: Cinemark stock leaps toward 8-month high as it scored the highest 1-day attendance in 3 1/2 years over the weekend

Shares of Cinemark Holdings Inc. CNK jumped 4.5% toward an eight-month high in morning trading Monday, after the movie theater operator said that on April 8 it scored the highest single day of attendance since Christmas Day 2019. The company said “sensational” openings by Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and a “strong” opening by Amazon Studio’s “Air” helped drive attendance, as did “significant” carry over from movies such as “John Wick: Chapter 4”, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” and “Scream VI.” Cinemark’s announcement comes as Imax Corp. IMAX said earlier Monday that its box office take from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” of $21.6 million in the opening weekend was the highest ever for an animated film. Imax shares rallied 3.2% toward a 13-month high. “2023 moviegoing is off to an exceptional start, and we are thrilled for consumers to experience a growing volume of highly anticipated films over the coming months,” said Cinemark Chief Executive Sean Gamble. Among other movie theater operators, shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC rose 3.2% and Marcus Corp. MCS leapt 5.1% toward an eight-month high, while the S&P 500 SPX fell 0.7%.

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