Give us and i eat crayons every day with my friends, i think, about kenny in his ivory tower, shaking in his lilly bones. As the eggs overpowered stop breaking the law. Asshole we hungry, give us the fucking money, a quarterback. If you need to mean a thing, water up, a duck's black aids not leave or not until we get the money stacks monkey monkey two monkey holdings blue monkey magic coming through us monkeys on the moon, double digit, iq, loving, bamboo right here we got more smoothies Than a jumbo juice probably thought you could have made us sell all the buddha in hell, we maybe wouldn't, but we must handle the food of the floor.

Six figures: ain't selling for less. You took on the ape nation and you're fucking with the best we hope for each other, my sister's here, my brothers, the fathers and the lovers. We don't need another fan because we huddled through hard times give us the fucking money wow moon gang. It is time for amc's, q3 earnings and the results are out.

The announcement hasn't happened, yet we have about 10 minutes until that, but they beat they beat. They beat, they beat that's what you need to know. The headlines is amc, q3, fiscal quarter. They beat here's.

What you need to know the revenue expectations, depending on what source you wanted to check, was either 708 or 717 million dollars. You know what amc came in at 763., so even if we take that top estimate, we're looking at a 45 mil beat and if we take the bottom estimate, obviously we're looking at like a 50 plus male beat in terms of earnings per share. They were expecting a loss of 53 cents per share, but in reality they had a loss of 44 cents. So that's good.

They had a narrow, the narrower than expected loss. So those are the major two numbers now, of course, there's going to be other things. We have to discuss and things we will be listening to, but in terms of did they beat in performance just like the pure fundamental numbers based on what wall street expected. Yes, siree, bob.

Oh, that is awesome. So just so you know i have it ready. I'm already listening as soon as they get on the line i'm gon na unpause it just so we can all hear it, but i do want to go over a couple of things just to get our our minds in the right state right here. Just so we're all a little bit better prepared for what's going on so amc today, as we're heading into earnings, had an 8 game closed out the day right above 45, more important than that is a nice technical breakout.

This trend line from june 18th to mid-september. We finally got above that and we closed above it on nice volume. Today's volume was 68 mil. The average trading volume for the past 10 days has been 40 million, so we beat that by 75.

That's pretty darn good, so nice technical breakout, enthusiasm going into this fundamental driver and now the cat's out of the bag. We beat on earnings a couple other things that you need to know. So today there was a net return of 1.47 million shares and a bar of 1.84 putting the estimated short interest at 16.5 percent to start today off the utilization was 86.5 shares on loan or 103 million. So taking this into account, we're probably down around 102 million right now.

I just want to get those numbers out there, so you have a better mindset of really what happened today, as people were prepping for this particular situation in terms of the options market. Today, people were betting bullish going into it. The bullish premium was 56 bearish premium 44. The call premium 160 3.5 mil versus the put premium around 38.25 mil so impressive.

The options market was obviously bullish. Clearly the technicals, the price action, obviously bullish and or text. That's not really bullish or bearish. That's just straight info that we could use so for a little bit more detail.

This is i tweeted this out. If you want this resource later, when this stream is over, i will link this in the description below if anyone wants to read what aims he just put out about this earnings, but here's the the takeaway their summary. As of september 30th, 2021 amc operated 596 domestic theaters, representing essentially 100 of its domestic theaters and 351 international theaters, representing about 99 of its international presence substantially. All the company series were open for the entirety of the third quarter boom.

That's nice fully open rock and 199 big big fan for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2019, substantially all of our worldwide theaters were open for the entirety of the calendar quarter. That's awesome great great great. So admission tickets sold consolidated revenues and net income in the third quarter of 2021. All show marked improvement over q2 of 2021, so we're trending up and up and up and the last quarter was actually pretty solid in our net loss and adjusted ebitda.

For the most recent quarter saw a 34.8 and 96.4 percent improvement over the second quarter of 2021 respectively and a 75.2 and 98.4 improvement over the comparable third quarter of 2020 a year ago. So, for a lot of you, i'm sure you're, probably like just already glazed over. What you need to know is improvement. Not only are we trending in the right direction, but we are taking sizable steps in the right direction.

The other thing i wanted to point out to you right here, um, so in terms of liquidity, our quarter, ending liquidity, as of the 30th of september, was more than 1.8 billion. This is what we knew last quarter. It sounds like they didn't really increase much, including our cash and our undrawn revolving credit line, so they didn't use it at all. They didn't have to dip into.

It remains at near record levels and also gives us comfort. Incidentally, we do not anticipate having to borrow under those lines of credit in the next 12 months, so the takeaway there is, they have quite a runway. They have a very nice runway, all that stuff solid, solid, solid, so the numbers that you need to know right here, revenue. This is the 763 mill um.

So if we're looking at right here three months ago, 2020 compared to the same quarter, talk about an increase. That's a 7x increase 120 in 2020, now we're up to 763, which beat this quarter's expectations and then finally, the loss last year was 570. uh. This year was 0.44 a loss.

That's what these the parentheses means. It means a loss, but the 0.44 uh expectations were a 53, so we beat on that as well. You can run through these other things if you want to see attendance and the growth from one quarter to the next quarter, but looking into this - and i don't want to get like put the card in front of the horse because they're going to be talking about - Probably all this on the call great growth, great great growth, i mean some of these numbers are just like they are destroying it. It's just it's it's a nice trajectory now is it where we want it to be, for all the analysts to stay out there.

