Movie stocks take off as 'Top Gun' sequel hits screens
Reuters
Published May 27, 2022 12:42PM ET
Updated May 27, 2022 01:11PM ET
By Noel Randewich
(Reuters) - U.S. cinema stocks took off on Friday amid soaring expectations for the Memorial Day weekend debut of the sequel to the Tom Cruise blockbuster, "Top Gun".
Cinemark Holdings (NYSE:CNK), AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) Holdings and Imax Corp each rallied more than 6% as "Top Gun: Maverick" debuted in cinemas, with box office analysts projecting the Paramount film will be one of the biggest box office hits of the summer.
The movie had been scheduled for release in 2020, but was delayed multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shares of Paramount Global, formerly ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:PARA), rallied 3.5%.
The Rotten Tomatoes movie review website showed the sequel to the 1986 blockbuster with a 97% rating from established film critics and a 99% rating from audience reviewers.
In the movie, 59-year-old Cruise reprises his role as a cocky Navy pilot, whose call sign is Maverick, with a penchant for bucking authority.
Users on Stocktwits, popular with retail investors, posted memes about the movie, as well as links to reviews and other messages speculating that it would lift related cinema stocks.
Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Pro, recently estimated that ticket sales would hit $100 million over the Memorial Day weekend in the United States and Canada. That would make it the highest-grossing debut of Cruise's career.
Shares of AMC soared in 2021 as part of a trading frenzy around several so-called meme stocks. So far in 2022, AMC's stock has tumbled 51%, while Cinemark has gained 6%.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.