Her name is Wanda.
Specifically, the Dalian Wanda Group, which just bought out AMC Entertainment Holdings for $2.6b. I’m guessing the card that gets me free movies for a year just expired. Not only is this the biggest Chinese-led buyout of an American-owned company in history, the deal also makes Wanda the biggest movie theater chain on the planet. That also means there’s no way to hyperbolize this.
Wanda, which operates 730 screens (as well as corporate plazas, five-star hotels, department stores and karaoke centers) will take over AMC’s 346, officially making it the biggest. According to MSN Money, AMC was the #2 theater chain in the US behind Regal with $2.5b in sales, although the company has struggled to lose a large amount of debt it’s been carrying. Meanwhile, according to their website, Wanda has assets totaling $31b with an annual income of $17b.
As movie fans, none of the numbers matter. What matters is the future of the theater chain. As of now, Wanda hasn’t announced any structural changes, but it’ll be interesting to see if they eventually decide to alter the audience experience in any meaningful way. In the meantime, let’s all laugh at the hilarious xenophobia of the MSN comments section.