Need proof that the box office is really recovering from COVID?
Look no further than the local charts, where there is not one, not two, but four The movies — a mix of new releases in Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic “Elvis” and Blumhouse’s scary thriller “The Black Phone,” as well as leftovers from “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion” — sell well for tickets.
It’s the third weekend in a row that more than one major movie has managed to sell a huge number of tickets. After a grueling run for cinemas, which closed for months during the pandemic and then struggled hard to recover, it’s a welcome change of pace because, finally, it signals audiences of all ages are returning to the big screen.
Hollywood needs this trend to continue all summer long like Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” (July 8), Jordan Peele’s “Nope” (July 22), and David Leitch’s star-studded “Bullet Train” (August 5). Even release in theaters.
“This is another very good weekend, with two successful new stories attracting very different audiences, as well as outstanding works,” says David A. Gross, who runs film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “And we’re heading out for a long weekend.”
For a while, there were one-off hits fueled by youngsters who would dominate the movie scene while leaving scraps for every other release, from Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($90 million first) to Spider-Man: No Way Home” (260 million). dollars for the first time) and “The Batman” ($134 million for the first time). Those gains were undoubtedly encouraging, but most of the box office wins have been adaptations of popular comic books or sequels in popular movie franchises. So, while those were useful in showing that films had the potential to match pre-pandemic box office expectations, the results ultimately left industry experts fearing that other films, especially of genres that weren’t superheroes, wouldn’t be able to survive. Alive to the office box.
“I’ve always kept the box office at its best when there’s something for everyone,” says Chris Aronson, who leads local distribution at Paramount. “That’s what you see now. There is something for everyone.”
Moreover, there are films that the audience wants to see on the big screen. According to CinemaScore polls, recent releases such as “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Elvis” and “Jurassic World Dominion” have received grades in the “A” range from ticket buyers, indicating that audiences were pleased after leaving the stage. This type of reception is important to elicit positive word-of-mouth and, in turn, to motivate people to abandon HBO Max in favor of local multiplex. It’s been an uphill battle for Hollywood studios since so many high-profile films have landed directly on streaming services during the pandemic, leaving moviegoers waiting to watch new releases at home.
But over the weekend, a slew of shows convinced people to ditch TV remotes. Debuts in COVID times, four movies – “Elvis” ($30.5 million in debut), “Top Gun: Maverick” ($30.5 million in fifth weekend), “Jurassic World: Dominion” ($26.4 million in holiday) Third Weekend) and “The Black Phone” ($23.3 million in its debut) — both grossed $20 million or more. Meanwhile, Disney-Pixar’s fifth “Lightyear” movie came close to bringing in $17 million.
“What a massive result,” says Jim Orr, head of local distribution for Universal. “You have props, family movies, horror movies, adult drama/music. It’s very encouraging going forward and a great sign that people really want to go back to movie theaters.”
A week ago, the box office hit another rarity: Three films — “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Lightyear” and “Top Gun: Maverick” — each earned more than $40 million between Friday and Sunday.
And it looks like the good fortunes will continue next weekend as “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the fifth installment in Universal and Illumination’s popular “Despicable Me” franchise, opens to the big screen. The animated comedy is expected to make at least $65 million to $70 million in its debut over the July 4th weekend.
Movie theater industry analysts believe the increase in attendance is a combination of two factors: people feel more comfortable returning to the cinema, and the movies that are released are worth shelling out for their hard-earned money to watch on the big screen.
There are data to support the first theory. According to the latest study by the National Research Group, 88% of moviegoers are “very comfortable or somewhat comfortable” in going to the movies. About a year ago, that percentage was closer to 59%. This means that people feel much better about returning to a dark room with strangers, a reality that prevented many ticket buyers from going to the movies in the early days of the pandemic.
Says Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Now, he notes, audiences are excited to return to movie theaters. “Without a doubt, the market is coming back.”
But things are not back to normal – until now. The box office is still 33% down compared to the same weekend in 2019. Jeff Bock, an analyst at Exhibitor Relations, says that’s because studios are releasing fewer films than they have in the past.
“The fans are showing up. There are not many options,” Bock said. “That will change in the summer of 2023.”
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