National CineMedia is facing stiff headwinds, but they don't all affect AMC.

A leveraged provider of in-theater advertising is starting to buckle, and it's easy to wonder what the ramifications will be for AMC Entertainment Holdings $AMC Entertainment(AMC.US)$ and the rest of the country's multiplex operators. Shares of National CineMedia $National CineMedia(NCMI.US)$ have shed two-thirds of their value this year, and hopes for a turnaround are starting to run dry.

B. Riley analyst Eric Wold slashed his price target on National CineMedia from $4 to $1.50 three months ago, adjusting that price goal to $1 on Monday. He points out that the company behind the country's largest cinema advertising network is facing some serious near-term headwinds.

The bankruptcy filing earlier this month by Regal Entertainment's parent company, Cineworld Group $CINEWORLD GROUP(CNNWF.US)$   -- which along with AMC were the ad platform's two biggest accounts -- weighs on National CineMedia's business. He also cites media reports that National CineMedia's creditors have hired a financial advisor to explore their options ahead of a meaningful debt balance maturing in June of next year. Let's look at the situation to see if AMC investors need to worry about the fate of a struggling National CineMedia.