Could ‘The Odyssey’ lead the ‘apes’ back home to AMC shares?

Asymmetric warfare. A long absence. Fierce loyalty. While many people of course associate these themes with Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” this could also aptly apply to the never-ending saga of AMC and its army of “monkey” merchants.

AMC Options jumped out of the gate this morning; As of writing, it has more than 300,000 contracts, nearly five times the 30-day average, and is among the top 20 stocks in the entire market by options volume. Streams were very bullish, with almost 100,000 calls purchased compared to 62,000 calls sold and under 10,000 traded following the movie’s record box office.

In addition to the record-breaking release of “The Odyssey,” AMC reported earnings today that beat analysts’ expectations and showed double-digit revenue growth.

“America was blown away by Odyssey this weekend,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning. Aron added that AMC theaters hosted 4.3 million visitors worldwide over the weekend.

Monday’s rally added to a nearly four-month rally in AMC shares to just under 150%. However, this is far from a homecoming party for the bulls who have been in the stock since its heyday as a post-Covid retail “meme” favorite. Shares are still down 99% from their 2021 all-time high of $700. Of course, the options market played a major role in the meme stock frenzy, often leading AMC’s underlying stocks.

More than $6 million in option premiums changed hands on Monday, with $5.5 million tied up in purchase contracts.

The most popular options contracts by dollar amount were 2- and 2.5-strike calls expiring on August 21 and offered at 39 and 20 cents, respectively. The most popular trade in terms of volume was a 3-strike call with the same maturity, requiring a 34% rally to breakeven.

Investors looking to spend more for premium may want to watch Imax, which is up 37% in the past year and call options are showing some life today, but not as heavily traded as AMC.

“There have been a lot of experiments as a result of Covid, but what Hollywood has learned over the last few years is that people love going to movie theaters,” Aron said in the interview. “Studio after studio is churning out film after film designed for the big screen.”