Cineplex improved its revenues dramatically in Q1 2022 in comparison with Q1 2021. Last Friday, Canada’s largest exhibitor reported that it lost $42.2M in the most recent quarter, which is less than one-half the $89.7M loss it registered in Q1 2021. In a stunning turnaround, the number of tickets Cineplex sold increased thirteenfold from Q1 last year, when many of its theatres were forced to close during a spike in COVID-19 infections in Canada.
Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob is optimistic about this year’s movie pipeline, from the long-anticipated TOP GUN: MAVERICK, which opens in two weeks on 5/27, through AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, which should light up the holiday box office when it opens on 12/16. Jacob stated, “We’re the engine that drives the trains. So it helps the studios and maximizes their profits… How do people remember the content? It’s because of the theaters. You don’t talk about movies watched when you stream them.”