<\/p>\n
As movie theater owners and studio executives converge on Las Vegas this week for the annual CinemaCon trade conference, a rare sentiment is emerging \u2014 optimism.<\/p>\n
A string of hits like Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d<\/a> and Universal Pictures, Nintendo and Illumination\u2019s \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d have ignited theatrical revenue<\/a> and helped push year-to-date domestic box office revenue about 23% higher than last year, according to Comscore data.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not just due to higher ticket prices. More people are going to theaters, with 154 million tickets sold so far this year in the U.S. and Canada, up nearly 16% from the same time last year, data from EntTelligence shows.<\/p>\n The upswing suggests that the exhibition industry is beginning to recover from the devastating downturn that occurred in the aftermath of the pandemic when people got out of the habit of watching movies on the big screen and instead turned to Netflix and other streaming platforms.<\/p>\n Studio executives and theater operators chalk up the improved prospects to several factors, including a better and more plentiful crop of bankable movies that are giving consumers more reason to trek to the multiplex.<\/p>\n Several upcoming films could be blockbusters: Walt Disney Co.-owned 20th Century Studios\u2019 20-year sequel \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada 2,\u201d Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d Sony Pictures\u2019 \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d and Warner Bros. Pictures\u2019 and Legendary Entertainment\u2019s \u201cDune: Part Three.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s given hope to theater executives like Cin\u00e9polis USA Chief Executive Luis Olloqui. The chain\u2019s first-quarter revenue was about 4% to 5% higher than expected.<\/p>\n The Dallas-based subsidiary of the Mexico-cinema chain which has 10 locations in California, saw especially high demand for the \u201cSuper Mario\u201d movie. On opening weekend, fans bought out all of its merchandise, including a Yoshi-themed popcorn bucket and a \u201cMario\u201d blanket, even though Cin\u00e9polis had ordered additional products.<\/p>\n Already, pre-sales for \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada 2\u201d are \u201cthrough the roof,\u201d with many inquiries about private events, Olloqui said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting into that cadence we needed in terms of having good movies, different types of movies being released every weekend,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year in general, we\u2019re feeling more confident, more optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n That enthusiasm is a far cry from the dread many exhibitors felt this time last year after a disastrous first quarter at the box office<\/a>.<\/p>\n Theatrical business did pick up shortly after last year\u2019s CinemaCon with a monster showing for Warner Bros.\u2019 \u201cA Minecraft Movie,\u201d followed by strong performances from Ryan Coogler\u2019s \u201cSinners\u201d and Disney\u2019s live-action \u201cLilo & Stitch.\u201d <\/p>\n But the fiscal first-quarter hole was just too deep to fill . The 2025 box office ended up reaching about $8.87 billion<\/a>, just barely above 2024\u2019s already dismal total.<\/p>\n Box office analysts predict this year will be different.<\/p>\n For one, first-quarter box office revenue this year was 22% higher than last year\u2019s bleak numbers \u2014 marking the strongest start since the pandemic, according to MoffettNathanson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe the long-awaited box office rebound is finally here,\u201d senior analyst Robert Fishman wrote in a recent note to clients.<\/p>\n In addition to the strong kickoff, 2026 marks the return of popular franchises that once printed money for studios: a new \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie, as well as Disney and Marvel Studios\u2019 \u201cAvengers: Doomsday.\u201d<\/p>\n Their reception will be a test of how those franchises can hold up in the post-pandemic era, particularly at a time when superhero films may have finally reached their ceiling.<\/p>\n In their place, however, are family-friendly films, which became theatrical juggernauts in the last few years and have accounted for numerous billion-dollar hits<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plenty of kids\u2019 movies will be released later this year, including Universal and Illumination\u2019s \u201cMinions & Monsters,\u201d Disney and Pixar\u2019s \u201cToy Story 5\u201d and Paramount Pictures\u2019 \u201cPaw Patrol: The Dino Movie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the year we wanted last year,\u201d said David A. Gross, who writes the FranchiseRe movie industry newsletter. \u201cThere is wind at the back of the industry right now.\u201d<\/p>\n To be sure, the movie business still faces many serious challenges.<\/p>\n Theatrical revenue still deeply lags that of 2019, before the pandemic decimated moviegoing habits.<\/p>\n Those changes have rocked the exhibition business in ways that are still reverberating today.<\/p>\n Last month, dine-in movie theater chain iPic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection<\/a> and said it planned to pursue a sale . The Boca Raton, Fla.-based company has 13 locations across the U.S., including theaters in Pasadena and Westwood. In February, Dallas-based Look Dine-In Cinemas abruptly closed three Southern California locations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The closures reflect a tough environment for theaters, which have struggled to fill seats especially as studios have cut back the number of movies they release.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t have enough movies coming through your theaters, it becomes very difficult to pay your rent or pay your salaries or the cost of food,\u201d said Patrick Corcoran, founding partner of the Fithian Group, a theater consulting firm. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to either squeeze more revenue out of each movie that comes through, or cut costs.\u201d<\/p>\n Even larger chains have been slow to recover since the pandemic. <\/p>\n Leawood-Kansas-based AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. posted a net loss of $632.4 million on revenue of $4.8 billion for fiscal year 2025, compared with a net loss of $352.6 million a year earlier. AMC said it incurred higher costs due to a refinancing and reported a 2.1% decline in attendance.<\/p>\n Still, in a February earnings call, Chief Executive Adam Aron expressed confidence in the film lineup for 2026, calling it \u201cthe strongest slate of moviegoing that this industry has seen since 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will likely need at least a strong 2027 film slate as well … for AMC to be cash-flow positive in outer years,\u201d Aron told analysts. . \u201cBut the considerable progress that we expect to make in this year, 2026, should fill us all with heightened confidence as to our future.\u201d<\/p>\n Exhibitors also are worried about the growing consolidation in Hollywood. As more studios merge, including the upcoming deal between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, theater owners fear it will lead to even fewer movies. <\/p>\n Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison has sought to ally those fears, saying the combined company will release 30 films a year \u2014 15 each from Paramount and Warner Bros \u2014 though industry insiders are skeptical. <\/p>\n Nevertheless, many exhibitors are hopeful domestic ticket sales will reach $9 billion this year, a milestone the industry has aimed for since the pandemic. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where we need to get,\u201d said Olloqui of Cin\u00e9polis. \u201cThat will give the confidence we need to keep investing in seats, new projectors … so we can continue to offer that top-level service that everybody wants to see at the theater.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As movie theater owners and studio executives converge on Las Vegas this week for the annual CinemaCon trade conference, a rare sentiment is emerging \u2014 optimism. A string of hits like Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d and Universal Pictures, Nintendo and Illumination\u2019s \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d have ignited theatrical revenue and helped push […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2370858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2370857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Movie-theaters-finally-emerge-from-the-shadows-of-the-pandemic.com2F2e2F262F1a9d1ac4440aabfa0bf4eca5.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370859,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370857\/revisions\/2370859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}