AMC Burbank stands tall as the country’s most profitable theater

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Whether it’s the comfortable leather seats or the convenient free parking, AMC Burbank 30 was the highest-grossing movie theater in the U.S. and Canada in 2025.

According to Comscore, the three AMC theaters in Burbank, California – AMC Burbank 16, Town Center 6, and Town Center 8 – collectively earned the most money at the box office. The AMC Lincoln Square in New York City came in second. Across the U.S. and Canada, AMC owns seven of the top ten highest-grossing theaters, with four in Los Angeles, two in New York, and one in Florida.

AMC theaters in Los Angeles at The Grove, Century City, and CityWalk were ranked fifth, sixth, and eighth, respectively.

According to a statement to The Times, AMC has consistently thrived in Los Angeles due to the large local market, the strong support from the Hollywood community and moviegoers, and their commitment to providing a great cinema experience.

AMC theaters throughout the area consistently show a wide variety of movies, including big Hollywood releases, independent films, and special AMC Artisan Films.

AMC Theatres has been serving Southern California moviegoers since 1969, starting with its first West Coast cinema in La Habra. The company expanded rapidly through the 1980s, adding multi-screen theaters in Burbank and Century City. Today, AMC operates 36 locations throughout the Los Angeles area.

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People in the film industry, along with movie lovers and studio leaders, are talking about the increasing popularity of this film format, which is over 50 years old. They believe 2026 will be a record-breaking year for it.

According to Daniel Loria, a senior vice president at the Box Office Company, it’s not surprising that Los Angeles and New York are the most profitable cities for movies. Studios and theaters often use these two major cities to test how well a film will do and decide how long to keep it in cinemas.

Loria explained that the film industry depends heavily on Los Angeles and New York City to operate globally.

These cities are major centers for filmmaking. The top ten consistently rank highly because of how efficiently they support film production, both locally and internationally.

How many theaters are showing a movie, especially in larger cities, significantly impacts how much money it makes. According to Loria, some areas only have three or four movies playing at any given time. However, bigger cities offer a wider variety of films and more chances to see one, because their theaters are larger and have more screens. In addition to the number of screens, the format a movie is shown in – like standard or IMAX – also affects how much profit it makes and how much tickets cost.

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They flex it on dating apps and recite ‘the pledge’: Inside the Gen Z cult of AMC A-list

As a total movie buff, I’ve noticed something really interesting: AMC’s A-List program – where you can see up to four movies a week – has become hugely popular with Gen Z. It’s almost like they’ve built a dedicated following around it, and I totally get why! It’s a fantastic deal for anyone who loves going to the cinema as much as I do.

If you see a movie in a special format like IMAX or Dolby Cinema 3D at an AMC theater, tickets usually cost between $25 and $30 for adults on weekends. A regular movie ticket is around $18. Many theaters in Los Angeles offer these high-quality screens, and they tend to sell more tickets overall compared to theaters without them.

As a lifelong moviegoer, I’ve always noticed that the big theater chains really thrive when they offer a great viewing experience. Paul Dergarabedian, who tracks these things at Comscore, confirmed what I suspected – theaters with really good screens and sound systems tend to pull in bigger crowds.

According to Dergarabedian, high-quality movie formats are still performing very well at the box office, even though people are more careful about how much they spend on entertainment. Smart movie fans recognize that paying extra for these premium experiences is worthwhile, especially for large-scale films that truly shine on the biggest screens available at their local theaters.

Movie subscription services have become increasingly popular and are encouraging people to go to the movies more often. AMC’s A-List program, for example, lets members watch up to four movies each week for a monthly fee of $27.99, and currently has almost one million subscribers.

AMC says the Los Angeles area has a lot of dedicated movie fans who are members of their A-List program and frequently go to the cinema. This strong connection between AMC, Hollywood, and local moviegoers is good for both the studios making the films and the people watching them.

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2026-01-10 14:01