Movie Theater Stocks on Watch Following Record 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Open (IMAX) (AMC)

Movie exhibitor stocks are on watch Monday following a record opening for Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film eclipsed the domestic box office record recently set by Jurassic Park by 14%, and beat the overseas record by 29% (ex-China).

Exhibitor Stocks:

• AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC)
• Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ: CKEC)
• Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK)
• IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX)
• Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS)
• Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC)
• RealD (NYSE: RLD)

B. Riley analyst, Eric Wold, said IMAX is the clear winner with global records shattered. "IMAX was generated an impressive $48.0MM in global box office, which was 47% greater than the $32.6MM in ex-China opening box office generated by Jurassic World," the analyst noted.

AMC is seen as a secondary beneficiary and share gainer. "... we believe AMC has been overlooked by investors as an over-indexing exhibitor heading into the release of Star Wars. Not only does AMC operate 10 of the top 15 grossing theaters in the country in the major DMAs, but the exhibitor also operates 45% of the domestic IMAX screens in the U.S. through its joint venture relationship."

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