There's good news and bad for the movie industry this year.
On the good side, business is better than it has been since 2019. Some major releases, such as the new Top Gun film staring Tom Cruise, have sparked big box office receipts. And a slate of big releases set for the rest of the year holds out hope of a continued rebound.
But while business is certainly better than it has been, total box office receipts are still down almost a third from where they were in 2019 at this time of year, according to Box Office Mojo.
Certainly a lot of that has to do with the lingering effects of covid.
The pandemic crippled the movie theater industry in 2020 and 2021 because ... no one could go see a movie.
The industry lost billions of dollars, film festivals were cancelled, and film releases were pushed back again and again. All of this accumulated to a huge drop in revenue for every movie theater across the world. AMC (AMC), the largest movie theater chain, basically shut down during the pandemic and lost $4.6 billion dollars in 2020.
The highest grossing domestic movie in 2020 was Bad Boys for Life, released that year in January, two months before the lockdowns began in the U.S. The film grossed $200 million, a low number compared to how movies have performed in the past. For reference, the highest grossing domestic box office movie goes to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) at $936 million.
Is Streaming the Next Big Thing?
In addition to the loss of moviegoers at theaters, online competition keeps growing, as production companies move towards streaming new movies and TV shows. Disney (DIS) suffered major setbacks due to the pandemic, pushing back the theatrical release of Spiderman: No Way Home and Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness, among others.
But its Disney+ streaming service for Disney movies and TV shows, which launched in November 2019 saw a massive increase in subscribers during the pandemic. Helped by the exclusive "Hamilton" streaming release on the platform, Disney+ has now gone on to release movies exclusive to the platform like Shang Chi, Black Widow, and Eternals, after release in theaters.
Other platforms like HBO Max released Dune and Batman after a short time in theaters. Batman released in theaters on March 4, 2022, and was released on HBO Max on April 11.
Faced with the pandemic, streaming services have certainly made their money. Film studios have typically agreed not to release their major films on streaming services until 45 days after they debut in theaters.
How Have Theaters Been Performing?
Moviegoers are still cautious about going to see movies because of new covid variants and rapidly rising cases. Surging inflation is also cutting into leisure and entertainment spending.
However, Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the 1986 Top Gun, hit movie theaters during Memorial Day Weekend. It holds out hope that better times are ahead for theaters having amassed $160 million in sales in its opening weekend, the highest amount for any Tom Cruise film, and nearly $1.3 billion in worldwide gross so far
The Elvis biopic "Elvis" also did well in theaters, amassing a to-date total of $119 million. Spiderman: No Way Home, released in 2021, has amassed $1.9 billion worldwide since release with a majority of that coming in the 2022 calendar year.
However, it's uncertain whether movie theater companies like AMC can really get back to making pre-pandemic sales. With growing fears of a recession, inflation running hot, and interest rates rising it's clear that movie theaters need a lot more hits to get back to where they were.
Anticipated Releases Coming to Theaters:
The most heavily anticipated release in 2022 has to be Avatar: The Way of Water coming to theaters on December 16, 2022. It is set a decade after the events of the first film and is expected to blow up box offices. Avatar 3 is expected to come out December 20, 2024.
September will feature Don't Worry Darling, set to hit theaters September 23, and in November, star-studded cast for the movie Amsterdam will release November 4. Finally, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to open on November 11, 2022.
