You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: Against the backdrop of the reopening of the U.S., we are seeing consistent improvements in our business fundamentals.
Key among these include accelerated cash collection levels and significant progress in our theater portfolio.
Our increased cash collection levels reflect strengthening the businesses and an increasingly more positive environment for the experiences our properties deliver.
At a macro level, with the broad increase of vaccine deployment, we are seeing a meaningful improvement in consumer confidence and stabilization of the economy as is evidenced by employment and GDP data.
Separately, the new protocols from the CDC for fully vaccinated people reflect the opportunity to achieve increasing levels of normalcy and life as we once knew it.
Across our portfolio, consumers have been exhibiting their desire to experience out-of-home entertainment, and our tenants businesses have been beneficiaries of this pent-up demand.
In particular, during the quarter and continuing through April, consumers demonstrated their desire to return to theaters as we achieved new box-office high since the onset of the pandemic.
Importantly, this momentum has been established in an environment with capacity constraints, limited content and direct-to-consumer streaming options, which provide the opportunity to view select features at home.
Said another way, even with the challenges and limitations of the current operating environment, these results indicate that consumers still value the theater experience for new movie titles.
We look forward to being able to fully maximize the reopening of theater exhibition as we expect that 98% of our theaters will be opened by the end of May, and consumers will have the opportunity to see a strong lineup of film titles for the remainder of 2021, many of which have been delayed several times.
As we continue to manage the business, we remain laser focused on our goals for 2021, including our exit from covenant relief, reestablishment of a dividend and a return to sustained growth.
During the quarter, we also made progress on our strategic capital recycling activities and utilized proceeds from dispositions and stronger collections to pay off the remaining $90 million balance on our $1 billion unsecured revolving credit facility.
These steps of strengthening liquidity and optimizing the portfolio are supportive of our goals and should fuel growth as we move into the second half of the year.
This was an important quarter as we sustained ongoing positive trends in key business measures necessary for us to add our existing debt covenant waivers, most specifically, continued improvement of our cash collection levels.
As I stated earlier, the trends appear to be very favorable at this point, including vaccinations, consumer demand and exhibition recovery.
Having positive momentum across all these areas should propel us toward the achievement of our goals.
At the end of the first quarter, our total investments were approximately $6.5 billion with 354 properties in service and 93% occupied.
During the quarter, our investment spending was $52.1 million, entirely in our experiential portfolio.
The spending included build-to-suit development and redevelopment projects that were committed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the acquisition of a newly constructed TopGolf facility in San Jose, California, for $26.7 million, which was acquired primarily with cash received from TopGolf as payment of a portion of their deferred rent balance.
Effectively, we acquired TopGolf, San Jose, using a portion of their deferred rent as currency, a creative and complementary outcome for both sides.
Our experiential portfolio comprises 280 properties with 42 operators is 93% occupied and accounts for 91% of our total investments or approximately $5.9 billion of the total $6.5 billion.
We have four properties under development.
Our education portfolio comprises 74 properties with eight operators and at the end of the quarter was 100% occupied.
Now I'll update you on the operating status of our tenants, our deferral agreements and rent payment time lines.
71% of our theaters were open as of April 30.
Under Regal's announced reopening schedule, all of our Regal theaters will be opened by May 21.
And at that point, we anticipate 98% of our theaters will be open.
Five of our theaters remained closed because of governmental orders.
All four of our Canadian theaters are closed at least through May 20 due to governmental mandate, and our dine-in theater in San Francisco is closed until July because of local indoor dining restrictions.
We have five vacant theaters not operated by any of our major exhibitors, which we are releasing and seven closed theaters, which we are selling, six of which are under contract.
Finally, we are continuing to operate two theaters through a third-party manager, a former AMC in Columbus, Ohio, and the former Goodrich Savoy in Champagne, Illinois.
April's box-office performance exceeded industry expectations, led by King Kong versus Godzilla, Mortal Combat and Demon Slayer.
The outperformance of all three films drove box office to $189 million for April, a 66% increase from March's $113 million.
The strong results from these three films show the consumer is eagerly embracing the opportunity to get back to the movies.
openings and won't be fully open until late May and that less than 20% of Canadian theaters are open.
With increasing vaccinations, the approach of summer and easing restrictions, the primary challenge for exhibitors now is a lack of film supply.