I'm like, oh, it's fundamentally valued. Well, not really, but what this does do is it weakens the short thesis. Many people have been shorting it mainly because they're like no movie theaters are going out. We don't think that the movie theater experience is desirable anymore.

We think the pandemic has ruined it, yada yada yada. They have every excuse in the book, but all i'm seeing in this and once again please do your own dd. You can find this. I tweeted it out.

I will link it below. You can check out the numbers - it's impressive, um they're, clearly, obviously trending in the right direction. Now, of course, these are all just the hardcore fundamental numbers. What's going to be interesting about, it is to get the leadership team, specifically adam aaron's commentary on what's coming next, so right here what i'm seeing it puts a big smile on my face, but what i want to know is what's going on like do they have Any aces up their sleeve do they have big plans.

Are they going to talk to us about their guidance? So those are the types of things that you're going to get from the call? That's not necessarily in this breakdown, just so everyone knows, but it's worthwhile to dive into, but for the people who maybe don't have that time. The headline of this amc beats q3 earnings. That's the headline right there and then, hopefully, things get even more exciting, as amc gets going. It sounds like we have about eight minutes until that.

Let me bring up this chart for all of you, oh actually, before we do that. Let's take the let's hope. Fingers crossed that things are exceedingly good just you know this resistance that we broke out of today november 8th uh, this high of about what is this 44 44 looking for that to be resistance and also now kind of adding up with this trend line. So hopefully, you kind of know: the markets of important price levels tend to remain important if you're on the south side and access resistance, if you're on the north side to access support.

So now that we've broken out about that, hoping that this is our closest support and the next thing i'm particularly watching will be right here - around 48, 70, 48 40, just roughly this region - i i mean we'll give it. I don't know what about a 40 cent region. This is my next target right here and then, after that, 50 is a key psychological level and whenever it comes to nice round levels like that, you know day traders swing, traders are going to get excited there. So pay attention to 50 but from a technical perspective, very interested in just under 53., so target 1.

I guess target 250 and then target 3 52 79 from there. We're honestly talking, probably the mid 60s like this junk from june. But i just want to do a quick technical breakdown of the levels i'll particularly be watching, hopefully, as soon as tomorrow. I'm really hoping that some exciting things are said: increased guidance just overall enthusiasm, i'm very excited for this call, and hopefully it breaks in that manner and then from there.

These are definitely going to be the targets that i'll personally be watching in terms of vortex. The numbers are still there, they haven't changed that much just so. You know the average age of these shares on loan. Remember to go short, you have to loan them from an original owner.

They've been in that for 77 days and remember they're, paying a hefty cost. To borrow these costs, to borrow fees are on an annual basis, but with that being said, it still adds up like when you're talking about like a multi-million dollar position. Multi-Billion dollar, like short position, one percent of that over a year when you divvy that up like you're, still paying quite a bit like that slowly but surely adds up so it's time to see it's time to see what they're about to get going. And let's see if this breakout holds previously, there was a fake out breakdown.

So, of course a fake out breakout is possible, but i'm hoping with this fundamental driver of an event, i'm hoping that we get this follow through and that it just puts like i. I just hope it scares all the shorts. I hope they are all listening to this right now and are about to go uh. Oh, what did we possibly do? We got this one, so obviously wrong, but time will tell time will obviously tell, and what do we have about five minutes right now.

I just wanted to point out macd moving average convergence divergence a couple days ago november, second to the third it finally switched over to the bullish momentum. So not recently, this was kind of a quick switch, but before that it would trend for quite a while, like a lot of green, a lot of red, a lot of green, a lot of red. And now it's been a little bit more whippy. But if we get a nice trend, i mean this can go for multiple weeks like it has in the past.

So i'm hoping, if we can the name of the game now is some excitement in this call that you're about to listen to and then beyond that. What we're really going for is how the name of the game is just momentum. How long can this bullish, apish momentum be sustained for and right here? Did they already update this? They did. They already beat by 17.55 percent.

The estimate was 708 million km, 763 million beautiful b e, a beautiful. So that's the chart for you. If you want to see this, like, i said it's out there, uh was there anything else, we're listening to the webcast. Now cash.

There was one thing uh aaron concluded: our financial results continue to improve. More and more major films are on the docket for release in the remainder of 2021 and throughout 2022. One can see and feel that our industry and company are on a path of recovery and improvement. Therefore, our spirits are upbeat.

However, even amidst such good news, we are not yet where we want to and need to be we just to emphasize that no one should have any illusions that there is not more challenge ahead of us still to be mem. Well, of course, there is. The virus continues to be with us and we need to sell more tickets in future quarters than we did in the most recent quarter. An adjusted ebitda is still well below pre-pandemic levels.

So right here, is it perfect? No, like things, obviously it like that's what i wanted that's my main takeaway of this things are in the right direction. We're taking nice steps like sizeable steps, it's not just baby steps, but there's still improvement and right now with what's going on the enthusiasm behind amc, the leadership team uh smart pivots in the world of crypto. That just shows that they're listening to us, showing concerts showing ufc, showing boxing um they're, just they're, being very agile, they're being very creative and with a lot of this happening over the last two quarters over the last six months. I i don't see why that's going to change now.

