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Movie theater firm
AMC Entertainment
just reopened more than 100 U.S. locations. Its struggling shares ticked up a bit on Thursday.

The company said over 100 locations in more than 20 states planned to open on Thursday. To get folks in the seats and celebrate AMC’s history, the company offered tickets for 15 cents for the day. In coming weeks, its theaters will screen classic films like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Grease, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back for $5. AMC also lowered some prices on snacks through October.

AMC Entertainment stock closed up 5.6% to $5.69 on Thursday. With theaters shuttered due to Covid-19, shares of AMC (ticker: AMC) are down 21% year-to-date. The company reported a $561 million net loss for its second quarter.

Though some theaters outside the U.S. began to reopen, the pandemic killed this year’s summer blockbuster season. Direct-to-streaming announcements from
Comcast
and
Walt Disney
supported the argument that Covid-19 was accelerating an inevitable shift from the traditional movie theater release schedule.

Earlier this month, AMC touted a deal with Comcast’s Universal Studios that allows Universal to release films digitally after 17 days of exclusivity in theaters. The prior period was 90 days. AMC will get a share of revenue from such premium on-demand releases. CEO Adam Aron said the company was speaking with other studio partners about similar arrangements.

Whether or not Americans will re-embrace movie theaters is still up for debate. Wall Street is mostly neutral on the stock, though none of the 10 analysts listed by FactSets have a Buy rating. Of them, three say sell the stock, and the rest are neutral. The mean price target, though, is $3.50.

Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com