Three box office hits — “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and pop icon Taylor Swift’s concert film — bolstered cinema attendance during the third quarter in a positive sign for brick-and-mortar theater owners.
AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark all reported a bigger year-over-year share of visitors who went to a movie at least twice in the third quarter, according to Placer.ai, a Los Altos, California-based company that tracks foot traffic. The data shows that blockbusters still drive people to physical theaters despite overall ticket sales remaining lower than pre-pandemic numbers.
AMC and Regal still had decreases in visits in the third quarter compared to 2019, according to Placer.ai. However, Cinemark’s overall visits increased slightly.
"Recent data indicates that the category is slowly and steadily making a comeback, as blockbuster after blockbuster reveals the still-strong appetite for in-cinema entertainment," Placer.ai said.
Box office revenue at movie theaters nationwide is expected to reach $9.4 billion this year, adjusted for inflation, according to entertainment industry tracker The Numbers. That's down from $11.3 billion in ticket sales in 2019.