AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) stock is up significantly in 2026, driven by record second-quarter revenue and a strong box office. The domestic box office recently hit a major summer milestone and is eyeing a yearly record, which could create more upside for the stock.
2026 Box Office Booms
Led by "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey," the 2026 summer box office season is setting record numbers not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The season, which runs from the first Friday in May through Labor Day, is not officially over but is already the highest on record since the pandemic, according to Variety.
With $4.26 billion in domestic box office, 2026 is the highest since the pandemic and only the second to reach the $4 billion milestone, with 2023 hitting $4.04 billion, according to data from BoxOfficeMojo.
For comparison, the 2025 domestic summer box office was $3.60 billion.
"It finally feels like we’re back to 2019," Maya Cinemas marketing director Greg Heckmann told Variety.
Heckmann highlighted the Spider-Man and Odyssey films along with "Toy Story 5," "Michael," "Project Hail Mary" and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie."
And it’s not just summer. This year’s winter box office of $1.12 billion was the highest since 2020. Box office in the spring season of $1.41 billion was the second highest since 2019, trailing only the $1.55 billion in 2023.
According to the Variety report, a strong slate of upcoming movies set for release in the fall and holiday season could push the domestic box office over the $10 billion mark for the first time since the pandemic.
A total of $10 billion or more would be 15% higher than the $8.66 billion total from 2025 and around 12% higher than the $8.90 billion in 2023, the current highest yearly domestic total since 2019.
In 2019, the domestic box office was $11.36 billion, one of several years in a row hitting $11 billion or more.
What’s Next for Movie Theaters
With more than half the year already over, many of the top blockbuster films have already hit theaters, but the rest of the slate looks surprisingly strong, according to experts interviewed by Variety.
The slate includes a new Hunger Games prequel film, a highly anticipated new Johnny Depp film with his take on Ebenezer Scrooge in "Ebenezer," "Jumanji 3," "Dune: Part Three," and "Avengers: Doomsday."
"Avengers: Doomsday" is likely to be on par with the success of the recent Spider-Man film and could be the highest-grossing film in years.
The 2026 domestic box office total currently sits at $6.83 billion and is likely to pass last year’s total.
Three of the highest-grossing films for 2025 happened in the months of November and December, and that’s likely to happen again this year.
Stock Price Action
AMC stock is up 55.6% year-to-date with shares trading at $2.51 at the time of writing. That comes in lower than the 52-week high of $3.18 and the stock is still down 11.8% over the last 52 weeks.
Compare that to Cinemark Holdings (NYSE:NCK), where the stock price of $37.71 is closer to a 52-week high of $38.98. Cinemark stock is up 60.3% year-to-date in 2026, and shares are up 41.9% over the last 52 weeks.
Imax Corp (NYSE:IMAX) stock hit a new 52-week high of $54.50 today, with shares trading around $53.48 at the time of writing. The stock is up 48.5% year-to-date in 2026, and shares are up 107.7% over the last 52 weeks.
After posting a record second quarter, pressure will be on for AMC to follow up with strong results in the third and fourth quarters. Based on the upcoming slate of films and the already strong summer season, AMC may be able to do just that.
Photo Courtesy: rblfmr on Shutterstock.com
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