AMC- the cinema chain that has been slammed by the health crisis - says the rollout of vaccines and new blockbuster movie releases should boost sales this year.

With movie theaters welcoming back customers in New York City, about 90% of the chain’s theaters were open as of Friday. It expects its European theaters will reopen in time for major releases.

And those delayed releases could also spur sales. Among the big titles set to hit AMC’s silver screens May onwards: Walt Disney’s “Black Widow,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

That would help AMC snap back from a nearly 89% slump in quarterly revenue and a net loss that widened to $946 million. The health crisis had forced AMC and its rivals to raise new capital to stay afloat, but now, analysts expect AMC’s revenue to more than double this year.

But CEO Adam Aron told analysts this week, “The real salvation of our company will be because of vaccination.” He says the focus is no longer on survival.

AMC shares have nearly quintupled so far this year partly because it’s one of the ‘meme stocks’ popular among retail traders on online forums.

Its shares rose in early trading Thursday.