Cinemark Posts Comeback Quarter After Strong Box Office Performers Like SPIDER-MAN
By Movieguide® Staff
Sparked by better-than-expected box office performers and Marvel’s blockbuster SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, Cinemark Holdings posted its first profit profitable quarter since the start of the pandemic.
Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble, who took over the position on Jan. 1 from Mark Zoradi, total revenue jumped 579 percent to $666.7 million from $98.2 million in 2020.
“The theatrical exhibition industry, and our company, made huge strides recovering from the ongoing effects of the pandemic throughout 2021, culminating in an exceptional fourth quarter,” Gamble said in a recent statement. “During the quarter, Cinemark surpassed North American industry box office performance…when comparing results against the fourth quarter of 2019. Our Latin American admissions also over-indexed their corresponding industry benchmarks.”
Gamble credited blockbuster movies like SPIDER-MAN and the decision from studios to commit to exclusive theatrical releases for the company’s success.
“The positive news in the outlook is most releases will have some form of an exclusive window and it seems like the largest films are gravitating towards a 45 day window,” Gamble said.
“Disney has been taking more of ‘we’ll wait and see how things progress with the course of the pandemic,'” he added.
According to Cinemark CFO Melissa Thomas, the continued pandemic restrictions in large markets could affect ticket prices in the future.
“We’re testing and learning. For example, we’re in the midst of a series of tests to better understand how elasticities have evolved during the pandemic, to further optimize our base pricing levels going forward,” Thomas said. “That could mean increases or decreases in pricing, depending upon the theater market, the time of day and week and various other factors.”
Ultimately, the profit marks a step forward for cinemas looking to return to pre-pandemic norms. However, some analysts believe the catalog of upcoming movies is partly to blame for the slow rebound.
“This outperformance marks another positive step in the box office recovery process,” analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners said. “That said, we remain concerned about the overall box office recovery, specifically with the industry’s lack of meaningful depth, which is why a rebound is occurring at a slower than anticipated rate.”
As Movieguide® has previously reported, movies that uplift and champion moral values have led the way in regards to box office profits:
Audiences are willing to venture out when there is a movie they prefer to see on a big screen with surround sound as opposed to their home screen where it’s easier to sink into binge viewing and naps. As winter and its inevitable companion cabin fever begin to take hold, some viewers, especially those with small children, might be more willing to step foot into theaters even more often.
Though ticket sales were undoubtedly affected by families’ concerns of visiting public spaces with kids during a pandemic, family-friendly films made an impressive showing globally.
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