Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. extended their recent rocket ride higher, with Tuesday’s rally fueled by the record-setting weekend box office performance by “Top Gun: Maverick.”
The stock AMC, +17.99% ran up 10.1% in premarket trading, after already soaring 38.9% over the past three days. Just prior to the current win streak, the stock was trading at levels seen before the “meme”-stock rally that had kicked off a year ago.
“The record-setting success of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is another example of a box office that continues to show positive signs of recovery,” AMC said in a statement.
The “Top Gun” sequel from Paramount Pictures starring Tom Cruise took in $156 million in the U.S. over the weekend and another $126 million internationally, for a world-wide box office of $282 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That pushed the overall box office for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend to $218.1 million, or up 122.8% from a year ago.
AMC said more than 3.3 million people watched “Top Gun: Maverick” on its screens, out of a total of nearly four million people who visited its U.S. theaters over the weekend.
Shares of Paramount Pictures-parent Paramount Global PARA, +4.66% rallied 1.7% premarket toward a six-week high.
Also getting a “Top Gun” boost was IMAX Corp.’s stock IMAX, +8.21%, which gained 0.6% ahead of the open.
The enhanced-theater operator said it had the “best global four-day Memorial Day Weekend opening ever,” with the $32.5 million debut of “Top Gun: Maverick” in its theaters, including a record $21 million in North America.
AMC’s stock has tumbled 47.0% year to date through Friday, while IMAX shares have slipped 2.5% and the S&P 500 index SPX, +2.47% has declined 12.8%.