AMC Stock: You Can See Everything

Multiplex operators have to be clicking their heels this year. Yet another unlikely theatrical release is bringing audiences back to the silver screen, and AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is soaring again as the country's largest exhibitor.

A24's You Can See Everything -- a film that starts with a Nathan Fielder-led documentary crew covering the last few weeks of disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes with her family before heading to prison in 2023 -- has more twists than an AMC Bavarian pretzel. It heads into this weekend as one of the rare films projected to likely increase ticket sales after a robust opening weekend.

AMC investors are being rewarded. The stock is up 86% in 2026. Are you really seeing everything?

Image source: Getty Images.

Who is on the first

Folks are storming back to the movies in a major way this year. Year-to-date domestic box office receipts are up 21% from this point last year, making this a lock to be the strongest year for multiplex operators since 2019. The biggest movie of the year -- Avengers: Doomsday -- hasn't even come out yet.

At least six films put out this year will top $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, something that has only happened once before in the history of cinema. AMC stock is more than happy to go along for the ride. Analysts see the theater chain's revenue rising 18% to $5.7 billion. Perhaps more importantly for a survivalist narrative, AMC should generate positive adjusted earnings for the first time since 2018.

AMC joins at least two smaller chains that returned to profitability years ago. Those rivals even pay out modest dividends. AMC isn't there yet, but after years of ill-advised dilution and distractions, turning the corner is really happening. All it needed was a break, and it got it this year, with studios cranking out films that are rekindling moviegoers' interest in the medium.

What is on second

There have been obvious blockbusters this year. The real pleasant surprise has been the wave of sleeper hits. Two of this year's biggest draws -- Obsession and Backrooms -- are low-budget horror movies directed by 20-something YouTubers.

This brings us to last weekend's debut of Fielder's You Can See Everything. The next-gen documentary generated $15.7 million in stateside ticket sales in its opening weekend. This may not seem like a lot. It's less than the premiere of Street Fighter collected over the same weekend. However, the film did set some recent records with its initial screenings.

You Can See Everything had the strongest opening weekend for a non-musical documentary in more than 20 years. It also opened in just 855 screens, making it the highest-grossing opening for a film with less than 1,000 screens since 2008.

With buzz building -- You Can See Everything already overtook Street Fighter during weekday showings -- the film is expanding to more than 2,500 screens this weekend. It won't be one of the six films to crack the $1 billion mark this year. It doesn't have to. It's just one more potent arrow to bring a different audience back to the local multiplex.

I Don't Know is on third

AMC will probably never make its peak investors whole. Even after this year's stellar rally, the stock is still down 99.2% over the past year. That's not a typo. It's a cruel reminder of the mess management made of its meme-stock opportunity.

Today's market skepticism is as thick as AMC's earlier management incompetence. A strong year doesn't remedy years of being a turkey jerky investment, imprisoned twice in a vending machine inside a minimum-security federal prison.

I'm fine with taking a chance on AMC stock here. The shares cratered because the hype exceeded the market reality. This time, the upticks come with material improvement in industry and company fundamentals. AMC has spent years fine-tuning its business with high-margin concessions and a sticky member loyalty program. The payoff is happening with this year's bumper crop of theatrical releases. It's OK to be skeptical, Wall Street, but you really can see everything this time.

Rick Munarriz has positions in AMC Entertainment. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.