A $120 million deal with the franchise’s producers ended a long fight, and the bill landed on AMC’s third quarter.
AMC finally paid its zombie bill, and it showed up on the bottom line. AMC Global Media reported a third-quarter net loss of $47.4 million on Monday, compared with a $76.5 million profit a year earlier, after booking $81.3 million in impairment and other charges that include an $85 million legal settlement, according to the company’s earnings release.
The settlement is with Robert Kirkman and other producers of The Walking Dead, who sued in 2022 over their share of the show’s profits. The total is $120 million. AMC paid $85 million on Sept. 16 and owes the other $35 million by Jan. 31, 2027, money it treats as an advance against future participations. TheWrap reported the deal in September, naming Kirkman, Glen Mazzara, David Alpert, Charles Eglee and Gale Anne Hurd among the plaintiffs.
It is not AMC’s first check of this kind. In 2021 the network paid $200 million to settle a separate profits suit brought by Frank Darabont and CAA, TheWrap reported. One more claim, from Fear the Walking Dead creator Dave Erickson, is still pending, according to Gizmodo.
Under the charge, the business is shifting. Revenue rose 0.8% to $566.1 million. Streaming revenue grew 4% to $181 million, while affiliate fees from cable distributors fell 11% and advertising slid 6.9% to $102.4 million. Content licensing did the lifting, up 41.7% to $84.2 million. Adjusted operating income dropped 25.4% to $70.4 million, and free cash flow was negative $52.4 million, though AMC said it would have been $33 million without the settlement payment.
Chief executive Kristin Dolan pitched AMC+ as “complementary to larger and more expensive options from other providers.” AMC sold its ALLBLK streaming service in August, and The Walking Dead Universe Collection arrives on AMC+ on Jan. 7. Two settlements have now cost AMC $320 million. The franchise behind them is still the one it is building around.
Sources
- AMC Global Media (SEC filing) – Third-quarter 2026 results, Exhibit 99.1
- TheWrap – AMC Global Media Settles Latest ‘The Walking Dead’ Lawsuit for $120 Million
- Gizmodo – The Era of the ‘Walking Dead’ Lawsuit Is Almost Over
Featured photo: Robert Kirkman at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, by Gage Skidmore, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Leave a Reply