https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/05/box-office-almost-back-to-pre-covid-levels.html
For nearly three years, the domestic box office has been chasing the highs of the pre-pandemic era, hoping that blockbuster franchise films would fill seats and sell popcorn. While superheroes, fighter pilots and blue aliens have lured moviegoers back to cinemas, it’s the recent steady stream of mid-budgeted films from a wide variety of genres that has bolstered ticket sales. “We’re actually catching up with 2019 levels,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Remember: 2019 was no slouch. It was the second-highest box office year with $11.4 billion.” The performance of the 2019 box office has become the benchmark for the industry in recent years as it represents the last full year of theatrical normalcy before the Covid pandemic.
Since movie theaters reopened to the public in late 2020, the domestic box office has steadily recovered, generating significantly higher ticket sales each year. Last year, the box office reached $7.5 billion, up 64% from the $4.58 billion in ticket sales seen in 2021. But, it lagged around 34% from 2019. Industry analysts attributed the smaller box office to a more limited inventory of theatrical releases, not a general disinterest by consumers to return to cinemas. After all, the number of wide releases, those that open in more than 2,000 locations, was down just about the same percentage as the over all box-office totals.
In 2023, that volume is coming back and it’s “driving a healthier market overall,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “The most encouraging sign to me is that there’s more variety then there was last year,” Robbins said. He noted that there were more titles for adult audiences, like “80 For Brady” and “A Man Called Otto,” as well as more genre films like “Plane,” “65″ and “Knock at the Cabin.” And that kind of variety is appealing to potential moviegoers. Around 33% of consumers said they would go to theaters more if the box office offered a wider array of film genres and choices, according to new study by United Talent Agency.
The survey, which polled 2,000 U.S. people aged 15 through 69, also found that 75% of respondents planned to go out to the movies more often in 2023, compared with 2022. “It’s a killer slate,” Dergarabedian said, noting that the second quarter doesn’t include all of the summer movie season or titles like “Barbie,” “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” or “Oppenheimer.” And with more people venturing out to see movies, Robbin foresees a windfall. Movie theaters are where most moviegoers see trailers for upcoming releases and will likely inspire audiences to return again and again to their local cinema to see new films. “I firmly believe moviegoing begets moviegoing,” Robbins said.
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