Plenty of live theatrical venues welcomed the arrival of Taylor Swift, the Eras Tour, and the legions of Swifties that followed, leaving epic piles of cash behind. Now, movie theater stocks are getting a taste of that greatness themselves. The Eras Tour is coming to theaters, and theater stocks from AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) to Cinemark (NYSE:CNK) and Imax (NYSE:IMAX) to Cineplex (OTHEROTC:CPXGF) are all basking in a rise as a result.
Swift herself refers to the Eras Tour as “…the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far.” The effuse praise for her life and her fans was followed with a link to buy advance tickets to showings of the Eras Tour film from a range of theaters, including the ones mentioned previously. The tour will go live October 13.
Interestingly, the show will have some fairly stiff competition. Long-time movie buffs know that October is a peak release season for horror films leading into Halloween, and then Christmas movies and other family comedies will often follow. In fact, Swift’s release will emerge on the same day as the first title in the “The Exorcist” line since 2005 – “The Exorcist: Believer.” There will only be so much overlap between Swifties and horror buffs, however, and that may serve to help get willing older family members to drive the Swifties to the show. Nevertheless, Swift will also have to face down titles from at least two to three weeks prior still in theaters, including the latest in the “Saw” franchise, a “PAW Patrol” movie, and, quite possibly, the fourth “Expendables” release.
Right now, though, the theaters are laughing all the way to the bank and possibly bracing for another “Barbenheimer” to hit. AMC actually gained the most, and of the four stocks previously mentioned, it has the best upside potential, too. With an average price target of $21.13, AMC stock offers investors 62.41% upside potential despite a Moderate Sell analyst rating. Meanwhile, Moderate Buy Cinemark has the lowest upside of the four, with an average price target of $20.83 yielding an upside potential of 27.71%.