I think they're going to continue to be creative and think outside of the box of like okay. What can we do? For example, just recently they talked about popcorn uh. They said on a busy day. They can sell 50 tons of popcorn, and i guess with that, like they're, now just gon na try to sell it all the time not just at theaters.

So to me, they're just they're. Oh, i feel like they just sit there and they think about what can we do with this crazy situation that was gifted to us by this, like very ravenous social media group? What could we possibly do to take the next step in a positive? Clearly, just i guess beneficial to all investors direction and i don't know i think they're going to have something for us. Obviously i don't know anything special. I don't talk to any of the leadership team, but just reading the writing on the wall, seeing some crazy action in the options market today i know i gave you the bullish premium, but big bets.

I mean we saw about 400 500 k early this morning before the stock got moving on calls that expire like this friday, the 12th, so people are making notable sizable and very short-term bets um. I don't know if they're just absurdly apish, maybe they know something. We don't know time will tell and with that all being said, let me drop this. Here's the chart.

Let me get over to the one minute just so we can see the action. I will leave this up throughout just so. You can see how, like all the words are impacting so you could see right when the report got released, went up, came down kind of flat right now, currently training at 44 30. over here you see the level two over here you see the time and sales.

Let's get going folks, let's get going thanks for working overtime with us happy to be here. We have a less than a minute less than uno momento, let's get rocking. Let's get rocking, let's get rockin amc all right, where's our time at should be moment. I'm just waiting for them to come online.

They have the background music right now, which will take the stream now and if i accidentally play it and it switches over to the darth vader breathing interesting, interesting, very, very interesting, all right seconds away. Let's get rocking with this, what are the comments? Do we have well calls remain missed that what calls were made uh? They seemed to load up early this morning on the 42s and the 43s, and i think one of them was also the 38s imagine still being bearish on amc going into the quarter with new spidey man released. Hedgie would be stupid to think it can't go up from here hey to each throne. If that's the bet they want to take have at it.

But it's not the bet i'm gon na take all right. It is 5 p.m. The show is supposed to get rolling. I maybe they're just the amc, entertainment third quarter webcast at this time.

All participants are in a listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star 0 on your telephone keypad and please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host john merriweather.

Vice president of investor relations, you may begin. Thank you john good afternoon. Everyone i'd like to welcome you to amc's third quarter 2021 earnings webcast with me this afternoon is adam aaron, our ceo and chairman, and sean goodman, our chief financial officer. Before i turn the webcast over to adam, let me remind everyone that some of the comments made by management today during this webcast may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's, current expectations, numerous risks and uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ.

Materially from those that might be expressed today, many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in our most recent public filings, including our most recently filed 10q. Several of the factors that will determine the company's future results are beyond the ability of the company to control or predict in light of the uncertainties inherent in any forward-looking statements. Listeners are cautioned to not place undue reliance on those statements. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events on this webcast, we may reference measures such as adjusted ebitda, free cash flow, operating cash burn and constant currency, among others, which are non-gaap financial measures.

For a full reconciliation of our non-gaap measures to gaap results, please see our earnings release posted in the investor relations section of our website. Earlier today, after our prepared remarks, there will be a q a session. This afternoon's webcast is being recorded and a replay will be available in the investor relations section of our website at amctheaters.com later today. With that i'll turn the call over to adam.

Thank you john good afternoon. Everyone and thank you for joining us today and a very special welcome to thousands of our individual shareholders, who we expect will be joining us on this webcast as well. At the beginning of 2021, we shared with you our view that both the film exhibition industry and amc would see sequential improvements in the industry-wide box office during the course of 2021, and indeed we are seeing exactly that. The industry's box office has been meaningfully increasing each and every quarter, thanks to improved vaccination levels and an increasingly appealing film slate.

Add to that amc's commitment to robust health and safety protocols through amc, safe and clean and our stepped-up marketing activity and our numbers for attendance and admission ticket revenues at amc also continue to rise when we reported second quarter 2021 numbers, i said on that quarterly earnings Call in august that quote: amc crusted unquote! I didn't say that because we were yet profitable or because we were out of the pandemic woods at that point, but rather because our results were so much better than market expectations and also because q2 results were so much stronger than q1 results. In that spirit, the just announced q3 results for amc once again are encouraging our numbers for attendance revenues, adjusted ebitda and net loss continue to markedly improve and continue to be well ahead of consensus market expectations. Looking at our industry, the third quarter of 2021 hosted the largest domestic industry box office of the year at nearly 1.4 billion dollars, 66 percent higher than that of q2 2021 and 486 percent higher than that of q1 2021, and as for amc, more specifically, here are Just a few snippets of the improving performance that we reported today, the global attendance count for amc in q3, 2021 was 40 million people now we'd not normally be smiling at an attendance level. That was not even half of what it was two years ago.

But again, this attendance count of 40 million dollars in q3 of this year is so very much larger than the 22 million guests we had with us in q2 of this year or the 7 million guests we had in q1 of this year and for that matter The 40 million guests in q3 are so much higher than the 8 million guests we had in q4 of 2020, the six and a half million guests we had in q3 of 2020 and the mere 100 000 guests we had in q2 of 2020., 40 million amc Gas in q3 2021 was up 81 from our q2 2021 attendance and up 488 percent from our q1 2021 attendance and look at this positive trend. Another way, q1 2021 attendance at amc was only nine percent of that from the comparable pre-pandemic first quarter of 2019. However, q2 2021 amc attendance was 23 of the comparable, q2 2019 and q3 at amc. Just completed was 46 of the comparable q3 of 2019..

