Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com — The return of Tom Cruise to the big screen in one of his most famous roles helped move AMC Entertainment (NYSE:) to nearly double viewing figures at its theaters over the Memorial Day weekend, the company said Tuesday.

AMC, which operates the US’s largest chain of movie theaters, said in a statement that 4 million people visited its US cinemas over the long weekend, while another 1.1 million visited its international locations. That’s effectively double the figure of just under 2.6 million people who visited a year ago when the fear of COVID-19 transmission still ran high and many restrictions on guests were still in place.

Out of the 5.1 million people who saw, nearly two-thirds were from seeing. Maverick: Top GunCruise is seen reprising his role as an Air Force Pilot in the film.

Over the weekend the movie earned $156 millions in box office receipts, surpassing a record of 15 years. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

The success repays the faith of its producers, Shari Redstone’s Paramount, in holding the movie back for the big screen until the fear of the coronavirus had eased. The contrast is also with the negative news about streaming in the recent months that led to steep falls in stock prices such as Netflix.

AMC stock rose 13% premarket trading after it was battered by rising interest rates and the slow progress towards generating the turnaround its investors wanted, As the film’s release was announced, AMC stock gained 18% in premarket trading. It also benefited from the broad market relief rally.

The stock has still lost nearly half its value this year and is down some 80% from its peak during the height of the ‘meme stock’ frenzy a year ago.