The cinema established itself as one of the most popular forms of mass entertainment in the 20th century. In the 21st century, films like Avatar and Avengers: Endgame broke box office records, raking in over $2 billion each in their respective runs. However, the rise of home entertainment options like Netflix, the increased reliance on big blockbusters to do the heavy lifting, and the COVID-19 pandemic presented a very real threat to the future of the traditional cinema.
Movie theatres have chipped away at this notion in the post-pandemic world. Avatar: The Way of Water was released on December 16, 2022, and managed to reel in just over $2.30 billion worldwide. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was another huge winner than pulled in over $1.30 billion. However, the buzz generated by the twin releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer this past weekend has injected newfound optimism for the movie theatre business.
Barbie was a massive success in its opening weekend. It has already pulled in over $470 million worldwide as we approach its second weekend. The Christopher Nolan historical epic Oppenheimer has raked in $220 million worldwide, an impressive feat for a dense three-hour film in its genre.
These successes bode well for the future of Cineplex (TSX:CGX). Its shares have jumped 3.2% month-over-month as of close on Wednesday, July 26. In Q1 2023, the company delivered total revenue growth of 49% to $340 million as theatre attendance surged 46% to 9.76 million. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 72% to $62.7 million. I’m eager for a front row seat as Cineplex continues its impressive post-pandemic rebound.
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