It's not time to roll the credits yet on physical movie theaters.
There have been some weeks in the past year when visits to movie theaters topped those in 2019 despite an overall slowdown in ticket sales and attendance, according to Placer.ai, a Los Altos, California-based company that tracks foot traffic.
The reason: blockbusters.
Three of the top-25 highest-grossing domestic box office flicks — "Top Gun: Maverick," "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Black Panter: Wakanda Forever" — were released last year, according to The Numbers, a Kensington, California-based company that follows ticket sales.
Unsurprisingly, there was a jump in attendance at major movie theater chains on weeks when these hit movies played, according to Placer.ai. However, 2022's overall ticket sales were still down by about 500 million when compared to 2019 and revenue generated was down by about $3.6 billion, according to The Numbers.
"In 2022, blockbuster titles drove foot traffic surges to theaters nationwide, and many consumers chose evening showtimes over matinees. And as consumer preferences shift, a dynamic pricing model has the potential to help movie theater companies capitalize on both of these trends and drive more foot traffic to theaters," according to Placer.ai.
Blockbuster successes are leading some companies to invest in content for brick-and-mortar theaters. Apple is spending $1 billion per year on movies to be released in theaters, according to a Bloomberg report in March. Meanwhile, Amazon opened its own movie theater in Culver City, California, in late 2022 while also planning to spend $1 billion annually on film releases in movie theaters.