\n\tSome comeback!<\/p>\n
\n\tThe past 12 months were supposed to turn things around for struggling cinemas. But instead of heralding a dramatic return to moviegoing, 2025 is running neck-and-neck with the middling 2024 box office, and will fall far short of the $9 billion in domestic ticket sales that most analysts expected the theatrical movie business to easily eclipse. Prior to the pandemic, North American revenues would regularly hit between $10 billion to $11 billion. The 2025 results are a massive disappointment that no amount of spin can change. (Already there\u2019s talk of how much better 2026 will be.)<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s an unfortunate trend, which that we just can\u2019t get the industry to $9 billion at the domestic box office,\u201d says Mike Sherrill, the chief operating officer of dine-in cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse. \u201cIt looks like it\u2019s going to be two years in a row that the industry flatlined.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMore worrisome is the reality that many of the movie business\u2019s biggest franchises are showing signs of oversaturation or fatigue. Marvel continued to struggle with its B Team heroes; February\u2019s \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d and May\u2019s \u201cThunderbolts\u201d lost tens of millions during their theatrical runs, while July\u2019s \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps\u201d will only eke out a modest profit. And even though \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d ($760 million and counting), \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d ($504 million) and \u201cJurassic World Rebirth\u201d ($869 million) will rank among the year\u2019s top-grossing releases, they will fail to match the revenues of previous films in their respective series. Clearly, the theatrical industry can\u2019t thrive on sequels and spinoffs alone.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt would be easy to declare an end to comic book movies. That said, genres have risen and fallen throughout Hollywood history \u2014 just look at musicals or westerns or raunchy comedies, which have faded in popularity after once being surefire draws. What really has theater owners and some studio chiefs concerned as the year closes out is what the future will hold if Netflix is able to secure government approval for its $82.7 billion deal to buy Warner Bros<\/a>. Already, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has hinted that he believes that \u201cwindows,\u201d industry jargon for the amount of time that movies play exclusively in theaters, are too long. He told Wall Street shortly after the pact was announced that he expects that they will \u201cevolve\u201d in a more \u201cconsumer friendly\u201d direction. Everyone knows exactly what he meant by that.<\/p>\n \n\tFor cinemas, it\u2019s nothing short of an existential threat. During COVID, studios abbreviated the gap between a film\u2019s theatrical release and its home entertainment debut, only to discover that customers got accustomed to waiting to watch movies until they hit streaming or on-demand platforms. If windows keep shrinking, theaters may lose their competitive advantage.<\/p>\n \n\tThere were also reasons to feel optimistic about the trajectory of an industry that has been knocked down and counted out for half-a-decade. China, which had been hostile to Hollywood fare since the pandemic, embraced a few major studio releases such as \u201cZootopia 2\u201d and \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash,\u201d signaling that one of the world\u2019s biggest moviegoing markets is still accessible to certain U.S. productions. Of course, China is doing just fine without Hollywood \u2014 thank you, very much. The year\u2019s highest-grossing release isn\u2019t an English-language production but rather the Chinese animated sequel \u201cNe Zha 2,\u201d which has generated more than $2.1 billion globally, despite the fact that most Americans would draw a blank at the title.<\/p>\n \n\tFamily films and video game adaptations proved irresistible to audiences, who flocked to theaters to see the likes of \u201cA Minecraft Movie,\u201d \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d and \u201cZootopia 2.\u201d The three films, all of which carry PG ratings, were the three highest-grossing Hollywood productions, with \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d tapping out just shy of $1 billion and \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d and \u201cZootopia 2\u201d both crossing that threshold. It\u2019s the second consecutive year that PG films outgrossed their PG-13 counterparts, which is notable because it\u2019s usually the other way around. Meanwhile anime proved to be a massive boon, with \u201cDemon Slayer: Infinity Castle\u201d and \u201cChainsaw Man\u201d scoring back-to-back wins for Sony-owned Crunchyroll.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhat happened with \u2018Demon Slayer\u2019 is great because it opens a new category of film,\u201d says Sherrill of Alamo Drafthouse. \u201cAbout 49% of the audience was under 24 years old. That\u2019s so important because we need to be thinking about what\u2019s going to be relevant for the next generation of moviegoers.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tComic book content is no longer king. After being the most popular genre for over a decade, these movies have recently looked a lot less superhuman. The latest \u201cCaptain America\u201d suffered from a prolonged post-production and extensive rewrites, with critics piling on when the film debuted in February. Although \u201cFantastic Four\u201d and \u201cThunderbolts\u201d movies were much better regarded, they still failed to match the kind of grosses that Marvel movies used to routinely achieve before the pandemic. Marvel Studios will have a chance to recapture its box office prowess with next July\u2019s \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d as well as December\u2019s \u201cAvengers: Doomsday,\u201d which brings back Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.