Importantly, these positive trends continue as the fourth quarter of 2021 begins. Thanks to venom, bond halloween kills and dune four different film titles that each won the first four weeks of october respectively. Last week we announced that october 2021 was amc's biggest month for attendance and admission revenues since february of 2020, and we can tell you now that our attendance in october 2021 was 72 of that of october 2019, and admissions revenue is even stronger. Almost 90 of that of october 2019., the upward trend is clear and unmistakable.

The story is similarly compelling for amc's total consolidated revenues: 763 million dollars in q3 2021 was up 72 over 2021 q2's 445 million. It was up 414 from 2021 q1's, 148 million dollars, and if you want a year-over-year comparison, 763 million dollars of consolidated revenues in q3 of 2021 was up 539 percent over the 120 million dollars of revenue. Amc had in q3 of 2020 a year ago. How about we looked at adjusted ebitda? We essentially broke even on the ebitda in on the ebitda line in q3 2021, with an adjusted even loss for the combined three-month period of only five million dollars.

That number is much better than consensus market expectations and it is 145 million dollars or 96 better than the q2 2021 adjusted without loss, it's 329 million dollars better or ninety-eight percent better than the q3 2020 adjustment events. I lost for the same quarter a year ago, but let's also look beyond the numbers. There were many bright spots for amc during the third quarter of 2021 and the first five weeks of the current q4 high notes that are of interest to consumers generally and what our shareholders tell us make them proud to be. The owners of amc here are nine examples of a variety of positive developments going on inside amc right now, one we upped our game on alternative content, showing concert movies and live sports sporting events, including ufc wwe, heavyweight boxing championship fights and professional football games on sunday Afternoons in q3, two we introduced open caption, show times each week in hundreds of our us theaters, specifically for the benefit of the hearing impaired and for those where english is a second language.

Three recognizing the success of our promoting artist-driven curated movie releases through our artisan films effort that was launched in the summer of 2019. We just now launched amc, thrills and chills are unique, promotional spotlighting of horror movies that are showing at amc. Four. We similarly launched five dollar fan faves, so we can bring back popular movies that were released in prior years.

Five, having a charitable bent around the 20th anniversary of 9 11 in september, amc again screened the paul greengrass movie united 93 and donated the ticket proceeds to the flight 93 national memorial on veterans day a thursday of this week. We will show clint eastwood's film american sniper and will donate our ticket proceeds to the wounded warrior project. And we could never forget september 24, which is world gorilla day, where the ticket proceeds of gorillas in the mist showing in our theaters and the nine planet. Of the apes movies showing on amc theaters on demand were donated both to the diane fawcett gorilla fund and to the wildlife conservation society.

Six. We started accepting cryptocurrency for amc gift cards and are encoding right now to accept cryptocurrency for online payments on our website and mobile app bitcoin ethereum, like kind litecoin dogecoin among other cryptocurrencies, are all in the works and we are exploring now how we can take sheila Inu as well, while we will accept cryptocurrency, we will not hold it on our balance sheet and therefore will not face increased balance sheet risks. Seven, we introduced a new program, called amc investor, connect a communication and rewards program for our shareholders. Already, with more than 385 000 people enrolled in amc investor connect since its inception in late june of 2021..

Next, we open the grove and americana theaters in los angeles, to great success under amc's management and benefiting from the power of amc's marketing programs. A few weeks ago, these two theaters had already climbed to become the 8th and 34th highest grossing movie theaters in the entire united states, and we're not done as we sit here today. We have signed three signed leases and five signed letters of intent on particularly appealing potentially successful movie theater pickups around the us. Seven of the eight are coming to us from arclight pacific theaters, which has ceased operations.

As you know, beyond these eight new theaters, we are continuing to review additional new theater opportunities that are coming our way and finally, there are seven new, in our opinion, simply stunning, nicole kidman television commercials for amc theaters in the united states also being used for all Our theaters across europe, which debuted in september of 2021 in q3 and in which nicole kidman, reminds us all how wonderful it is to see, in her words, dazzling images on a huge silver screen and that at amc, theaters we make movies better. Our financial results have gotten stronger and stronger, and our company is doing good things, innovative things in area after area after area one can see, and one can feel that our industry and our company amc entertainment are on a path of recovery and improvement. From this hard global pandemic that has occupied us all since early in 2020., therefore no surprise our spirits are upbeat. However, however, even amidst such good news we're not yet where we want and where we need to be, we wish to emphasize that no one should have any illusions.

There is more challenge ahead of us still to be met. The virus continues to be with us. We need to sell more tickets in future quarters than we did in the most recent quarter. An adjusted ebitda is still well below pre-pandemic levels, also clear.

We are making progress, considerable progress sean over to you. Thank you adam and thank you. Everyone for joining us this afternoon for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2019. Essentially all of our theaters around the world were open for the entire quarter.

