So, is the movie theater still relevant today? Absolutely! There is nothing better than a night at the movies. In August 2022, the National Association of Theater Owners held the first-ever National Cinema Day, which brought out 8.1 million moviegoers with $3 tickets.
The decline of movie theaters in the US can be seen in various statistics. In 2019, the US box office grossed $11.4 billion. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the box office gross plummeted to $2.2 billion, an 81% decline from the previous year.
Through Monday, the 2023 box office has tallied $958.5 million in ticket sales, up nearly 50% compared to last year and down just 25% from 2019, according to data from Comscore. This is a marked improvement from the meager $98.7 million box office tally during the same period in 2021.
It's been a rocky road for cinema in recent years. From the booming popularity of SVoD services like Netflix and Amazon Prime creating cut-throat competition, to the Covid-19 lockdowns forcing theatres to close for vast stretches, to the cost-of-living crisis that's driving consumers to tighten their belts.
Movie Theaters Continuing Slow and Steady Comeback
With a slew of highly anticipated releases scheduled for the next few months, it appears that movie theaters – like other sectors that have been consistently written off – will continue meeting consumer demand for out-of-home entertainment in 2024 and beyond.
AMC Theatres Quarterly Loss Increases to $287M, Overall Revenues Fall. The Adam Aron-led exhibitor reported a global attendance at 49.5 million, down from 60 million patrons during the year-ago period.
The theatrical movie business has long proved to be unusually resilient when it comes to economic downturns. In fact, over the last eight recessions, the box office has increased six times and admissions have gone up five times.
By contrast, in 2020 admission numbers fell to 44m due to the pandemic. “For all the positivity, the sector still faces considerable challenges, including cost increases in a range of operating areas, in particular around energy and staffing,” said Phil Clapp, the chief executive of the UK Cinema Association.
At a theater, the film has exceptional image and sound, just as the director intended. Going to the cinema is also a communal experience, sharing the emotions of the film with others in the audience and creating special moments that are lost through other viewing mediums.
Which States have the highest number of businesses in the Movie Theaters industry in the United States? California (564 businesses), Texas (386 businesses) and New York (293 businesses) are the States with the most number of Movie Theaters businesses in the US.
Film studios put projects slated for 2020 theatrical releases on streaming services in an attempt to recoup some of the revenue that would inevitably be lost. Despite their start as a temporary solution to potential financial ruin, streaming services are here to stay.
The future of cinema is likely to be shaped by several factors. The first one I think matters most is the increased use of streaming services. The rise of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ has already had a significant impact on the film industry, and this trend is likely to continue.
Strategies can shift. But right now, theaters and (most) streamers are finding plenty of common ground. And business is booming again. “All the naysayers who said maybe the theatrical business was dead or was going to be much smaller than it was before, I'm not so sure about that,” says Wilson.
The movie industry is in trouble, too. People spend more time and money on video games than on movies and more time watching YouTube than any other TV network. Big media companies are merging with or buying other big media companies. Some of the companies that were bought may soon be sold.
According to a survey of Americans Gen Z's movie-going habits led in 2022, only three percent of those surveyed said they visit a movie theater one a week or more often. That same year, 14 percent visit them between one to three times a month, while 40 percent said they visit a few times a year.
Over four years earlier, in February 2018, the figures were significantly closer, at 47 ad 45 percent. Between 2018 and 2021, the number of movie tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada decreased by more than 60 percent.
Do people prefer movie theaters or streaming services?
By June 2020, the percentage of adults who strongly preferred seeing a movie in a theater fell to 14%, with 36% choosing to stream movies instead. For better or worse, streaming has significantly impacted the film industry in terms of how films are produced and distributed and how audiences consume them.
What is the outlook for the movie theater industry?
The movie theatre market size is estimated at USD 69.78 billion in the last year and is expected to reach USD 95.66 billion in the next five years, registering a CAGR of 5.24% during the forecast period.
Watching a movie in theaters takes quite a lot of planning, and people must check their schedules. On the other hand, streaming movies at home is different. Plus, we all know how streaming platforms are far cheaper than going to a theater, burning petrol, and buying popcorn, among other hassles.
September 21, 2023 | A funny thing happened this summer: Movies weren't in such a hurry to be seen at home. The average theatrical window for films released from May through June will end up more than 40 days — a significant increase compared to January-April, when the theatrical window fell to an average of 30 days.
For film fans, "Will movie theaters survive?" has been an ongoing concern. And yet, whether out of movie-loving optimism, showbiz-savvy pragmatism, or both, nearly all of EW's interviewees believe that we'll still be heading to theaters in 2032. "Movie theaters aren't going anywhere!," insists director/writer M.
The much loved artform of cinema has changed greatly over time, and in recent years it seems to be on a decline. A lack of new ideas in the filmmaking industry, as well as the take over of streaming services are some of the many causes for this degenerating trend of well-made movies.
AMC may survive 2023 if enough investors are willing to overvalue the stock sufficiently to dilute equity and raise much-needed cash. At this point, AMC's cash flow seems unlikely to become positive and rise enough to offset its negative working capital.
Still, the financial toll of the pandemic has been immense, and is still weighing down AMC and other movie theater chains. AMC, Cineworld and other theater chains are just beginning to recover from the impact of the pandemic. (Cineworld recently emerged from bankruptcy.)
