AMC shares rose early Thursday after the movie theater chain projected that 98% of its locations in the US will be open starting Friday.
The company also said that 99% of its theaters should be open by March 26, with the moves taking place a year after AMC shut the doors to all US locations as the pace of the COVID-19 outbreak picked up.
Shares of AMC rose 4.9% to $14.22 during premarket trading. The shares, which have become popular among investors on Reddit's Wall Street Bets forum, have jumped in 2021 from around $2 each, and have surged by more than 300% over the past year.
AMC said this week's reopening will include all 25 of its Los Angeles County theaters and all eight of its San Diego County theaters in California. It foresees 52 of its 54 locations in the state to be open as of March 22 "once proper local approvals are in place."
Shares of AMC on Monday soared nearly 30% after it said it would open movie screens in Los Angeles as it began to restart California operations.
The company said safety and cleaning protocols developed in part with Clorox include mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing, automatic seat blocking and upgraded air filtration systems.