Much has been written about the impact of the covert pandemic on the theatrical exhibition industry and amc in particular. Recovery takes time, but with all of our theaters now open and looking at how our financial results have progressed over the last nine months and considering the strength of the upcoming film slate, it really feels like we are moving towards a more normal, theatrical exhibition environment. The numbers clearly show our recovery trajectory adam has already highlighted some of this information. In q3, we achieved 140 million global attendees, representing an 81 increase over q2 and a nearly five-fold increase over q1, two consolidated, adjusted ebitda of negative five million dollars very close to break even a 145 million dollar improvement over q2's ebitda loss of 151 million dollars and A 289 million dollar improvement over q1's inhibitor loss of 295 million dollars and finally operating cash burn representing operating cash flow before interest payments, payback of deferred, rent and non-recurring, rent prepayments and after capital.

Expenditure was approximately 10 million dollars per month, and this compares to approximately 42 million dollars per month in q2 and 107 million dollars per month in q1, and we continue to expect sequential improvements as we go into the fourth quarter. Indeed, as adam noted, the fourth quarter got off to a very strong start: october 2021 admissions revenue was almost 90 of october 2019's, admission revenue levels, and this just in this last weekend's total amc revenue exceeded the 2019 comparative period. So while we have more room for improvement ahead, the comparisons of our performance now to that of the of two years ago, pre-pandemic are much improved over where they were during the past five quarters, as you just heard, the 40 million guests that we welcomed at our Theaters during the third quarter represented 46 of attendance in q3 of 2019, but that was also 67 of attendance per show time during q3 of 2019. This difference between having 46 of q3 2019 attendance versus having 67 percent of q3 attendance per show time illustrates our continued ability to flex capacity and therefore flex operating costs to efficiently meet the level of demand.

This effective management of our cost structure is one of the key reasons we were able to achieve the sort of strong results that we saw. This quarter results that were considerably better than many expected from amc, as we are still in a ramp-up phase. Comparison of our results to prior periods in 2020 and 2019 is often not particularly meaningful. However, there are some important performance indicators that are worth discussing.

Our consolidated revenue per patron for q3 was a very strong nineteen dollars and eight cents. This compares to fifteen dollars and twelve cents in q3 of 2019, a 26 increase in the domestic market. Revenue per patron was twenty dollars and fifteen cents up four dollars and twenty eight cents or twenty seven percent from q3 of 2019. This was driven by a 39 increase in food and beverage spent per patron from 5.35 in 2019, up to 7.41 in 2021, coupled with a 16 increase in average ticket price from 9.45 in 2019, up to 10.98 in 2021 and a 64 increase in other revenue per Patron from one dollar and seven cents in 2019, up to 1.76 in 2021.

in our international markets, revenue per patron was 16.95 up, 3.60 or 27 from the third quarter of 2019.. This was driven by a 41 increase in food and beverage spend per patron from 3.59. In 2019, up to 5.07 in 2021, coupled with a 17 increase in average ticket price from 8.45 in 2019, up to 9.91 in 2021, and a 50 increase in other revenue per patron from 1.31 in 2019, up to 1.96 in 2021.. Clearly, across all of our markets, we continue to see significant strength.

In average, ticket prices, food and beverage spend and other revenue per patrons. The strength. In average, ticket price has been helped by pricing actions taken during during the third quarter, plus a high utilization of our premium large format offerings such as imax and derby cinema, our guests view going to the movies as a special occasion, and they increasingly choose to splurge On the best possible sight and sound experiences available through our premium offerings, likewise, the increase in our food and beverage revenue per patron is a reflection of guests enjoyment of the full theatrical experience at amc. The significant outperformance compared to 2019 is mainly driven by an increase in the proportion of guests choosing to are choosing to enjoy our industry-leading food and beverage offerings.

Moving over to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with 1 billion and 825 million of total liquidity. This is comprised of 1 billion and 613 million dollars of cash and cash equivalents and 212 million dollars undrawn under our revolving credit facilities regarding capital allocation. We continue to pursue a balanced and disciplined approach to capital allocation.

Our priorities remain one ensuring that we do have sufficient liquidity to strengthening our balance sheet by reducing our debt and associated interest costs. Three: investing in our business to enhance the guest experience and four opportunistically pursuing value of enhancing initiatives, including those that lead to diversification of our business. With respect to strengthening our balance sheet, as discussed during our last webcast, we continue to choose to pay cash interest rather than payment in kind or pick interest, thus avoiding any increases in our debt position. During the third quarter, we exercised an option to repurchase 35 million dollars of our highest cost debt that carried a 15 cash 17 payment in kind coupon.

While this may seem like a relatively small amount, it is yet another step that we are taking on the path to recovery and will result in a reduction in our annual interest cost by approximately five million dollars. Similarly, during the quarter, we repaid approximately 45 million dollars of deferred rent, taking our deferred rent balance down to 376 million dollars in total during q2 and q3 of 2021, we have reduced our deferred rent obligations by approximately 100 million dollars. For now we continue to focus the substantial majority of our capital. Expenditures on maintenance spends capex for the third quarter was 17.5 million dollars.

Net of landlord contributions and net capex for the whole of 2021 is now expected to be in the range of 80 to 100 million dollars. As part of our ongoing efforts to optimize our theatre portfolio during the quarter, we opened seven new theaters and closed four. This brings the total number of locations closed in 2021 to 17, and the total number of new locations opened to 18 for a net ad of one location, as we continue to effectively manage our portfolio by adding new high performing locations and eliminating lower performance. Looking towards the fourth quarter and 2022, as adam noted, we have reason to be optimistic, based on a q4 domestic box office forecast of approximately two billion dollars.

