Photo courtesy: Camknows via Flickr

Movie theatre chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) expects the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and the blockbuster movie titles scheduled to be released in the coming months to boost sales this year, according to a report by Reuters.

What Happened: “Our focus is no longer on survival, but now has turned instead to directing a surge in movie-going and on the recovery of AMC,” Reuters quoted AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron as saying during an earnings call on Wednesday.

AMC said it expects its sales to be boosted in the coming months, as films such as The Walt Disney Company's (DIS) “Black Widow”, “Top Gun: Maverick”, “F9” and “Godzilla vs. Kong” hit its screens. About 90% of the company’s U.S. theatres are now open.

The company on Wednesday reported a net loss for the fourth quarter that widened from last year as revenues fell almost 89%.

Why It Matters: AMC and other movie chains were impacted by the closure of theatres amid the pandemic due to coronavirus-induced lockdowns. However, the accelerated rollout of vaccines is expected to enable the cinema chain to reopen all its theatres and help boost revenues.

However, AMC’s stock has been popular on social media amongst retail investors. Along with other heavily-shorted stocks such as GameStop Corp. (GME), the company’s shares skyrocketed in January as retail traders primarily belonging to the Reddit community r/WallStreetBets bid up the stocks to create a short squeeze. The shares continue to see retail investor interest in March, including from the group.

Price Action: AMC Entertainment shares closed almost 6.2% lower on Wednesday at $9.85.