Martin Scorsese and Margot Robbie Watch as AMC’s Curtain Falls Again

Max Sterling, 11/16/2025AMC and InPlay Oil face uncertain futures—legacies challenged by shifting markets and modern disruptions.

Roth Capital’s recent update landed with a decided lack of optimism: the 2026 outlook, already bleak, dips even further. ($0.73) per share—down from a not-exactly-glamorous ($0.40). Not exactly the stuff of CEO pep talks. There’s a whiff of finality in the air. Wall Street Zen officially slapped a “strong sell” on the stock, as if AMC forgot its lines on opening night. Even Weiss Ratings, rarely theatrical, delivered a tidy “sell (e+),” inevitably conjuring up memories of sticky-floored cinemas and overpriced soda refills.

Glancing past the verdicts, the financials look unsparing. A 3.6% dip in quarterly revenue year-over-year, market cap floundering around $1.17 billion—a far cry from the meme-fueled surges of 2021. The price-to-earnings ratio? Better not to ask; even the abacus gets stage fright.

Numbers tumble further. Last quarter saw earnings per share at ($0.21), missing consensus estimates by a few pennies. Not massive in absolute terms, perhaps, but in the context of a struggling theater chain, it’s yet another popcorn kernel burnt at the bottom of the bag. Hedge funds nibble, buying up modest tranches, more out of speculative curiosity than conviction—a bit like tossing a half-dozen quarters into an arcade claw game and watching the machine miss, again and again.

Yet, the story’s hard to dismiss. AMC is nearly a hundred and five years old. What was once a shining cathedral of the shared film experience now scrambles to redefine relevance amidst an audience seduced by the couch and the algorithm. There’s a certain stage-managed tragedy here: brick-and-mortar exhibition dancing awkwardly to the streaming era’s relentless drumbeat.

On reflection, though, theater closures and slumping sales aren’t the full picture. Try to recall the feeling of a late Friday screening, the hush just before the feature, that odd sense of being alone together. AMC’s existential crisis isn’t just financial—it resonates as the latest act in America’s curious habit of both preserving and discarding its favorite institutions. Maybe next year a superhero franchise (or, more likely, a nostalgia-laden reboot) will buy AMC a bit more time. Or perhaps 2025 brings another turn, new partnerships, or an innovative twist nobody’s predicting.

Meanwhile, a continent away in the Canadian oil patch, InPlay Oil Corp is riding its own roller coaster. Not quite the disaster unfolding at AMC, but the numbers shift all the same. Roth Capital dials back its quarterly expectations: $0.23 per share, edged down from $0.25. Will anyone outside the patch notice? Possibly not, though watchers of the energy sector aren’t exactly skittish; this is an industry that thrives on boom-and-bust cycles, after all.

Let’s talk dividends: a payout ratio of -1,900%—not a typo, just one of those surreal figures that crop up in commodities like a plot twist in an old Western. Yielding 868% at one point, which sounds more like a fever dream from an ambitious day trader than a steady, mature oil company. Analysts stay divided—the “strong buy” from National Bank Financial lined up beside “outperform” from National Bankshares, while the rating pendulum continues its predictable arc.

Company insiders are active, too. Director Douglas Bartole sells a small stack of shares, as does Darren W. Dittmer. No one’s panicking publicly; it’s more a matter of capturing gains while the sun’s still shining, or perhaps just hedging for whatever 2025’s market is about to serve. InPlay, for all its rugged image, is at the mercy of investor confidence, commodity shock, and, let’s face it, global attitudes that sometimes shift faster than the price of a barrel.

If there’s a common thread running through these stories—AMC’s flickering projectors and InPlay’s Calgary bravado—it’s the struggle of legacy models against currents they can’t really control. Both companies perform under modernity’s harsh house lights, caught somewhere between yesterday’s sure things and tomorrow’s uncertainties. One chases moviegoers who have more options than ever; the other courts investors who learned in the last decade that oil may not be the permanent safe haven it once was.

So, what’s the wise move, as 2025 looms? There’s no red-carpet advice to be found in analyst consensus: “probably not,” is about as enthusiastic as it gets from MarketBeat—a muted shrug in a business that prefers a standing ovation. The really hot “must-buys” are whispered behind closed doors, and neither AMC nor InPlay is on that short list.

Sometimes, the end of an era comes quietly, long before the house lights go up. AMC’s name might endure, possibly as a streamer’s subsidiary, or as a footnote in entertainment textbooks. InPlay Oil could spin up a new field or just as easily drift out of the spotlight if commodity prices tumble. What’s clear, at least for now, is that both stories are worth watching—not because a big comeback is likely, but because these dramas reveal so much about the way legacy industries try, fail, and sometimes surprise us at the last minute.

Who knows? Maybe 2025 will bring a revival nobody expects. Until then, it’s just another round of waiting in the dark, popcorn ready, hoping the final act still has some magic left.