We currently believe that our adjusted ebitda and our operating cash burn is likely to turn positive in the fourth quarter. While we are buoyed by our q3 results and the momentum going into the fourth quarter, we do recognize that there is much work still to be done. We are very focused on the task at hand and we are confident that we are well positioned to capitalize on the improving and increasingly more attractive industry box office, as we close our 2021 and head into 2022, and with that i will pass the callback over that. Thanks sean before we open this up to your questions, i'd like to talk about our strategy going forward for a moment.

It goes without saying that we're going to do all in our power to bring back amc as you used to know it pre-pandemic the biggest and most successful movie theater company in the world and true to our company's heritage. We will strive to be as creative and innovative as we possibly can as we do so, but you don't drive a car by looking only in the small rear-view mirror and only ponder where you've been. Instead, you also look through the much larger front windshield. You look forward.

You gaze at where you're headed in addition to where you've been when some people have looked at amc. They've made the mistake of only looking back to the company that we once were pre-pandemic. They don't factor in that. Our enthusiastic new shareholders have armed us with a war chest currently of more than 1.8 billion dollars in liquidity.

Now we intend to be extremely careful with that liquidity using it first to get to the other side of this global pandemic. At the same time, however, these monies should allow us to think hard and boldly about how we might transform amc into a new and different company. That does a lot more than just show movies in cinemas. You've already seen, for example, our announcement of last week that at amc we will be entering the multi-billion dollar popcorn industry in 2022.

There are two significant advantages that amc enjoys in that regard. First, our brand amc, theaters perfectly popcorn - has credibility. After all, our company has been selling popcorn for 101 years and on a peak day we already sell some 50 tons of the stuff, and i ask you: is there anything that tastes better than real movie theater popcorn? Is there anything that tastes better than popcorn from amc? And second, we have terrific, long-standing business relationships with the biggest and best mall operators around so amc, starting in 22, will open kiosks, counters and stores in retail malls around the country. We also are in discussions with manufacturers and co-packers to introduce an amc, theater's line of ready to eat and microwavable popcorn to be sold in grocery stores and convenience stores under the amc, theaters brand again, hopefully commencing later in 2022, and given that we are now cooking Popcorn right now, this very minute at nearly a thousand theaters in a dozen countries.

We also intend in 2022 to introduce new to go packaging, so we can offer pick up and take out options and partnering with existing home delivery services to offer home delivery as well. On a completely separate idea, amc has also been speaking publicly in recent months about cryptocurrencies and nfps. I can confirm today that we have been exploring with third parties over the past few months, both how we can accept cryptocurrency and if it is feasible for amc to consider even launching our own cryptocurrency. Similarly, i can confirm to you today that we are now in conversation with multiple major hollywood studios about the concept of joint venturing commemorative eminent nfps related to major film titles that show in our theaters.

This is the 21st century after all, and it would seem that there may be real opportunity for amc in these areas, but so there's absolutely no confusion on the score. Some of these conversations are only preliminary in nature. The regulatory climate is fast moving and could affect our thinking and there can be no assurance how, when or if we will proceed still. The whole concept is quite intriguing to us, but popcorn, cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens are only three ideas of several.

We are actively thinking about within amc, we'll say more publicly about them when and if we know more. Our point, though, is that, when you think about amc's future, especially securities analysts for major firms who sometimes publish long treatises about various exhibitors, including amc, you should be thinking broadly about us, because at amc we are thinking broadly about our future. Before we head to your questions, i'd like to end our prepared remarks with the personal comment. If i can, i believe that chief executive officers of companies should own company stock and i believe in transparency.

So i want to repeat today comments that i made on our last earnings call three months ago, as one of my first acts this summer. As the new chairman of the board of amc, i announced my intention to recommend to our full board of directors a new executive stock ownership policy. The board approved that recommended recommendation of the new policy at its most recent meeting. It applies to 19 of our most senior executives without taking you through its many nuances and complexities.

The new stock ownership policy generally requires that i, as ceo, be required to carry eight years of my salary in fully owned or board granted amc stock. The goal is for our company ceo to think and act like a shareholder, because i am a shareholder. I want my interests to be aligned with yours separately. On the last call, i pointed out that much of my annual compensation is not in cash but is in amc stock.

Each year 62 and a half percent of my compensation is in amc stock, not cash to the exact in the almost six full years. I have led amc with a caveat that i did give some shares to my two adult children and i forfeited some granite shares in some years, but not in others to cover to cover federal and state income tax, withholding obligations. I have not sold a single amc share when amc stock was rising in value earlier this year. I did not sell even one amc share, not in march, not in june, not in september, when i could have done so, but on our last call.

I also pointed out to you that in september of 2021, i would turn 67 years of age, a youthful, vibrant, vigorous full of life 67. I might add, but 67 nonetheless prudent estate planning suggests i should diversify my assets a bit, especially with congress. Having been discussing imposing potentially soaring capital gains, tax rates and significant changes to what can be passed on to one's heirs, so even though i was not required to make the public disclosures that i made back in august nor to be transparent, i made those public announcements In public announcements anyway, nor am i required to make any public announcement today, although to be transparent on repeating those same public announcements today. I said, then, that i expected to sell some amc shares before year end and that i would do so under the auspices of a so-called 10b51 plan, where i give up stock trading control and turn it over to an independent bank.

