Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment, saw his pay jump to $20.9 million in 2020 despite movie theaters being closed in major markets and other parts of the country throughout much of the pandemic, according to AMC’s SEC filing Friday.
Last year Aron made $9.7 million and $9.5 million the year before that. However, his base salary for 2020 was down slightly, and most of the pay raise came from bonuses and stock options paid out this year, just shy of $14.8 million in stock awards.
Last week it was reported that Aron received a bonus of $3.75 million awarded by AMC’s board “to recognize the extraordinary efforts of employees to maintain the company’s business and preserve stockholder value during the COVID-19 pandemic, encourage continued engagement and retention, and incentivize our management and employees during the continuing and unprecedented difficult business conditions,” the company said. He received two bonuses totaling $5 million for the 2020 fiscal year, one in October and the other in February.
Sean D. Goodman, AMC’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, also made $4.2 million this year. John McDonald, the executive president of U.S. operations, earned $3.4 million. And Craig Ramsey, the company’s former chief financial officer, also made $377,000 in 2020.
Just like other theater chains, the pandemic hit AMC hard. In March of last year, more than 26,000 theater employees were furloughed, including Aron, who worked without pay.
In its Q3 earnings report, AMC said its revenue for the quarter ending in September declined by 91% to $119 million due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company, owned by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, reported a loss of $905.8 million, compared with the company’s $54.8 million loss during the same period of time the year prior.
AMC Theaters got some relief this week as New York City movie theaters reopened their doors on Friday, with requirements that theaters be at just 25% capacity.