See you at the movies! Box office milestones signal comeback for theaters
Dec. 23—The American tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas day is classic, timeless, and apparently, immune to COVID-19.
The Cinemark at Richmond Centre is the only movie theater in the county, and representatives say it is poised to see many visitors over the holiday weekend.
Did You Know?
Proscenium
pro·sce·ni·um
/prəˈsēnēəm/
noun
1.
the part of a theater stage in front of the curtain.
*
the stage of an ancient theater.
*
short for proscenium arch.
The late world-renowned film critic Roger Ebert once described movie theaters as "unashamedly providing a proscenium for our dreams." Ebert also noted theaters past impact on the architectural diversity of small towns. He claimed theaters — like churches — were often some of the largest and most elaborate buildings in small towns.
However, with the rising popularity of online meeting software, delivery services and at-home streaming platforms in the wake of COVID-19, there was a lot of uncertainty about the future of large gatherings — including the notion of multiple strangers in a packed together in a movie theater. Entertainment experts specifically questioned the longterm viability of theaters during the pandemic and debated whether or not going to the movies would be a distant memory.
The pandemic lockdowns also mean movie theaters were closed and productions halted — effectively pressing pause on industry profits. Since the incredibly steep decline from 2019 to 2020 — which resulted in an astounding 80.4% drop in gross earnings in just one year — however, industry leaders say movie-lovers are returning to their local theaters in droves, and this holiday season may see more gains than in recent years.
According to Box Office Mojo, total gross sales are at about $6.9 billion in 2022, up nearly 75% from $3.9 billion in total gross sales in 2021.
Cinemark representative Julia McCartha seemed optimistic about turnout this year.
"We have seen strong consumer enthusiasm for the big screen experience, with many films performing at or better than pre-pandemic levels, and we expect we will continue to see that throughout the holiday season," McCartha said.
While this year is still $3.5 billion short from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, these reports mark the potential for an impressive comeback for movie theaters, who were forced to innovate the entire experience for moviegoers.
For the local Cinemark, this has resulted in the Movie Club membership — which provides members with one regular ticket per month and a 20% concessions discount — as well as innovations for pre-buying tickets and concessions online through the app.
Industry innovations seem to be working, as Thanksgiving weekend performed at $93.7 million total gross sales compared to 2021's $96.5 million total gross sales — both a steep upward slope from 2019 — leaving Christmastime poised for a great turnout for the year.
"The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for moviegoing, as kids are out of school, adults are off work, and everyone is looking for fun holiday activities to partake in together," McCartha said.
Cinemark has a variety of films for moviegoers who are looking to be take in a film this holiday season, including "Avatar: The Way of Water", the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time. Families are expected to take in a showing of "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," while those looking for action might choose "Violent Night", starring David Harbour from Netflix's "Stranger Things."
McCartha expressed that Cinemark staff are happy to be part of the story for families.
"There is nothing like the shared experience of seeing a great film on the big screen together," she remarked, "Especially for families, getting to see the joy and wonder on their children's faces as they watch a captivating film makes moviegoing a special holiday tradition for so many."
