AMC's CEO thought he was so smart and defiant by eliminating what he saw as a competitor, yet was, in reality, probably the largest individual block purchaser of AMC movie tickets. Meanwhile in the midst of this bull market, AMC's stock hit an all-time low just last month, from which it has recovered slightly (still trading about 65% below 2016). With some tweaking to its ticket availability, MP could have been these over-extended theater chains' golden goose -- huge surge in off-peak ticket sales with zero marketing cost to the theater -- yet they failed to recognize it, instead, actively sought to crush it.