On Tuesday (February 15), AMC Theatres (NYSE:AMC) announced it had reached a lease agreement with Chicago-based GW Properties to acquire and reopen the former Evanston 18 multiplex as AMC Evanston 12, located in the Chicago area. The theater is expected to open its doors later this year.
The AMC Evanston 12 will feature a MacGuffins bar. Six screens from the Evanston 18, along with a restaurant space, are being closed by GW Properties and renovated for non-theater use.
“This constitutes our third announcement of a major market acquisition in the last two months, including the second acquisition announcement for a theatre in the Chicago metropolitan area, which remains a strong moviegoing market for AMC,” said AMC Theatres Chairman and CEO Adam Aron in a statement. “We look forward to bringing the AMC experience to even more guests in and around Chicagoland, at this previously high-traffic, well known location. We continue to seek out these strategic acquisition opportunities to strengthen our company. Our initial recent results encourage us to keep going, given that our mid-2021 acquisitions of AMC The Grove 14 and AMC Americana at Brand 18, both in the Los Angeles market, continue to rank among the 30 highest grossing movie theatres in the entire United States since joining up with AMC.”
Mitch Goltz, principal and co-founder of GW Properties, added, “We are excited to welcome AMC Theatres into this important project in the heart of Evanston and bring patrons back to the theatres who have eagerly been awaiting its return to the community.”
AMC remains in active discussions with other property owners regarding additional currently closed locations.
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