Temporarily Suspended Operations. As of March 17, 2020, the Company temporarily suspended all theatre operations in its U.S. markets and International markets in compliance with local, state, and federal governmental restrictions and recommendations on social gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and as a precaution to help ensure the health and safety of the Company’s guests and theatre staff. The Company resumed limited operations in the International markets in early June 2020 and limited operations in the U.S. markets in late August 2020. A COVID-19 resurgence during the fourth quarter of 2020 resulted in additional local, state, and federal government restrictions and many previously reopened theatres in International markets temporarily suspended operations again. The North American and International industry box offices have also have been significantly impacted by COVID-19, and in response to the suspension of theatre operations by the Company and other theatre exhibitors and the COVID-19 related suspension of new movie production, studios have postponed new film releases beyond 2020 or moved them to the home video market. As a result of these temporarily suspended operations and limited new film content, the Company’s revenues and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 are significantly lower than the revenues and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Noncontrolling Interests. Majority-owned subsidiaries that the Company has control of are consolidated in the Company’s consolidated subsidiaries; consequently, a portion of its stockholders’ equity, net earnings (loss) and total comprehensive income (loss) for the periods presented are attributable to noncontrolling interests. On August 28, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement to sell its equity interest in Forum Cinemas OU, which consists of nine theatres located in the Baltics’ region (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) and is included in the Company’s International markets reportable segment, for total consideration of approximately €77.25 million, including cash of approximately €64.35 million or $76.6 million prior to any transaction costs. This transaction was undertaken by the Company to further increase its liquidity and strengthen its balance sheet at a transaction multiple that demonstrates that market participants ascribe positive value to the business. The completion of the sale will take place in several steps and is contingent upon clearance from each regulatory competition council in each country. The Company received $37.5 million (€31.53 million) cash consideration upon entering into the sale agreement on August 28, 2020, transferred an equity interest of 49% in Forum Cinemas OU to the purchaser and recorded an initial noncontrolling interest of $34.9 million in total equity (deficit). Transaction costs of $1.4 million and net gain of $1.2 million related to the sale of 49% equity interest of Lithuania and Estonia and the 100% disposal of Latvia were recorded in additional paid-in capital during the year ended December 31, 2020 and will be recognized in earnings when the remaining 51% interests in Lithuania and Estonia are

disposed. At December 31, 2020, the carrying amounts of the major classes of assets and liabilities included as part of the disposal group that were previously included in the International markets reportable segment were; goodwill of $41.8 million, property, net, of $13.0 million, operating lease right-of-use assets, net of $15.7 million, and current and long-term operating lease liabilities of $2.4 million and $13.7 million, respectively. The remaining cash consideration is payable upon completion of the sale of the remaining 51% equity interest in Lithuania and Estonia, which is expected to occur in two separate transactions by country following competition council clearance in each country. At December 31, 2020, the Company’s noncontrolling interest of 49% in Lithuania and Estonia was $26.9 million. The Company estimates the sale of Forum Cinemas will be completed in 2021.

Film Exhibition Costs. Film exhibition costs are accrued based on the applicable box office receipts and estimates of the final settlement to the film licensors. Film exhibition costs include certain advertising costs. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company recorded film payables of $16.4 million and $166.5 million, respectively, which are included in accounts payable in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Exhibitor Services Agreement. The Company recognizes advertising revenues, which are included in other theatre revenues in the consolidated statements of operations, when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a promised good or service to the customers. The advertising contracts with customers generally consist of a series of distinct periods of service, satisfied over time, to provide rights to advertising services. The Company’s Exhibitor Services Agreement (“ESA”) with NCM includes a significant financing component due to the significant length of time between receiving the non-cash consideration and fulfilling the performance obligation. The Company receives the non-cash consideration in the form of common membership units from NCM, in exchange for rights to exclusive access to the Company’s theatre screens and attendees through February 2037. Upon adoption of ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) on January 1, 2018, the Company’s advertising revenues have significantly increased with a similar offsetting increase in non-cash interest expense, which is recorded to non-cash NCM exhibitor service agreement in the consolidated statements of operations. Upon adoption of ASC 606 and pursuant to the calculation requirements for the time value of money, the amortization method reflects the front-end loading of the significant financing component where more interest expense is recognized earlier during the term of the agreement than the back-end recognition of the deferred revenue amortization where more revenue is recognized later in the term of the agreement. See Note 6—Investments for further information regarding the common unit adjustment and the fair value measurement of the non-cash consideration. The interest expense was calculated using discount rates that ranged from 6.5% to 18.25%, which are the rates at which the Company believes it could borrow in separate financing transactions.

