Movie theaters are rolling out the red carpet

This weekend, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse grossed $120.5 million at the US box office, good for the second-best domestic opening of the year. The 2023 summer movie season is officially upon us🥳.

But theaters, hit hard by the pandemic, are still struggling to recover. Box office revenues are well below 2019 levels, which, according to a recent NYT report, is causing many theaters to channel Willy Wonka and get creative in a bid to attract moviegoers.

• Less screens, more… everything else: Many theaters are trading in some of their screening rooms to make room for bowling alleys, arcades, rock-climbing walls, and bumper cars.
• Good food, good drinks: Given the higher margins a theater can make on food and alcohol, many are elevating the concession experience to include options like nachos with real cheese, beer that’s brewed on location, and yes, sushi.
• Immersive experiences: Some theaters have added seats that move in sync with the movie and blow air at viewers during a windy scene. Premium screens – which include IMAX and ScreenX – are predicted to generate almost 17% of all box office revenue this year, up from about 9% in 2019.

🍿📸 Big picture: There’s still a ways to go until theaters get back to their pre-pandemic levels. US box office revenues are sitting at $2.85 billion so far this year, according to Comscore data, 23% below the $3.74 billion generated over the same period in 2019.