It is becoming clear that audiences are no longer satisfied with just sitting on the couch watching movies. Theater operators say they are not only returning to theaters in larger numbers, but they are opting for more expensive tickets and spending more on concessions.
in the weekends, Disney’s The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film, “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Opened for approximately $145 million in ticket sales domestically and attracted nearly 10 million moviegoers in theaters.
With additional ticket sales from films like of great quality and Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Jurassic World: Dominion” as well as Pixar’s “Lightear” and Warner Bros.’ “Elvis,” the weekend’s domestic box office, grossed nearly $240 million.
That’s significantly more than the $185 million for the same weekend in 2019, according to comScore data. At the time, Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” followed with Disney’s “Toy Story 4” and “Aladdin,” Universal’s “Tomorrow”, Warner Bros., “Annabelle Comes Home” and A24’s “Midsummer”. Topped the box office. ,
“We were jumping up and down this weekend,” said Brock Bagby, executive vice president of B&B Theaters, a regional, Midwest-based theater chain with more than 50 locations. “Friday was our biggest day of the year and the biggest singles day since ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ opened in December.”
With new blockbusters taking more people to theaters, summer in the US and Canada, the box office season is down just 12% compared to the summer before the pandemic.CAccording to comScore data. Between May 1 and July 10, the box office earned $2.27 billion from tickets. compared to $2.58 billion during the same period in 2019.
For the year so far, the domestic box office has collected over $4.25 billion in ticket sales as of Sunday. This is 30% less than the 2019 pre-pandemic level.
“Since the start of the summer, and the release of ‘Doctor Strange,’ the studio has stacked up one excellent film after another,” said Jeffrey Kaufman, senior vice president of film and marketing at Malco Theatres. “It has enthused the moviegoers and they have responded to many funny, thrilling and entertaining films.”
Cinema chains big and small are benefiting. Reported by AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest movie theater chain Highest global attendance of the year this weekend, top 5.9 million movie viewers. Its global admissions revenue jumped more than 12% over the same weekend in 2019, it said on Monday.
“Weekly box office results this summer have shown what we believe to be true at AMC: Consumers want to experience our movies through the unmatched experience of a movie theater, with its big screen, big sound and comfortable big screen.” seats,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a statement.
Bagby of B&B Theaters also told CNBC that moviegoers are choosing premium formats far more than before the pandemic. This includes IMAX, Dolby, 3D and other experiences that provide immersive seating or panoramic screens. He said that the audience is also spending more on food and drink.
B&B Theaters predicts it will end the year with a roughly 10% drop in same-store sales, based on movies coming in the next few months and an expected calm between August and October.
“I wish there were more products, but luckily the titles we had were incredibly strong,” he said.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, said the total number of films with wide releases in 2022 is down more than 30% compared to 2019.
Still, viewers will have plenty of content to choose from now and at the end of the year. Disney Will Release “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Warner Bros. And DC has “Black Adam” and “Shazam: Fury of the Gods”. universal Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” and . ready to release Sony The much awaited “Bullet Train” is here.
The year ends with Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the first planned sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time.
“Moviegoing is a habit,” Kaufman said. “Once people get into the habit, they always find the movies they want to watch.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Nope,” and “Yesterday.”