AMC Theatres reported a strong second quarter, with revenue climbing 14% to a record $1.59 billion as Hollywood's box office recovery continued to gather pace. The results, buoyed by hits such as Toy Story 5, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, sent AMC's share price surging 17% in pre-market trading, underlining renewed investor confidence in the "meme stock" cinema chain as the industry claws back from the pandemic-era slump.

Despite the revenue growth, AMC's net loss widened slightly to $11.4 million from $4.7 million a year earlier, though adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to a record $320.6 million. US attendance rose 12% to 52.2 million patrons, while international attendance grew 18% to 18.7 million. CEO Adam Aron pointed to the domestic industry-wide box office reaching around $2.99 billion, up 10.7% year-on-year and the biggest quarterly figure in seven years, with premium formats like Imax and Dolby driving higher ticket revenues, particularly for The Odyssey's record-breaking opening weekend.