The remaining film slate of high-quality, tent-pole films lines up nicely to drive increasing consumer demand through 2021, beginning at Memorial Day with A Quiet Place Part II and following with Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Dune, Cruella, Fast and Furious 9, Black Widow, Suicide Squad, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Eternals, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Top Gun: Maverick, Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Kingsman and Matrix 4.
Studios, content providers and the consumer all value the big-screen experience.
April's performance bears that out.
I want to briefly address lessons learned over the past year.
The studio's decision to delay the release of the vast majority of their tent-pole titles until theaters reopened in 2021 and 2022 is the best evidence of their commitment to the exhibition economic model and the importance of the theatrical window as a critical revenue driver for the studios and content providers.
COVID-19 forced studios and exhibitors to experiment.
Studios understandably evaluated alternative content delivery options, including premium video on demand, PVOD; subscription video on demand, SVOD; hybrid models of theatrical release mixed with PVOD or SVOD; and selling movies to streaming services.
We believe the best indicator of the results of this experimentation is that the overwhelming majority of tent-pole films scheduled for theatrical release pre-COVID-19 will be released theatrically 2021 or 2022.
It made economic sense for the studios to wait until theaters were permitted's to reopen throughout the U.S., and they did.
Studios and content providers do not consider PVOD, SVOD and other forms of at-home viewing as replacements for theatrical exhibition.
Consumer subscribed to streaming services for all-you-can-eat buffet content and generally aren't interested in paying an upcharge for an individual release.
The relative lack of PVOD content during COVID-19 at a time when much of the country was looking for any entertainment option in their home demonstrates that studios don't see a big market for PVOD.
Strong box-office numbers for Warner Bros.
Films released day and date to theaters and HBO Max without upcharge also bear this out.
While streaming services need content, it's hard to make the math work for PVOD or direct to SVOD without a theatrical release for major motion pictures.
Additionally, major exhibitors continue their negotiations with the studios on the length of the exclusive theatrical window.
It appears to be coalescing around 45 days, down from the prior 90 days.
From our perspective, there are positives.
Historically, over 90% of ticket sales occurred in the first 45 days.
So economically, the shift in the window is not that material.
With the reduced window and the need for studios, content providers and exhibitors to continue experimentation, we could see content from Netflix, Amazon and Apple shown theatrically before being moved to streaming services.
Just this week, Cinemark and Marcus both announced announcement -- both announced agreements with Netflix to show Army of the Dead in theaters for one week, starting on May 14 before it's available on Netflix on May 21.
This follows Cinemark and Netflix's partnering to show Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the Midnight Sky and the Christmas Chronicles 2 theatrically.
The consumers' desire to return to see movies on the big screen is reflected in the surprisingly strong performance of King Kong versus Godzilla, Mortal Combat and Demon Slayer.
When theaters were allowed to reopen, box-office records were set in China, Japan and Australia.
Our tenants are coming up with new and better ways to enhance the customer experience from touchless ticketing and concession ordering to private screenings.
Going to the movie still remains a remarkable value for an out-of-home consumer experience.
Turning now to our other major customer groups.
Approximately 96% of our non theater operators are open.
Our seasonal businesses are closed in the normal course.
With increases in vaccinations and the fast approach of summer, we see continued strong performance in our drive-to value-oriented destinations.
We are pleased with the results from the ski season.
People demonstrated they still want to ski, particularly in drive-to destinations.
Across the portfolio, attendance was in line with three-year averages, and revenues were down only slightly, reflecting restrictions on food and beverage in many locations.
We continue to see strong performance across Eat & Play.
All of our TopGolf locations, including our recently acquired San Jose location, are open.
All four of our Andretti Karting locations are open, and we're delighted that our fifth in view for Georgia will open in May.
All of our gyms are open and attendance continues to increase.
We are seeing very strong pent-up demand across our attractions and cultural holdings.
We expect this trend to continue throughout the summer as vaccinations increase and restrictions are lifted.
The City Museum, Santa Monica Pier and our Titanic Museums are open.
We expect all of our amusement parks and water parks to open in 2021.
Seven are currently open.
Five have confirmed May opening dates, and we're awaiting dates for the final two, subject to state restrictions in California and Washington.