<\/p>\n \n\tMarvel\u2019s rival, DC Films, fared better with \u201cSuperman,\u201d a generally well-received Man of Steel adventure that grossed $616 million. A lot had been riding on the success of the film, which centers on the most recognizable name in DC Comics. James Gunn, who took over DC with Peter Safran in 2022, directed the film and positioned it as a reset for a company in desperate need of a fresh direction. For years, DC films such as \u201cJustice League\u201d and \u201cThe Flash\u201d have been slammed as too dark and dense. Gunn and Safran wanted to recapture the humor and hope that defined Richard Donner\u2019s 1978 classic, \u201cSuperman.\u201d DC\u2019s real challenge will come next year when the studio fields films like \u201cSupergirl\u201d and \u201cClayface,\u201d which are based on far lesser known characters.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe needed to have the DC logo be synonymous with quality again,\u201d Safran says. \u201cFor too long, our movies had suffered from real inconsistency. It takes time to develop a positive reputation, but this put us on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt was a disappointing year for many adult-oriented dramas, with the likes of \u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d \u201cBugonia\u201d and \u201cSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere\u201d failing to make much of a dent at the box office. However, some studios took artistic gambles that paid off handsomely, none more so than Warner Bros., which bet on idiosyncratic horror films like Ryan Coogler\u2019s \u201cSinners\u201d and Zach Cregger\u2019s \u201cWeapons,\u201d both of which attracted huge crowds after they debuted to rave reviews. And awards buzz helped another of the studio\u2019s auteur-driven films, Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d gross more than $200 million. The only problem: With a budget of $140 million and tens of millions spent on marketing, the film stands to lose $100 million theatrically <\/a>since studios and exhibitors essentially split ticket sales.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe good news is that when a movie catches the eye of a filmgoing audience, they are ready and excited to go. We saw all kinds of movies work this year,\u201d says Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. \u201cThe challenge is if you have something that, for whatever reason, doesn\u2019t spark people\u2019s interest, the floor is non-existent, regardless of the level of star power. You can have a movie that the audience likes and no one goes to see.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTom Cruise\u2019s star power may be dimming, as evidenced by the diminished returns of the mega-budgeted \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning.\u201d It ranks among the year\u2019s biggest bombs and may put Ethan Hunt on hiatus, at least until Cruise\u2019s adventure films get less costly. But other talent is ascending to the A-list. Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, for example, proved that he\u2019s one of the hottest names in movies. The 30-year-old actor has helped make A24\u2019s \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d a period movie about ping pong, into an unlikely holiday season hit. Credit goes to the star who helped mastermind a promotional push that saw him deploy everything from bright orange blimps to viral videos in service of the indie drama \u2014 the marketing blitz drew TikTok fans, as well as arthouse aficionados.<\/p>\n \n\tMovie theaters have also relied heavily on premium large formats like Imax and Dolby. The popularity of those screens, which are more expensive than the average movie ticket, has helped to offset the decline in attendance. For visual spectacles like \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d or \u201cF1: The Movie,\u201d those PLFs have accounted for 50% to 60% of overall sales. Although industry sales were essentially flat, Imax delivered its best-ever year at the box office with $1.2 billion globally.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe branched out in genres,\u201d says Imax\u2019s CEO Richard Gelfond. \u201cWe were known more in 2022 and 2023 for superhero movies and sequels. This year, we did a lot more in horror and family films. Three of the four biggest animated films in our history were this year, which I don\u2019t think is a coincident. The public\u2019s attitude is expanding to the kind of films they like to see in Imax.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe suggests that \u201cmore diversified content would help insulate theaters from some Hollywood changes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tExhibitors have, in fact, been turning to alternative content to populate their screens during the slower months. \u201cKill Bill\u201d or \u201cBack to the Future\u201d re-releases or \u201cJaws\u201d anniversary screenings have helped Alamo, for one, pace 5% ahead of the industry\u2019s year-over-year returns. But cinema operators are keenly aware that oldies aren\u2019t going to keep the lights on by themselves. They need Hollywood to supply the kind of new releases that turn multiplexes back into the epicenter of culture.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI would like to think that studios and distributors are looking at the trends and seeing that original, fresh stories are working,\u201d says Sherrill. \u201cSo don\u2019t just give me 20 more movies. Give me 20 more of the stuff that\u2019s meaningful for people.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWill those type of films fill marquees in 2026? This year, they certainly didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some comeback! The past 12 months were supposed to turn things around for struggling cinemas. 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