The financial struggle that has hit the movie theater industry since the pandemic, employee strikes, and the rise of streaming platforms, appears to be turning more positive with revenue consistently spiking during the summer season, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
In 2024, the month of August experienced a peak of $5.6 billion, and 2023 saw a peak of $6.6 billion in the same month, the data shows.
This year, the successful finish to the summer movie season inspired optimism for the theaters. However, there is still some concern given the slow start to the season, which saw the lowest grossing Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades.
Nevertheless, the box office climbed significantly with the release of “Inside Out 2,” which became the highest-grossing animated movie ever, giving Pixar its first hit in years, and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which became the highest-grossing R-rated film ever and revived the popularity of Marvel Studios in theaters. Films like “Twisters,” “Longlegs” and “It Ends With Us” also performed well.
Cinemark, the third-biggest theater chain in the U.S., has seen its stock more than double this year. Regal, whose parent Cineworld emerged out of bankruptcy, raised $250 million to upgrade more than 30 of its locations. AMC, which has also come close to bankruptcy in the past, was able to restructure more than $2 billion of its debt.
“AMC is probably the only one that has a little concern,” Eric Wold of the research firm B. Riley, told Axios. “Being able to push out their debt maturities from ’26 to ’29 and ’30 was a great lifeline.”
Meanwhile, a question of whether the movie theater industry can get back to where it was prior to the Covid pandemic and the rise of streaming platforms still remains.
“Next summer will be a very clear window into where the industry is at compared to where we left off in 2019,” Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, told Axios. “There will be no excuses.”
Yet, a recent push toward more expensive premium viewing formats and cost-cutting measures may make up for declines in the box office, Wold argues. “They can get back to their pre-pandemic earnings and EBITDA, even if attendance isn’t back in all the way back,” he said.
The third-quarter for the box office this year, which includes the strong debut of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice” sequel that set September records last weekend, is now expected to come in above projections from B. Riley.
