AMC is tightening its belt, and San Diego moviegoers could end up paying with longer drives and thinner choices. The country’s largest theater chain told investors this week it plans to keep shutting more locations than it opens, at a time when neighborhood screens around the county are already fading to black.
What AMC Just Told Wall Street
In a preliminary filing, AMC reported that full year 2025 revenue was roughly $4.85 billion, while its net loss widened to about $632.4 million, a hit the company largely tied to non cash charges from refinancing, according to AMC Entertainment. The company said it finished the year with about $428.5 million in cash on hand.
A National Cutback Strategy
On its earnings call, executives said AMC has closed 213 theaters since 2020 and opened roughly 65, a net reduction of about 15 percent, and that it expects to keep closing more theaters than we open while it reviews roughly 85 leases set to expire this year, according to The Fly. The company framed the strategy as a shift toward shedding underperforming leases instead of pouring money into brand new complexes.
What That Means in San Diego
AMC still operates nine theaters in San Diego County, so any further pruning could change where locals go for IMAX, Dolby and those late night showings that keep blockbuster weekends humming. Listings show AMC locations stretching from Mission Valley and La Jolla to Poway and Plaza Bonita, a fairly tight cluster that leaves fewer convenient alternatives if even one or two sites go dark, according to Patch.
Neighborhood Screens Already Losing the Plot
San Diego’s movie map has been shrinking for a while. Yahoo News reported that Landmark Hillcrest, long regarded as the city’s arthouse anchor, closed in early January 2025. A few months later, Yahoo News also reported that Reading Cinemas in Clairemont shut down after losing its lease in April 2025. Those closures have pushed more discerning audiences toward a smaller set of multiplexes and specialty venues, narrowing where indie, foreign and niche titles can play.
AMC’s Game Plan: Spruce Up, Not Spread Out
Company leaders say they plan to channel capital into upgrades that deliver higher returns, such as laser projection, premium seating and premium branded auditoriums, instead of building many new sites from scratch. They also say they favor capital light acquisitions over costly new construction, backed by a mid to high hundreds capital expenditure plan aimed at boosting revenue per patron, according to CoStar. In other words, fewer locations overall, but the remaining ones are expected to be fancier and more profitable.
How To Keep Tabs On Potential Closures
AMC has not released a list of specific theaters on the chopping block, so for now it is a waiting game. Movie fans who want an early heads up can keep an eye on local theater webpages, AMC Stubs alerts and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings, while Patch and other outlets note the company has not yet said which locations are at risk. When operators exit a site they often tip their hand in state employment records, as happened with the Clairemont Reading Cinemas earlier this year.
For San Diego, the bottom line is mixed. Remaining AMC locations could see upgrades that make the big screen feel a little more special, but neighborhood access, especially for indie and repertory titles, may keep slipping unless independent theaters or new operators move in to fill the gaps.
