Warner Bros.’ Godzilla vs. Kong posted the best opening weekend of any film released during the coronavirus pandemic.
Godzilla vs. Kong is restoring confidence in the movie theater business after posting the best opening weekend of any film released during the coronavirus pandemic and signaling that filmgoers are ready to head back to cinemas ahead of the busy summer season.
B. Riley Securities analyst Eric Wold wrote in a report on Monday that the monster flick’s success “destroys lingering concerns around the theatrical window importance and demonstrates a solid path to resurgence,” while also upgrading AMC Entertainment to “buy” in his Monday note, raising his price target to $13 from $7.
“We have remained impressed with management’s ability to weather the pandemic headwinds by both strengthening the balance sheet and negotiating with landlords to improve the cash runway into 2022,” he wrote. “And as the largest exhibitor in North America that also operates the highest number of premium IMAX screens, we view AMC as well positioned to benefit from the industry’s projected resurgence and return to pre-pandemic attendance levels by 2023.”
Shares of the company rose more than 6% on Monday and have jumped more then 370% since January, in part due to renewed confidence in the company’s ability to survive the rest of the pandemic. AMC has a market value of $4.2 billion.
