under the same roof. This concept was realized in Dallas in 1995 and quickly duplicated in other major markets. As with the multiplex, megaplexes consolidated operations costs and broadened its reach across more market sectors. Moreover, such tremendous spaces also permitted other revenue-generating efforts to flourish, such as restaurants, videogame parlors, and CD and book sales. Despite the million dollar pricetag for the construction of every megaplex, AMC was generally able to recoup its losses, although at the turn of the century the company did curtail its ambitions slightly, building more 20-plexes than 30-plexes. The comforts ushered in by megaplexes made any venues constructed before the 1990s seem old-fashioned.
Durwood died in 1999 of esophageal cancer, and Brown took over as chief executive officer and president. Meanwhile, AMC was busy going international, with a 13-plex in Fukuoka, Japan, and a 20-plex in Portugal, among other locations in Canada, England, and Spain. A joint venture with the Planet Hollywood theme restaurants, Planet Movie, was also planned, but stalled amidst the restaurant company's ongoing financial troubles. More promising, AMC and Hollywood.com, Inc., a web site for movies and entertainment, joined forces to sell movie tickets over MovieTickets.com in 2000.
Principal Subsidiaries: American Multi-Cinema, Inc.
Principal Competitors: Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corporation; Carmike Cinemas, Inc.; Regal Cinemas, Inc.
OVERALL
Beta: 0.92
Market Cap (Mil.): $2,136.07
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 154.56
Annual Dividend: 0.84
Yield (%): 6.08
FINANCIALS
RGC Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 27.51 23.67 9.39
EPS (TTM): -18.72 -- --
ROI: 3.62 1.59 0.84
ROE: -- 1.70 1.53
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1968
Employees: 8,000
Sales: $1.02 billion (1999)
Stock Exchanges: American
Ticker Symbol: AEN
NAIC: 512131 Motion Picture Theaters (Except Drive-In); 512132 Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
Name Age Since Current Position
Campbell, Michael 57 2009 Executive Chairman of the Board
Miles, Amy 44 2009 Chief Executive Officer, Director
Dunn, Gregory 51 2005 President, Chief Operating Officer
Ownby, David 41 2009 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Treasurer
Brandow, Peter 50 2002 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Thomas, Lee 66 2006 Independent Director
Bell, Thomas 61 2002 Independent Director
Kaplan, Stephen 52 2002 Independent Director
Yemenidjian, Alex 55 2005 Independent Director
Weigand, Nestor 72 2005 Independent Director
Tyrrell, Jack 64 2006 Independent Director
Keyte, David 54 2006 Independent Director
Brymer, Charles 51 2007 Independent Director
Address:
106 West 14th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
U.S.A.