Shares of movie theater operators fell in premarket trading Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that U.K. cinema chain Cineworld Group PLC , the parent of Regal Entertainment Group, was preparing to file for bankruptcy.
The WSJ report follows Cineworld's disclosure earlier this week that it was evaluating options for additional liquidity and a balance sheet restructuring. Cineworld's U.K.-listed shares plunged 22.5%.
Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. dropped 8.6% ahead of Friday's open, but they may also be weighed down by weakness in other meme stocks.
Also, Cinemark Holdings Inc. shares shed 3.0% premarket and IMAX Corp.'s stock fell 0.3%.
Separately, EPR Properties stock dropped 3.4% premarket, as the real estate investment trust $(REIT)$ has exposure to Cineworld, as it Cineworld is the parent of entities that lease EPR's Regal theaters. Earlier this week, EPR said Regal was current on all payments due EPR.