Moral Movies Bring People Back to Theaters This Summer
By Movieguide® Contributor
It looks like AMC theaters got a boost in ticket sales this Memorial Day weekend with the help of moral, uplifting movies.
According to a report from Placer.ai, “The end of March and beginning of April saw movie theater visits spike, with JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 [released March 24] and THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE [released April 5] driving traffic to AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark.”
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE is already one of the biggest hits of 2023. A portion of the Movieguide® review reads:
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023) has a strong moral message about brotherhood, sacrifice, and working together to overcome evil. The movie has breathtaking animation that honors its iconic source material while breathing new life into the large cast of characters from both Mario video games and other Nintendo games of the same universe.
“Over the week of Memorial Day, visits remained high throughout the long weekend — Sunday visits were almost as strong as Saturday visits, and Monday visits dipped only slightly compared to the usual dramatic drop,” the report continued. “This indicates that, despite changes in entertainment consumption over the past couple of years, consumers still see going to the movies as a typical Memorial Day activity.”
Ticket sales this Memorial Day did not exceed those from last year’s holiday weekend, but Placer.ai reminded readers that blockbuster TOP GUN: MAVERICK was in theaters then and “set an incredibly high bar for Memorial Day 2023.”
Movieguide® previously reported on AMC’s CEO’s thoughts on the future of the theater chain:
AMC’s chief executive, Adam Aron, is confident about the future of the company.
AMC has made a strong return since the theater industry took a huge profit loss during the government-mandated lockdowns in 2020. At one point the company’s finances were so dire, it was projected they would run out of assets in Q1 of 2021. Now, however, the future of the company is looking bright.
Last year, AMC released 70 movies and has plans to screen around 110 movies this year. Additionally, the box office has rebounded and AMC will generate further revenue by screening Apple and Amazon movies in their theaters.
“I believe we’re on a ramp. And I’m certain that ’23 will be bigger than ’22,” Aron said. “I’m expecting the ’24 is going to be bigger than ’23. And I’ve already said publicly, I think that in 2024-2025 the pandemic will be an ancient memory… [Covid was] a five-year detour for this industry. And we just completed our third year.”
Based on these numbers from 2023’s Memorial Day weekend, it’s clear to see that family-friendly movies with strong moral messages will always drive audiences to the theaters.
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