Remember when AMC was the King Kong of meme stocks, climbing to a ridiculous $261 a share in 2021? Well, click the fast forward button to November 18th, and it’s limping along at $4… a brutal 98% shallacking. But hey, have no fear. The domestic box office is rebounding, so maybe, just maybe, it’s time to log back into your AMC Reddit account and revive those diamond hands.

The domestic box office just posted its best third-quarter sales since the pandemic, hauling in $2.71 billion. Hits like Deadpool & Wolverine and Despicable Me 4 packed theaters, proving once again that audiences can’t resist superheroes and slapstick minions. Hollywood might finally be back to making money (because, let’s be honest, NFTs weren’t cutting it).

AMC, with its 900 theaters and 10,000 screens globally, should be swimming in cash, right? Wrong. The company’s still carrying $4 billion in long-term debt (yeah, that’s bad). Even with revenue outpacing spending, AMC posted a $21 million loss last quarter, thanks to huge interest payments.

CEO Adam Aron has been going all-in on premium offerings, like IMAX and Dolby screens, which rake in four times the revenue of regular theaters. Fancy popcorn buckets? Check. Recliner seats? You bet. But even with these moves, AMC saw 12% fewer butts in seats last quarter compared to Cinemark’s manageable 2.4% decline. Blame it on a family-friendly film slate and some international floppage (is that even a word).

Oh, and don’t forget, AMC’s European attendance is down 16%, proving that not even Deadpool can convince the French to leave their art museums (the stereotype rings true once again).

AMC has been flirting with bankruptcy since pre-pandemic days (which is what started the whole meme-stock-frenzy), and while the company has pushed its debt maturities out to 2029, high interest rates are squeezing its bottom line hard.

To stay alive, AMC might issue more shares, which has equity investors bracing for another round of dilution. (Pro tip: if you’re holding AMC stock, start practicing your “it’s not about the money, it’s about the memories” speech.)

The good news: 2025 and 2026 are shaping up to be blockbuster years, with Hollywood pumping out plenty more franchise films like Gladiator 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Moana 2. The bad news? AMC still has a lot of theaters to renovate and a mountain of debt to climb before it can truly capitalize on the rebound.

If you’re looking for fireworks, AMC still has a spark… but it’s buried under a pile of debt bigger than The Irishman’s runtime (remember that movie?). With a better movie slate on the horizon and the potential for a short squeeze (48.6 million shares are shorted, FYI), AMC might just pop again. But don’t hold your breath, if you’ve waited this long, what’s another 4 years?

P.S. Watching the Tennessee Titans faceplant their way to 2-7 is painful, but knowing 2-8 is locked in? That’s soul-crushing. Honestly, I’m sick of losing (at least I’m not a Jets fan). You know what else I’m sick of? Watching your favorite online stock guru flop around in the markets like a quarterback who forgot how to throw. It’s embarrassing, really.

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Stock.News does not have positions in companies mentioned.