In my case, jpmorgan chase - my plan, though, which i did put in place back in august, has several parameters, including that the plan be set up several months in advance and that any stock sale be spread over at least three different calendar months. So you should expect to see some stock transactions shortly. On my behalf, i can only imagine that naysayers and others who wish amc harm will try to spend, spread, fear, uncertainty and doubt in this regard, but here's what they probably won't tell you even after this brief wave of selling comes to an end. I adam aaron still will have well more than 2 million 2 million, fully owned or granted amc shares in my name, if you do the math, you will see that with this much current and future ownership of amc, i have an enormous personal stake in the future Of our company of your company of amc entertainment, i fervently believe in amc and my interests are very much aligned with our broad broad shareholder base, to care very much about the value of your own ongoing investment and my ongoing investment in amc, entertainment stock.

So that's our thoughts coming out of q3 sean, let's turn, first to questions that were submitted to us from our shareholders. What's the first question, thanks adam, so the first question is: will amc consider various promotions associated with the new popcorn sales, such as perhaps a golden ticket? So you know i have to admit i mean it's no surprise um. I think i'm following uh, almost 2500 of our shareholders on twitter and i receive hundreds, sometimes thousands, of inbound messages. Every day on my twitter feed, i tend to read as many of those as i possibly can every single day, because i learn so much from what our shareholders tell me and what they think and what's happened this year.

Is we've been deluged by suggestions from our shareholder base uh over and over again since the popcorn announcement, which was just last week, uh i've, seen suggestions that we include in the boxes of popcorn uh that we sell in supermarkets, for example, that we include an amc Discount certificate, or occasionally this is a random surprise - maybe a free ticket, even a free, private, theater rental at our theaters and i'm going to tell you. I have a great idea: uh if you look just turn on your television and look at other companies advertisements these days. Domino's has a major promotion right now of something called surprise freeze where they're giving out things along with uh the pizzas that you order from them. It's not exactly a new idea.

All my life cracker jack has put a surprise, not a very good one, but they put a little surprise in every package of cracker jack and i think we have a great opportunity to bring down the perceived cost of buying amc's orders. Pop theater popcorn perfectly popcorn by putting in either a discount certificate if you go to a theater or a freebie of some kind, and similarly, we have an enormous promotional opportunity to let people know that they should go and give them incentive that they should go see. A movie in some cases it may be a particular movie some case. It may be all movies at a nearby amc theater.

So i think it's a great idea and write it down. Folks we're going to do it thanks adam. So the next question is: will you accept shiba, unu um, so shiva inu, um, again sharehol uh suggestions from uh there's just been a tidal wave of inbound messaging to our company and to me personally uh that we ought to get much more active in the sphere Of cryptocurrency and that there was real opportunity for amc and in a groundbreaking announcement uh back in august or september, we announced with some bravado that we're gon na accept bitcoin uh by year end for online payments, either on our website or our mobile app. It was very well received, so we figured out a way to increase the currencies that we would take uh growing it to include ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash.

We then received so many messages uh about dogecoin. We took a quick look. I did a twitter poll uh a lot of you voted a lot of. You voted.

Yes, so we're in the process of figuring out how to take dogecoin more recently uh, once the dose credit announcement was out there. We announced that we already figured out a way to for people to buy amc gift cards right now using all these currencies that i mentioned here for, and we are on track right now to accept uh as we promised bitcoin ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash and others prior To year end uh next month, uh, we believe that we'll be in a position. That's for online payments, uh directly with us on our through our website, app uh. We think we'll be able to launch the acceptance of dogecoin in the first quarter of 22.

uh. Just a few months from now uh on again on our website and smartphone app uh, as we made those announcements which was making a lot of you happy uh, the flood of commentary came in about ximenu. So again i did a twitter poll and again a lot of you read the tweet. A lot of you voted and a lot of you noted yes, and we are now figuring out how we can take shiba inu as a currency.

Uh, that's the next one on our cryptocurrency hit parade. I might add that we believe we have figured out ways where we do not have to hold cryptocurrency on our balance sheet, so we're not taking increased uh balance sheet risk with all this potential acceptance of cryptocurrency and, as i said in earlier in the remarks as We learn more and more about the opportunities available to amc with cryptocurrency. It does really raise the question in a serious way and we are engaged in serious thought and discussions with third parties on this subject. Do we just accept cryptocurrency or do we issue an amc? Cryptocurrency of our own, by the way that one i might hold on the balance sheet, because we might own a lot of that and be interested to see what value creation could occur for the benefit of our shoulders.

If we do thanks adam and the next question is what are the opportunities for amc with respect to nfts? Here again, our inbox is filled with ideas from our shareholders about nfps. I remember. Reading the first tweet that came to me was either a tweet or an uh dm, a direct message. That said, you really ought to launch the com, the issuance of commemorative movie tickets in the format of an nft, and i instantly thought that's a really smart idea.

That's just a really smart idea and then i realized, as i kept reading, that wasn't the only inbound message i got about nfts or about commemorative tickets and the more i saw this um cavalcade of advice from our shareholder base that we should explore commemorative movie. Theater tickets, as nfts uh, the more they set us down this path. We have already commenced serious discussions with multiple hollywood studios, major studios about launching nfts, in conjunction with some of the major titles of movies that are playing in our theaters. As i said, the premier prepared remarks um there's nothing to report today, but stay tuned uh.