Advertising Costs. The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred and does not have any direct-response advertising recorded as assets. Advertising costs were $10.7 million, $42.6 million, and $45.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, respectively, and are recorded in operating expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Derivative Asset and Liability. The Company remeasured the derivative asset related to its contingent call option to acquire shares of its Class B common stock at no additional cost and the derivative liability related to the conversion feature in its Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes due 2024 at fair value each reporting period until the conversion price reset on September 14, 2020, with changes in fair value recorded in the consolidated statement of operations in other expense (income). The Company has obtained independent third-party valuation studies to assist in determining fair value. The Company’s valuation studies use a Monte Carlo simulation approach and are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 measurements within the fair value measurement hierarchy. The Company’s common stock price at the end of each reporting period as well as the remaining amount of time until expiration for the contingent call option and conversion feature are key inputs for the estimation of fair value that are expected to change each reporting period. The Company recorded other expense (income) related to derivative asset fair value adjustments of $19.6 million, $17.7 million and $(45.0) million, during the years ended December 31, 2020, December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, and other expense (income) related to derivative liability fair value adjustments of $89.4 million, $(23.5) million, and $(66.4) million, during the years ended December 31, 2020, December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. See Note 8—Corporate Borrowings and Finance Lease Obligations and Note 9—Stockholders’ Equity for further discussions.

Investments. The Company accounts for its investments in non-consolidated entities using either the cost or equity methods of accounting as appropriate, and has recorded the investments within other long-term assets in its consolidated balance sheets. Equity earnings and losses are recorded when the Company’s ownership interest provides the Company with significant influence. The Company follows the guidance in ASC 323-30-35-3, investment in a limited liability company, which prescribes the use of the equity method for investments where the Company has significant influence. The Company classifies gains and losses on sales of investments or impairments accounted for using the cost method in investment expense (income). Gains and losses on cash sales are recorded using the weighted average cost of all interests in the investments. Gains and losses related to non-cash negative common unit adjustments are recorded using the weighted average cost of those units in NCM. See Note 6—Investments for further discussion of the Company’s investments in NCM. As of December 31, 2020, the Company holds equity method investments comprised of a 18.3% interest in SV Holdco LLC (“SV Holdco”), a joint venture that markets and sells cinema advertising and promotions through Screenvision; a 50.0% interest in Digital CineMedia Ltd. (“DCM”), a joint venture that provides advertising services in International markets; a 32.0% interest in AC JV, LLC (“AC JV”), a joint venture that owns Fathom Events offering alternative content for motion picture screens; a 29.0% interest in Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, LLC (“DCIP”), a joint venture charged with implementing digital cinema in the Company’s theatres; a 14.6% interest in Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition, LLC (“DCDC”), a satellite distribution network for feature films and other digital cinema content; a 10.0% interest in SCC; a 50% ownership interest in three U.S. motion picture theatres and approximately 50% ownership interest in 54 theatres in Europe. Indebtedness held by equity method investees is non-recourse to the Company. In 2020, the Company early adopted the amendments in S-X Rule 1-02(w) related to significant subsidiary tests of nonconsolidated entities.

Other Long-term Assets. Other long-term assets are comprised principally of investments in partnerships and joint ventures, costs incurred in connection with the Company’s line-of-credit revolving credit arrangement, which is being amortized to interest expense using the effective interest rate method over the respective life of the issuance, and capitalized computer software, which is amortized over the estimated useful life of the software. See Note 7—Supplemental Balance Sheet Information.

Leases. The Company adopted ASC 842 on January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective transition method; and therefore, the comparative information has not been adjusted for the year ended December 31, 2018. Upon transition to the new standard, the Company elected the package of practical expedients, which permitted the Company not to reassess under the new standard its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs.

The Company leases theatres and equipment under operating and finance leases. The majority of the Company’s operations are conducted in premises occupied under lease agreements with initial base terms ranging generally from 12 to 15 years, with certain leases containing options to extend the leases for up to an additional 20 years. The Company typically does not believe that exercise of the renewal options is reasonably assured at the inception of the lease agreements and, therefore, considers the initial base term as the lease term. Lease terms vary but generally the

leases provide for fixed and escalating rentals, contingent escalating rentals based on the Consumer Price Index and other indexes not to exceed certain specified amounts and variable rentals based on a percentage of revenues. The Company often receives contributions from landlords for renovations at existing locations. The Company records the amounts received from landlords as an adjustment to the right-of-use asset and amortizes the balance as a reduction to rent expense over the base term of the lease agreement.

Operating lease right-of-use assets and lease liabilities were recorded at commencement date based on the present value of minimum lease payments over the remaining lease term. The minimum lease payments include base rent and other fixed payments, including fixed maintenance costs. The Company’s leases have remaining lease terms of approximately 1 year to 25 years, which may include the option to extend the lease when it is reasonably certain the Company will exercise that option. The present value of the lease payments is calculated using the incremental borrowing rate for operating leases, which was determined using a portfolio approach based on the rate of interest that the Company would have to pay to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over a similar term. Operating lease expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components and also elected the short-term practical expedient for all leases that qualify. As a result, the Company will not recognize right-of-use assets or liabilities for short-term leases that qualify for the short-term practical expedient, but instead will recognize the lease payments as lease cost on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain residual value guarantees. Short-term leases and sublease arrangements are immaterial. Equipment leases primarily consist of food and beverage equipment.

