It’s the movie release video game fans have been dying for, and it shows. For theaters, it was the start of another Barbenheimer-lite as theaters threw open the doors and allowed fans to check out the long-delayed but now available adaptation of “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” And for AMC (NYSE:AMC), it was another huge win, with shares up over 7% in Monday morning’s trading.
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“Five Nights at Freddy’s” did what only a handful of similar titles before it did: huge box office numbers. The movie brought in a fantastic opening weekend figure of $78 million as longtime fans of the game series rushed to theaters to see how this popular franchise would be treated. The results spoke for themselves, as “Five Nights at Freddy’s” brought in a nine-figure opening weekend once the international figures were factored in. Internationally, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” brought in an additional $52.6 million from the 64 markets it opened in throughout the world, which brought the opening weekend total to $130.6 million. That’s the biggest release for any horror movie released yet this year, reports note.
Several factors gave “Five Nights at Freddy’s” a boost, according to industry analysts. First, the movie released within days of Halloween, which made it prime territory for spooky season viewing. Second, it went for a “PG-13” rating, which gave it access to the youth market, many of whom were already playing the games at one point or another. Third, the movie had plenty of advance marketing; the first word about a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie came out back in 2015. Finally, the movie benefited from its hugely-popular video game tie-in. That was more than sufficient to prove a recipe for a big win, not just for the movie, but for the theaters that showed it.
Is AMC a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on AMC stock based on four Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AMC price target of $9.25 per share implies 5.42% downside risk.