We are likewise seeing strong demand in our experiential lodging portfolio and expect the trend will continue throughout the summer as well.
Pete Beach, all of our experiential lodging assets are open.
Kartriteremains subject to New York State phased reopening plans for water parks, and we are working toward an opening in the summer of 2021.
We are completing a substantial renovation of the Bellwether, and it will fully reopen by mid-June.
Resorts World Catskills is open.
All of our early childhood education centers are open, and we are seeing a steady increase in demand monthly as COVID restrictions ease and parents return to work.
All of our private schools are open, utilizing a combination of in-person, online and hybrid instruction models.
Our primary capital recycling activity has been in the theater category.
In Q1, we sold one theater property and a vacant non-theater building for net proceeds of $13.7 million.
We're very pleased with our progress in disposing vacant theaters.
Since Q1 -- Q3 2020, we have sold three theaters.
And as I mentioned earlier, we have executed contracts for another six.
In Q4, we terminated all seven of our AMC transition leases and took back the properties.
In Q4, we sold one for an industrial use.
We have executed contracts for the remaining five.
We also have a former CMX theater, which was rejected in bankruptcy under contract.
These six projected sales are for industrial, multifamily, office, and theater reuse, and we anticipate closing on all six sales throughout 2021 and into 2022.
Finally, I want to update you on the status of our cash collections and deferral agreements.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our No.
1 priority was to work proactively and diligently with our customers to structure appropriate deferral and repayment agreements.
We tailored each deal to give them the right amount of breathing room to reopen efficiently and help ensure their long-term health, all while protecting and improving our position in rights as landlord.
We wanted to and have helped them through a period where they had significantly reduced or no cash flow, allowing them to ramp back to a stabilized cash flow.
Our agreements are generally structured with rent and mortgage payments, including deferred amounts, commencing and ramping up through 2021, and in some cases, after 2021.
Cash collections continue to improve in conjunction with reopenings.
Tenants and borrowers paid 72% of contractual cash revenue for the first quarter and 77% in April.
We're seeing results from these efforts, and I want to share two examples of this win-win approach.
First, as noted earlier in my remarks, we are delighted to have acquired the brand-new TopGolf San Jose, which opened on April 16, using a portion of their deferred rent as currency.
San Jose is TopGolf's second location in California.
It's an outstanding location in a compelling DMA.
The transaction reflects our long and valued partnership with TopGolf and our creative approach throughout the pandemic to work with our tenants to address difficult issues.
Second, as noted, the ski season was strong.
Early in the pandemic, before anyone knew what the ski season would look like, we worked with CamelBak to ensure they had sufficient cash to weather what we all feared could be a rough winter.
Because Ski season was strong, in April, CamelBak repaid its entire deferred balance six months early.
Again, this demonstrates our commitment to taking the long view of our customers' ability to perform informed by the underlying strength of our underwriting and real estate.
Finally, customers representing substantially all of our contractual cash revenue, which includes each of our top 20 customers, are either paying their contract rent or interest or have a deferral agreement in place.
In those deferral agreements, we have granted approximately 5% of permanent rent and interest payment reductions.
Mark will provide additional color on the revenue recognition and cash collection implications for the second quarter of 2021.
Today, I will discuss our financial performance for the quarter, provide an update on our balance sheet and strong liquidity position and close with some estimated forward information.
I am pleased that I'll be briefer than I have been in the past few quarters.
FFO as adjusted for the quarter was $0.48 per share versus $0.97 in the prior year.
And AFFO for the quarter was $0.52 per share, compared to $1.14 in the prior year.
Total revenue from continuing operations for the quarter was $111.8 million versus $151 million in the prior year.
This decrease was due primarily to the accounting for restructured agreements with various customers, and revenue from certain tenants, which continue to be recognized on a cash basis, both as a result of the COVID-19 impact.
This decrease was also due to property dispositions and an increase in vacancies.
Additionally, we had lower other income and lower other expense of $6.9 million and $7 million, respectively, due primarily to the Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark remaining closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Percentage rents for the quarter totaled $2 million versus $2.8 million in the prior year.
This decrease related to lower percentage rents from tenants due to the impact of COVID-19 on their operations, as well as our disposition of certain private schools in December of 2020.