This space is very intriguing to us. Thanks adam. The next question is: will amc offer a method by which people can buy retail amc merchandise? Well, you seem to be on the hit parade of uh suggestions of large shareholders uh over and over and over and over and over again, people are telling me that we ought to launch various lines of amc, merchandise, uh, uh uh. You know it's a whole variety of things that would carry the amc logo, whether it's you know golf shirts or cubby, bugs or hats, or a lot of other things and again it seems like a good idea to us uh, especially if we can connect it to Major movie titles that are playing in our theaters uh and so we're going to be exploring this area very carefully.

As we enter the new year, 2022. will amc offer esports and gaming in the theaters esports and gaming uh. This is something we've looked at repeatedly over. The six years that i have run afc there are reasons to think it might be one of these many ideas where we could branch out our company and do something different going forward than we have done in the past uh, hopefully creating shorter value in the process Or living up to the shareholder value, that's already implied in our share price uh.

Interestingly, for us on, our board of directors is another adam, adam sussman who's. The president of epic games, uh and uh not a week, goes by that i don't receive suggestions in my inbound twitter feed that we formed some kind of partnership with a company called gamestop, which apparently many of you have heard of um. So we'll we're going to take a look at what opportunities available to amc through gaming and esports as the new year comes forward. Next question is: what theater locations are you looking to expand into uh? I'm really proud of the caliber of talent in our development organization.

Development is our name for our real estate group they're. They have ownership of the you know. Whatever is the leases on almost a thousand theaters that we have uh they're in active dialogue with with com proprietors in the commercial real estate industry, mall operators, other commercial space amc over the past several years has really become. What we think is the clear undisputed leader in our industry and what we're hearing from landlords uh across the united states uh as well as across europe, is um that we're a company of choice and gets first crack on a lot of superb movie theater locations.

That may come our way, so, in addition to the eight theaters that i mentioned are in the pipeline right now, either signed leases or signed llis to go to the next step with his leases uh, our development group uh is uh out there looking at and fielding Proposals like every week for a new theater here, a new theater there uh based on uh the the intriguing commercial real estate opportunity, that's in front of us uh. I think it was in your remarks on the call earlier sean. You talked about how we're adding high high performing theaters, like the grove and americana in los angeles, which, a month after we took them over, were the 8th and 34th highest grossing movie theaters in the united states. At the same time, we're pruning out of our network of almost a thousand theaters low, performing theaters that essentially make no money at all or even lose money uh.

We we'd love to be in a position where we can refine our fleet so that we can continue to add, high-performing, profitable, theaters and chase away leases that are far less attractive. Thank you and what about issuing amc branded credit cards? That's another great idea. Well, i would i don't remember seeing that from on twitter, i think that came from within our company um. I thought about doing that when i joined amc back in 2016, because earlier in my career, when i was the chief marketing officer of united airlines, united mileage plus reported to me and therefore uh, united's co-branded credit card reported to me and back in 1990, which i Hate to admit, 31 years ago, united was doing about 10 billion dollars of volume.

On that brand of credit card 10 billion dollars of volume or more um. I didn't launch a brand new credit card at amc, uh back in 2016, because at the time i thought it was a small idea for us and that we wouldn't place a lot of cards, but something very dramatic has changed at amc first in 2018 and now Again in 2021, um uh by two between 2016 to 2018, we started dramatically growing the amount of participation in our amc, stubs loyalty program, and we now have over 20 million households who are enrolled in amc stubs just in the united states. A lot of those people are very committed amc. Then.

In the summer of 2018, we launched a-list and added another, almost million people who were uh participating with our subscription program committed committing to you know: uh yeah, to have the op to pay us each and every month for the opportunity to see as many as three Movies a week for a fixed price uh, that's another group of people who are uniquely committed amc and then there's what happened this year. Uh. As you know, um uh, individual retail investors, descended upon amc, bought control of amc and the last time we announced it, we announced that we had some 4.1 million retail shareholders who were very much invested in our company, not just invested financially in our company, but invested Emotionally with our company and that's another group of people uh who are very interested in our company and very committed amc, so given these three populations now uh that are large in the millions that are committed, amc uh, i think an amc branded credit card might work Really well both for the holder of the card and for us as the company with the co-branding partnership with a major bank. We have already started discussions with several of the major credit card issuing banks to see if we can't do something here in 2022.

This is yet another one of these big ideas where amc going forward. Uh could be a company that is much more active and engaged in people's lives than just being the repository of where they go to watch movies at a movie theater when they want to go see a flick next question yet is: would you consider expanding further in Europe, well, we would consider expanding further in europe, but i do want to remind everybody that already today, amc entertainment is the largest movie theater exhibitor in europe uh. We are either number one or two in the uk and ireland in portugal and spain in italy. In sweden, in norway and finland and scandinavia and we're number four in germany today, so we have a significant position: uh in europe uh the brand names that we use uh are different in europe: um it's odin in the uk and and uh ireland.

It's an asa in uh in spain and it's uh uci in italy, uh, it's uh, finn, kino or sanskrit other names and local names in scandinavian languages up in the north uh, but we're a big player in europe and we're always looking to uh see if we Can come bigger and stronger still will amc, consider making its fun movies yet another interesting idea that has come into us of late, especially after we raised uh the bill: 1 billion 250 million dollars of equity capital in the month of may, when our shareholders facilitated our.