The mega-movie chain is currently shuttered due to pandemic restrictions.
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron received compensation of $9.67 million in 2019, up from $9.5 million in 2018, according to the cinema giant's proxy statement filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The proxy statement was issued after AMC Theatres and other U.S. cinema chains closed down amid the coronavirus pandemic, with pay cuts and furloughs for top management to reduce a cash burn.
Aron took home $6.48 million in stock awards last year, compared with $5.5 million in 2018, on top of his base salary for 2019 that amounted to $1.25 million, against $1.1 million for 2018.
His latest compensation follows AMC Theatres working on plans to reopen its 630-plus U.S. locations after they were shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. All of AMC's corporate staff, including Aron, were furloughed on a staggered basis to trim operating costs.
Aron had made $7.4 million in total compensation for 2017 while leading the country's largest theater circuit, owned by China's Dalian Wanda Group since 2012, and after it completed deals to acquire Carmike Cinemas, the U.K.-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas chain and the European theater giant Nordic Cinema Group.
AMC Theaters has been installing luxury recliner seating and new dining options as it renovates its multiplexes to deal with competition from Netflix and other new streaming options for consumers.
AMC's proxy statement also showed Craig Ramsey, CFO of AMC Entertainment, made $2.62 million last year, just up from $2.5 million in 2018.