It’s a strange moment when the high-rise calculators turn off the spotlights on a cultural institution. AMC Entertainment—remember that name buzzing through headlines in those wild pandemic years?—now finds itself in the center of an analyst windstorm, the numbers less a forecast, more a chilly autumn breeze.Roth Capital’s recent update landed with a decided lack of optimism: the 2026 outlook, already bleak, dips even further. ($0.73) per share—down from a not-exactly-glamorous ($0.40). Not exactly the stuff of CEO pep talks. There’s a whiff of finality in the air. Wall Street Zen officially slapped a “strong sell” on the stock, as if AMC forgot its lines on opening night. Even Weiss Ratings, rarely theatrical, delivered a tidy “sell (e+),” inevitably conjuring up memories of sticky-floored cinemas and overpriced soda refills.Glancing past the verdicts, the financials look unsparing. A 3.6% dip in quarterly revenue year-over-year, market cap floundering around $1.17 billion—a far cry from the meme-fueled surges of 2021. The price-to-earnings ratio? Better not to ask; even the abacus gets stage fright.Numbers tumble further. Last quarter saw earnings per share at ($0.21), missing consensus estimates by a few pennies. Not massive in absolute terms, perhaps, but in the context of a struggling theater chain, it’s yet another popcorn kernel burnt at the bottom of the bag. Hedge funds nibble, buying up modest tranches, more out of speculative curiosity than conviction—a bit like tossing a half-dozen quarters into an arcade claw game and watching the machine miss, again and again.Yet, the story’s hard to dismiss. AMC is nearly a hundred and five years old. What was once a shining cathedral of the shared film experience now scrambles to redefine relevance amidst an audience seduced by the couch and the algorithm. There’s a certain stage-managed tragedy here: brick-and-mortar exhibition dancing awkwardly to the streaming era’s relentless drumbeat.On reflection, though, theater closures and slumping sales aren’t the full picture. Try to recall the feeling of a late Friday screening, the hush just before the feature, that odd sense of being alone together. AMC’s existential crisis isn’t just financial—it resonates as the latest act in America’s curious habit of both preserving and discarding its favorite institutions. Maybe next year a superhero franchise (or, more likely, a nostalgia-laden reboot) will buy AMC a bit more time. Or perhaps 2025 brings another turn, new partnerships, or an innovative twist nobody’s predicting.Meanwhile, a continent away in the Canadian oil patch, InPlay Oil Corp is riding its own roller coaster. Not quite the disaster unfolding at AMC, but the numbers shift all the same. Roth Capital dials back its quarterly expectations: $0.23 per share, edged down from $0.25. Will anyone outside the patch notice? Possibly not, though watchers of the energy sector aren’t exactly skittish; this is an industry that thrives on boom-and-bust cycles, after all.Let’s talk dividends: a payout ratio of -1,900%—not a typo, just one of those surreal figures that crop up in commodities like a plot twist in an old Western. Yielding 868% at one point, which sounds more like a fever dream from an ambitious day trader than a steady, mature oil company. Analysts stay divided—the “strong buy” from National Bank Financial lined up beside “outperform” from National Bankshares, while the rating pendulum continues its predictable arc.Company insiders are active, too. Director Douglas Bartole sells a small stack of shares, as does Darren W. Dittmer. No one’s panicking publicly; it’s more a matter of capturing gains while the sun’s still shining, or perhaps just hedging for whatever 2025’s market is about to serve. InPlay, for all its rugged image, is at the mercy of investor confidence, commodity shock, and, let’s face it, global attitudes that sometimes shift faster than the price of a barrel.If there’s a common thread running through these stories—AMC’s flickering projectors and InPlay’s Calgary bravado—it’s the struggle of legacy models against currents they can’t really control. Both companies perform under modernity’s harsh house lights, caught somewhere between yesterday’s sure things and tomorrow’s uncertainties. One chases moviegoers who have more options than ever; the other courts investors who learned in the last decade that oil may not be the permanent safe haven it once was.So, what’s the wise move, as 2025 looms? There’s no red-carpet advice to be found in analyst consensus: “probably not,” is about as enthusiastic as it gets from MarketBeat—a muted shrug in a business that prefers a standing ovation. The really hot “must-buys” are whispered behind closed doors, and neither AMC nor InPlay is on that short list.Sometimes, the end of an era comes quietly, long before the house lights go up. AMC’s name might endure, possibly as a streamer’s subsidiary, or as a footnote in entertainment textbooks. InPlay Oil could spin up a new field or just as easily drift out of the spotlight if commodity prices tumble. What’s clear, at least for now, is that both stories are worth watching—not because a big comeback is likely, but because these dramas reveal so much about the way legacy industries try, fail, and sometimes surprise us at the last minute.Who knows? Maybe 2025 will bring a revival nobody expects. Until then, it’s just another round of waiting in the dark, popcorn ready, hoping the final act still has some magic left.