Lenders for AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. have hired restructuring lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter, after the world’s largest movie theater-chain shut down its cinemas due to the coronavirus pandemic.John Fithian, the president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, previously told The Wall Street Journal that movie-theater owners both large and small face substantial risk of bankruptcy due to the pandemic.

The $2 trillion rescue package that the U.S. government recently passed will be crucial in preventing many cinema companies from defaulting on their debt, Mr. Fithian said.

Much of AMC's $4.9 billion debt load is now trading at highly distressed levels. The company's junior bonds traded Wednesday at 40 cents on the dollar, down from 80 cents at the beginning of March, according to MarketAxess.

AMC has seen its stock value plummet since it closed all of its roughly 630 U.S. locations on March 16. The company had tried to operate within government guidelines restricting the number of people gathering in one place before closing the auditoriums altogether.

The company has furloughed all 26,000 of its employees, including Chief Executive Adam Aron and around 600 other corporate personnel.

AMC had been struggling before the coronavirus hit U.S. businesses. Theatrical returns in 2020 weren’t projected to be as robust as in 2019. With theaters now closed, studios have decided to release some movies directly into the home, a disruption of the traditional release schedule that some exhibitors fear could change consumer behavior for good.

S&P Global on Thursday downgraded its credit rating for AMC Entertainment to CCC- from B, which takes the company from “Highly speculative” to “Default imminent, with little prospect for recovery.”

Following the delay in March of several upcoming releases, Disney on Friday announced further changes to its theatrical release schedule as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend Hollywood.

The $200 million-plus live-action “Mulan,” previously scheduled for release on March 27, is now set to be released on July 24, moving Dwayne Johnson’s “Jungle Cruise” off that date and back a full year to July 30, 2021.

Scarlett Johansson’s Marvel movie “Black Widow,” previously dated for May 1, now moves to the November 6 slot previously held by the Angelina Jolie-led “The Eternals.” That sets up a big shift in upcoming MCU titles, with “The Eternals” moving to Feb. 12, 2021, “Shang-Chi” to May 7, 2021, “Doctor Strange 2” to November 5, 2021, and “Thor: Love And Thunder to Feb 18, 2022. “Black Panther 2” remains on the schedule for May 8, 2022 and “Captain Marvel 2” is now set for July 8, 2022.



“Artemis Fowl,” a family adventure based on Eoin Colfer’s best-selling book series, will not only miss its May 29 theatrical release date but skip theaters altogether and premiere on Disney+ at some date to be determined.

The Ryan Reynolds action comedy “Free Guy” moves from July 3 to Dec. 11. Director Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” moves from July 24, 2020 to Oct. 16, 2020. “Untitled Indiana Jones” moves to July 29, 2022. And Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel” with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both remain on the schedule for release this December.

But a bunch of other Disney and Searchlight titles — including “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” “Antlers,” “Woman in the Window” and “The New Mutants” — remain undated at this time with release dates to be announced soon.