Impairment of Long-lived Assets. The Company reviews long-lived assets, including definite-lived intangibles and theatre assets (including operating lease right-of-use assets) whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset group may not be fully recoverable. The Company identifies impairments related to internal use software when management determines that the remaining carrying value of the software will not be realized through future use. The Company evaluates events or circumstances, including competition in the markets where it operates, that would indicate the carrying value of theatre assets may not be fully recoverable. If an event or circumstance is identified indicating carrying value may not be recoverable, the sum of future undiscounted cash flows is compared to the carrying value. If the carrying value exceeds the future undiscounted cash flows, the carrying value of the asset is reduced to fair value, with the difference recorded as an impairment charge. Assets are evaluated for impairment on an individual theatre basis, which management believes is the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows. The Company evaluates theatres using historical and projected data of theatre level cash flow as its primary indicator of potential impairment and considers the seasonality of its business when making these evaluations. The fair value of assets is determined as either the expected selling price less selling costs (where appropriate) or the present value of the estimated future cash flows, adjusted as necessary for market participant factors.

There is considerable management judgment necessary to determine the estimated future cash flows and fair values of the Company’s theatres and other long-lived assets, and, accordingly, actual results could vary significantly from such estimates, which fall under Level 3 within the fair value measurement hierarchy, see Note 12—Fair Value Measurements.

The following table summarizes the Company’s assets that were impaired:

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Employee Benefit Plans. The Company sponsors frozen non-contributory qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans in the U.S., frozen defined benefit pension plans in the U.K., and a defined benefit pension plan in Sweden that is not frozen. The Company also sponsors a postretirement deferred compensation plan and a defined contribution plan.

The following table sets forth the plans’ benefit obligations and plan assets and the accrued liability for benefit costs included in the consolidated balance sheets:

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Casualty Insurance. The Company is self-insured for general liability up to $1.0 million per occurrence and carries a $0.5 million deductible limit per occurrence for workers’ compensation claims. The Company utilizes actuarial projections of its ultimate losses to calculate its reserves and expense. The actuarial method includes an allowance for adverse developments on known claims and an allowance for claims which have been incurred but which have not yet been reported. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company recorded casualty insurance reserves of $32.7 million and $29.4 million. The Company recorded expenses related to general liability and workers’ compensation claims of $32.8 million, $32.6 million, and $25.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, respectively. Casualty insurance expense is recorded in operating expense.

Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted

Financial Instruments. In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”), which provides new guidance regarding the measurement and recognition of credit impairment for certain financial assets. Such guidance impacts how the Company determines its allowance for estimated uncollectible receivables and also contingent lease guarantees, where the Company remains contingently liable for lease payments under certain leases of theatres that it previously divested, in the event that such assignees are unable to fulfill their future lease payment obligations. ASU 2016-13 was effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2020. The Company recorded the cumulative effect upon adoption of the new standard related to credit losses for contingent lease guarantees of $16.9 million. See Note 11—Commitments and Contingencies for further information regarding contingent lease guarantees. The adoption impact on the Company’s allowance for estimated uncollectible receivables was immaterial as of January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The cumulative effect of adoption was recorded to accumulated deficit under the modified retrospective adoption method.

Fair Value Measurement. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (“ASU 2018-13”), which eliminates, adds, and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements as part of its disclosure framework project. Entities are no longer required to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy but are required to disclose the range and weighted average used to develop significant observable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. The fair value measurement disclosure requirements of ASU 2018-13 were effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2020. See Note 12—Fair Value Measurements for the required disclosures for Level 3 fair value measurements.

Cloud Computing Arrangement. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles–Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (“ASU 2018-15”). ASU 2018-15 requires a customer in a cloud computing arrangement (i.e., hosting arrangement) that is a service contract to follow the internal-use software guidance in ASC 350-40 to determine which implementation, setup, and other upfront costs to capitalize as assets or expense as incurred. ASU 2018-15 was effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2020. Entities have the option to apply the guidance prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption or retrospectively in accordance with ASC 250-10-45. The Company adopted ASU 2018-15 prospectively and the adoption of ASU 2018-15 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Accounting Pronouncements Issued Not Yet Adopted

Income Taxes. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740) Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), which is intended to improve consistency and simplify several areas of existing guidance. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. The new guidance also clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis for goodwill. ASU 2019-12 is effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2021. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that ASU 2019-12 will have on its consolidated financial statements and the applicable adoption method to be utilized.