The Covid-19 global pandemic crisis reshaped the world in many ways – some temporary, others permanently.
In the former case, the pandemic virtually shut down the movie industry. Production houses decided to shelve high-value projects until they had access to a world of theaters packed with people and popcorn and packs of Twizzlers. That not only meant pausing production and post-production on current projects, but also stalling discovery and planning of new projects because it was unclear how long the crisis might last.
The whole industry simply shut down for the better part of a year. But it didn’t die.
The motion picture industry is coming back with a bang now as states declare an end to mask and social distancing mandates, the percentage of the population now vaccinated approaches “herd immunity”, and case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths related to Covid-19 trend toward negligibility across the US.
For investors, that points to a coming jump in the financial performance of companies tied to the industry, including Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK), All For One Media Corp (OTCMKTS:AFOM), Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF.A), and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC).
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) trumpets itself as one of the largest and most influential movie theatre companies in the world.
Cinemark’s circuit, comprised of various brands that also include Century, Tinseltown and Rave, operates 523 theatres (325 U.S., 198 South and Central America) with 5,872 screens (4,436 U.S., 1,436 South and Central America) in 42 states domestically and 15 countries throughout South and Central America.
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) recently announced it is further innovating its entertainment experience by expanding its in-theatre and online esports offering. This summer, Cinemark customers will have the ability to join drop-in games in select theatres, and a new partnership with Mission Control will offer online esports leagues. For all details how to participate, visit Cinemark.com/gamebig.
“At Cinemark, we strive to continually evolve as an entertainment destination, offering our customers the opportunity to have an entertaining escape into more than just big films,” said Justin McDaniel, Cinemark SVP of Global Content Strategy. “Our immersive environment lends itself particularly well to the gaming community, putting players in the universes in which they are competing. We are excited to bring big games to the big screen with our drop-in play as well as collaborate with Mission Control to offer online Cinemark esports leagues.”
Even with that news, the action hasn’t really heated up in the stock, with shares moving net sideways over the past week. CNK shares have been relatively flat over the past month of action, with very little net movement during that period.
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) generated sales of $114.4M, according to information released in the company’s most recent quarterly financial report. That adds up to a sequential quarter-over-quarter growth rate of 16.4% on the top line. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($512.8M against $594.5M, respectively).
All For One Media Corp (OTCMKTS:AFOM) is a global entertainment media company that recently launched its first major project. The company also has an extremely interesting angle on how to monetize the value of its projects, with this first project serving as an excellent case in point. The stock is much less expensive than other names in this list likely because the company hasn’t yet proven itself to the same extent that the other names have. But that could represent an argument in its favor if it finds success out of the gates, as it were.
That first major project is a movie-slash-girl-group branding concept that recently debuted to some degree of fanfare, especially in its primary demo. The film is called Drama Drama, and represents the quintessential teen “coming of age” musical dramedy story, with everything that captures the nuances of the High School experience: teen angst, unrequited love, the mean popular girl, and peer pressure. It is currently out and can be viewed on Apple iTunes, Amazon Prime, VUDU, Fangango NOW, RedBox, Google Play, Miscrosoft, Comcast, Cox, Charter, DirecTV, and Dish Network.
All For One Media Corp (OTCMKTS:AFOM) isn’t just working to profit from the movie, however. The big play is the fact that the stars of the movie are also the stars of its signed, highly talented girl group, also called “Drama Drama”: Ana Golja, Zonta, Carlye Tamaren, Amelia DeMilo, and Michelle DeFraites. Remember those names. From all accounts, you may someday see them in the same light as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Blackpink, Little Mix, and Destiny’s Child.
The company most recently announced that the soundtrack from its film just hit all the major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. The other key piece of news is that Drama Drama plans to release its first new single since the debut of the movie on August 1, 2021.
The girls have already been featured in J14, Girl’s World, In Touch, LifeStyle, Star, and Billboard Magazine, among other publications.
All For One Media Corp (OTCMKTS:AFOM) shares have been pushing higher despite the fact that the company isn’t current on its financials. However, given the big events starting to unroll out of AFOM, one assumes that this step is in the works, and company communications are set to get firing on all cylinders as the girls move toward new singles, albums, and perhaps a coming global tour.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF.A) bills itself as a company that brings a unique and varied portfolio of entertainment to consumers around the world by combining the STARZ premium global subscription platform with world-class motion picture and television studio operations.
Its film, television, subscription, and location-based entertainment businesses are backed by a 17,000-title library and the largest collection of film and television franchises in the independent media space.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF.A) most recently reported fourth quarter (quarter ended March 31, 2021) revenue of $876.4 million, operating income of $14.3 million and net loss attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $37.7 million or $0.17 diluted net loss per share on 221.2 million diluted weighted average common shares outstanding. Adjusted net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders in the quarter was $0.3 million or adjusted diluted EPS of $0.00, with adjusted OIBDA of $77.4 million. Fourth quarter cash flow used in operating activities was $159.8 million and adjusted free cash flow was positive $3.1 million.
“Fiscal 21 was a year of strong domestic and international subscriber growth at STARZ, great new television series, record library sales and a successful pivot to alternative release strategies for many of our films,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “Financially, we reported over $540 million in adjusted OIBDA and over $300 million in adjusted free cash flow, enabling us to significantly reduce our net leverage ratio. We enter Fiscal 22 with full content pipelines and with STARZ projected to achieve even better net subscriber adds domestically and internationally than in Fiscal 21.”
If you’re long this stock, then you’re liking how the stock has responded to the announcement. LGF.A shares have been moving higher over the past week overall, pushing about 7% to the upside on above average trading volume.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF.A) pulled in sales of $876.4M in its last reported quarterly financials, representing top line growth of -7.2%. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($528.7M against $1.7B, respectively).
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) frames itself as the largest movie exhibition company in the United States, the largest in Europe and the largest throughout the world with approximately 950 theatres and 10,500 screens across the globe.
AMC has propelled innovation in the exhibition industry by: deploying its Signature power-recliner seats; delivering enhanced food and beverage choices; generating greater guest engagement through its loyalty and subscription programs, web site and mobile apps; offering premium large format experiences and playing a wide variety of content including the latest Hollywood releases and independent programming.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) most recently announced information about share and shareholder counts ahead of a shareholder meeting, including that there were 501,780,240 shares outstanding as of June 2, 2021, the record date for the Shareholder Meeting scheduled for July 29, 2021, and that, as of June 2, there were approximately 4.1 million1 individual shareholders eligible to vote at the upcoming Shareholder Meeting.
Commenting about the share count, AMC President and CEO Adam Aron said, “The number of investors who want to own a part of AMC continues to increase and now stands at approximately 4.1 million. More than 80% of AMC shares are held by a broad base of retail investors with an average holding of around 120 shares. Some hold more and some hold less, however, each and every shareholder is important to AMC. Each shareholder has a critical role to play in AMC’s future by having their voice heard by voting at our upcoming Shareholder Meeting. By voting in favor of the proposals, together we can help position AMC, in its 101st year of business, for continued success over the next century.”
And the stock has been acting well over recent days, up something like 6% in that time. Shares of the stock have powered higher over the past month, rallying roughly 255% in that time on strong overall action.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) generated sales of $148.3M, according to information released in the company’s most recent quarterly financial report. That adds up to a sequential quarter-over-quarter growth rate of -8.7% on the top line. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($842.1M against $1.6B, respectively).
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