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Grab an extra-large popcorn and take a seat. The movies are back, baby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Yes, really. Three years after Covid first began putting intense downward pressure on the business proposition of releasing movies in theaters, there is optimism that this summer\u2019s box office, flush with releases like Mission: Impossible \u2014 Dead Reckoning Part One<\/em>, Barbie<\/em>, and Fast X<\/em>, will bring theatergoers\u2014and ticket revenues\u2014back in full force.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And as movies come back to theaters, there are other businesses that stand to benefit, whether that\u2019s studio advertising spend or in-theater advertising. Streaming services that have the rights to stream other films within a franchise could also see a boost, as people may watch those earlier movies before seeing the newest installment in theaters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cEverybody feels like the industry is kind of coming back to life,\u201d Geetha Ranganathan, a senior media analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, told Marketing Brew.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The summer box office is crucial for studios and movie theaters. Sales during the summer season\u2014usually defined as the 18 weeks starting the first Friday in May and ending on Labor Day\u2014normally account for an average of 40% of the year\u2019s total in the US and Canada, Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, told Marketing Brew.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This year, there are lots of movies to choose from. There will be 42 wide movie releases this summer, nearly double the 22 films released in the same timeframe a year ago, plus even more limited-release titles. Early-summer releases like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3<\/em>, The Little Mermaid<\/em>, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse<\/em> have delivered solid box-office results, and big-name titles like Christopher Nolan\u2019s Oppenheimer<\/em>, DC Comics\u2019s The Flash<\/em>, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/em> are rolling out throughout the summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not really a weekend that you can point to and say there\u2019s not a blockbuster or a potential blockbuster there,\u201d Dergarabedian said. \u201cThis is very good news for theaters. Momentum is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The optimism\u2014dare we say confidence?\u2014is a stark change from a few years ago, when Covid prompted theater shutdowns and straight-to-streaming film releases. Even as people began returning to their usual activities, the movie business remained somewhat stunted, in part due to fewer film releases: Last year, according to data from Comscore, the summer box office grossed $3.4 billion, nearly $1 billion less than the $4.3 billion box office of summer 2019\u2014the last summer before the pandemic.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The email newsletter guaranteed to bring you the latest stories shaping the marketing and advertising world, like only the Brew can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This year, industry analysts are keeping an eye out to see whether this summer\u2019s movie revenues can clear $4 billion, which Ranganathan and Dergarabedian both said would help them gauge whether or not 2023 could finally mark the movie industry\u2019s return to normal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIf we get to the $4 billion mark, that puts us on track for this recovery,\u201d Ranganathan said. In theory, she added, reaching that figure \u201cgives us that sense of relief or a sense of optimism that yes, we can definitely go back to pre-pandemic times.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There could be some challenges to reaching that number, including the fact that many films coming out this summer are franchise films, which can have less robust showings than prior installments. Take Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3<\/em> and Fast X<\/em>, which have so far underperformed previous titles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe later installments in the franchise typically don\u2019t tend to do as well as some of the prior ones,\u201d Ranganathan said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSigns of life<\/h2>\n
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