☀️ AMC THEATRES Enters Concert Biz Amid Elusive Profits

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me atseanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Where if you thought MLB may be getting a little boring as the YANKEES, BRAVES and DODGERS once again stand at/near the top of the league at the 20% mark of the season — at least the METS are mixing it up with the worst record in baseball — be thankful pro soccer still isn’t very popular in this country.

While the PREMIER LEAGUE in the U.K. is seemingly keeping it fresh as ARSENAL sits on the cusp of potentially its first title in over 20 years (although the team has come in 2nd each of the past 3 years) — here are the trends at Europe’s other top 4 soccer football leagues as the seasons finish up:

• BUNDESLIGA (Germany): BAYERN MUNICH has won the league 13 of the last 14 seasons.
• LA LIGA (Spain): FC BARCELONA is about to win its 3rd title in 4 seasons.
• LIGUE 1 (France): PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN is about to win its 5th straight title, and 8th in the last 9 seasons.
• SERIE A (Italy): INTER MILAN just won its 2nd title in 3 years, making for 21 championships overall for the club, and second only to JUVENTUS’ 36 championships.

Thrilling! So, enjoy your NBA playoffs, America #LetsGoKnicks — and be thankful the FLORIDA PANTHERS will not be making a 3-peat in the NHL this year.

AND: Look at The Bear dropping a surprise episode on HULU — a prequel episode focused on the Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) characters.

PLUS: NETFLIX made a deal with NIELSEN to license its Streaming Content Ratings and get full access to the dataset, according to Axios.

WELL: Ya know what’s also nice in the summertime? Hanging on the Jersey Shore. Thanks, KAYAK.

THEN: AMAZON PV is screening The Boys series finale in 4DX movie theaters on Tuesday, May 19 at 9:30 p.m. (the night before it debuts on streaming). AMAZON is doing the Stranger Things thing with movie theaters, where your “ticket” is a concessions voucher.

• Likely due to guild/talent contract issues — this has been seen as a marketing expense, not a new revenue line.
• REGAL operates the vast majority of 4DX screens in the U.S., roughly 50. AMC has 2 and is in the early stages of adding 40 more globally, too, but the deal with 4DX operator CJ 4DPLEX was just inked about a year ago.

OH: A software developer names Riley Walz created a website where you can now see which AMC THEATRES screenings currently have . . . zero tickets sold anywhere in the country, a number which he puts at 10% of all screenings — i.e., where you can go have your very own private screening at AMC THEATRES (just don’t tell your date that you didn’t actually rent out the theater #duh).

REST IN PEACE: Goes out to a media executive they just don’t make anymore in any regard, Ted Turner, who died at the age of 87.

A pioneer, mogul, champion of journalism, democracy and too many accolades to list, really . . . I think the most important thing to note here in 2026 is to say that in an era where zero major media moguls notably speak out against Trump’s assault on the media — and a few do the exact opposite — his loss in the media firmament is only more stark.

THANKS

To Andrew Murfett and LINKEDIN for the opportunity to participate in their Creative Input interview series. If you’re at all curious as to the evolution of this newsletter, my start in the business or just think I’ve been on this side of the business for most of my career (far from it), take a look!

FINALLY

I’ll be back at lunchtime with a breakdown of D’Amaro’s . . . fine debut with Wall Street on the DISNEY Q1 earnings call (no more live Q & A with analysts definitely changes the, uh, flavor of the Iger era), and dive into what was said — and not said — and all the numbers to know.

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Before I get into AMC’s challenge to find a profit in Q1 and the overall revenue trends at America’s largest movie theater chain . . . let’s start with the music!

Meet a new AMC concert franchise called Arena One, which . . . well, is a bit of a thinker, to put it mildly.

Here’s the pitch: