A spate of encouraging earnings reports from the nation’s largest exhibitors point to the overall healing of the sector. For Marcus Corporation, which operates the fourth largest exhibition circuit in the U.S., Q3 was the first profitable quarter since the onset of the pandemic. Total revenue for the quarter was $145.9M, on which they were able to seek out a small profit of $1.76M. CEO Rolando Rodriguez indicated that one important factor contributing to this success has been the growing percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, leading to a lift in consumer confidence in moviegoing. However, the most important influence has been the number and quality of new movies, particularly titles which studios give to theatres exclusively. Rodriguez mentioned BLACK WIDOW, SHANG-CHI, AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, JUNGLE CRUISE, and FREE GUY as being top-performing titles at his Marcus Theatres during Q3.
And Q4 is off to a bright start, with the month of October coming in at $637M, representing the highest U.S. box office in the pandemic era. Theatres are also encouraged by a steady flow of major new releases in November and December that will launch with exclusive theatrical runs. These include ETERNALS, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, WEST SIDE STORY, and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME.
See Also: Imax Aims to Get Back in the Black (Hollywood Reporter)