This decrease was partially offset by additional percentage rent from an early education tenant due to a restructured agreement.
I would like to point out, as I did last quarter, that we are defining percentage rents here as amounts do above base rent and not payments in lieu of base rent based on a percentage of revenue.
Property operating expense of $15.3 million for the quarter was about $2.2 million -- was up about $2.2 million from prior year, due primarily to increased vacancy.
Interest expense increased by $4.4 million from prior year to $39.2 million.
This increase resulted, in part, from a higher weighted average amount outstanding on our $1 billion revolving credit facility.
As you may recall, at the end of the first quarter of 2020, we borrowed $750 million as a precautionary measure to provide us additional liquidity during the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
At December 31, 2020, due to stronger collections and significant liquidity, including proceeds from dispositions, we reduced the outstanding balance to $590 million and then further reduced the balance to $90 million in January of 2021.
Subsequent to quarter end, we used a portion of our cash on hand to pay off the remaining balance.
Adding to the increase in interest expense, we continue to pay higher rates of interest on our bank credit facilities and private placement notes during the covenant relief period of about 100 basis points and 125 basis points, respectively.
We also earned less interest income from short-term investments in the first quarter as we use cash on hand to pay down the revolver and deposit rates were also lower than last year.
Lastly, during the quarter, we reduced our allowance for credit loss on our mortgage notes and notes receivable, which resulted in a credit loss benefit of $2.8 million versus a loss of $1.2 million in the prior year.
This benefit resulted from changes in the macro environment due to signs of recovery from the pandemic, which reduced the allowance calculated using our third-party model.
Note that this benefit is excluded from FFO as adjusted.
Now let's turn to our balance sheet and capital markets activities.
Our debt-to-gross assets was 39% on a book basis at March 31.
At quarter end, we had total outstanding debt of $3.2 billion, of which $3.1 billion is either fixed rate debt or debt that has been fixed-through interest rate swaps with a blended coupon of approximately 4.7%.
Additionally, our weighted average debt maturity is approximately five years, and we have no scheduled debt maturities until 2022 when only our revolving credit facility matures, which currently has a 0 balance.
As previously discussed, due to the impact of COVID-19 on our near-term financial results during 2020, we amended our bank credit facilities and private placement notes to waive certain covenants through the end of 2021, subject to certain conditions.
This provides us additional time and flexibility to work with our customers.
Note that we can elect to get out of the covenant relief period early, subject to certain conditions.
We had $538.1 million of cash on hand at quarter end.
And as I mentioned, we paid down our revolver to 0 in April.
Cash collections from customers continued to improve, and we're approximately 72% of contractual cash revenue or $98.1 million for the first quarter and 77% for April.
During the quarter, we also collected $29.5 million of deferred rent and interest from accrual basis tenants and borrowers, including the payment received from TopGolf that was used to purchase its San Jose location.
And the deferred rent and interest receivable balance on our books at March 31 was $59 million.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter in April, we received an additional $10.5 million of such deferral payments, bringing the year-to-date total to $40 million.
We expect to continue to collect deferred rent and interest from accrual basis tenants and borrowers, primarily over the next 36 months.
We are encouraged by the positive signs we are seeing in our customers' businesses, and we anticipate the positive trajectory of cash collections to continue over the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.
As previously announced, due to the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 disruption, we are not providing any forward earnings guidance.
However, we would like to update you on the expected ranges of contractual cash revenue that we expect to recognize in our financial statements for the second quarter of 2021, as well as our expected collections that relate to that same period.
The expected range we expect to recognize in Q2 2021 of such contractual cash revenue is $109 million to $116 million or 80% to 85%.
Additionally, the expected range we expect to collect of such contractual cash revenue in Q2 of '21 is $102 million to $109 million or 75% to 80%.
Differences from the full amount of contractual cash revenue relate to deferrals granted and the associated accounting, as well as abatements.
As evident from our discussion today, we are very pleased with our results and the trajectory of the recovery.
The continued success of the vaccine deployment should further strengthen the momentum of experiential assets.
As we've discussed previously and today, we do not have a consumer demand issue but rather a restricted environment.
And as these restrictions continue to be relaxed, our properties and tenants will benefit from this pent-up demand.

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qtrly ffoaa per share $0.48.
qtrly affo per share $0.52.

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