AMC Theatres has reached lease agreements with property developer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to take on the leases of two more former Arclight cinemas.
The first is in San Diego, where AMC will reopen a 14-theater location in La Jolla this Thursday. The second, in the Washington, D.C., area, will see the reopening of AMC Montgomery 16 at Bethesda, Maryland’s Westfield Montgomery mall, likely in March.
In December, AMC announced that it was taking over the leases of two theaters in Los Angeles and Chicago previously operated by Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas. AMC said on Tuesday that it was in active discussions with other property owners about reopening more closed theaters as the cinema giant uses its cash reserves for a late-pandemic-era expansion.
“AMC continues to play offense and aggressively seek out opportunities to strengthen our company through strategic acquisitions,” Adam Aron, chairman and CEO of AMC, said in a statement.
As retail online traders embraced AMC as a meme stock last year and propelled its share price upward, the company sold more than $1 billion worth of stock, giving it a financial lifeline and allowing it to buy up leases of locations that formerly belonged to rival circuits.
The latest deals bring to six the number of former ArcLight/Pacific cinemas set to have AMC logos on their marquees after agreements with property developers and mall owners.
