AMC says it’s no longer in talks to acquire theaters from bankrupt Cineworld

AMC said it is no longer in talks to acquire theaters from Regal parent company Cineworld, which had filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

Cineworld, which is based in the United Kingdom, had been in discussions with AMC to hand over some of its theaters after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, AMC said the discussions with Cineworld lenders regarding assets in the U.S. and Europe had ended. The disclosure comes after AMC reported another quarterly loss last month despite an increase in revenue, as the theater chain spent more than it brought in.

The world’s largest movie theater company has been trying to reduce its debt loads, which were exacerbated during the pandemic when people hunkered down at home and streaming services boomed. Even as audience attendance has rebounded more recently, the disruption of movie production over the past two years has left theater operators like AMC hurting for new releases to boost ticket sales.

The outlook for 2023 appears more promising, with a healthy slate of highly anticipated new releases.

Read the full SEC filing here.