Shares of AMC Entertainment, the movie theater chain turned meme stock phenomenon, are on track for another record low close as the stock struggles to regain its former glory. As of today, the stock is down 6.6% and trading around $5.71, inching closer to its previous record closing low of $6.07 set on December 21, 2023. This decline marks a significant drop from its peak of $339.05 on June 2, 2021.

Three years ago, AMC experienced a rapid rise in its share price thanks to the support of the WallStreetBets crowd on Reddit. Seizing the opportunity, the company capitalized on the momentum by raising $917 million in equity and debt markets in January 2021. However, since then, AMC has been focused on addressing its mounting debt burden, which exceeded $5 billion in 2022.

In an effort to reduce its debt, AMC launched an APE special dividend in 2022 and completed the conversion of the APEs into common stock alongside a 1-for-10 reverse stock split in 2023. Furthermore, the company recently raised approximately $350 million through an at-the-market equity offering in December.

Despite these efforts, AMC's stock has been on a downward trajectory, leading to doubts about its meme stock status. Alicia Reese, VP of equity research at Wedbush, believes that AMC has lost its meme status as its share price has plummeted since the APE fold-in and reverse stock split. Reese noted that AMC's share price has come "crashing back down to earth over the past several months."

On the bright side, AMC has been able to attract attention with the popularity of concert movies featuring renowned artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. The success of Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" movie, which shattered records upon its release on October 12, has given AMC optimism about the potential for similar concert films.

In a tweet on New Year's Eve, AMC CEO Adam Aron dismissed those predicting the demise of the company, stating that AMC is still here and continuing to innovate. Despite Aron's optimism, AMC's stock has experienced an 84.1% decline in the past 12 months, in stark contrast to the performance of the S&P 500 index.

As the stock hovers around record lows, investors and market analysts are closely watching AMC Entertainment to see how the company adapts to the challenging landscape of the movie theater industry and manages its debt burden going forward.