“Deadpool & Wolverine” is making Wall Street smile

Marvel’s new film Deadpool & Wolverine, which hit screens late last Thursday, is already helping theater chains break records. And Wall Street is happier about it than the foul-mouthed superhero in the midst of a bad-guy killing spree.

• AMC Entertainment, the biggest theater chain globally, said Thursday through Sunday set 2024 records for weekend attendance and admissions revenue in the US. The chain also saw its highest food-and-beverage revenue for a single weekend since 2019.
• Regal, America’s #2 chain, said Deadpool & Wolverine was responsible for its highest R-rated, 3-day opening weekend ever, and the highest 4DX weekend for the chain of all time.
• Cinemark, the third-largest US chain, saw record breaking box office and concessions as well, as Deadpool & Wolverine beat out every other film opening from May–August in the company’s history, Deadline reports.

Since the movie hit theaters: Shares of AMC (+0.0%), Regal (+2.7%), Cinemark (+5.7%), Imax (+3.3%), and Marcus (+3.4%) have all either increased or halted their recent declines (looking at you AMC👀).

🍿 Zoom out: After a slow start to the year, the box office is gaining momentum. Before the release of Inside Out 2 on June 14, US box office sales year-to-date were trailing the same period in 2023 by over 25%. As of yesterday, however, the real-time revenue gap has shrunk to 17%, with tentpole movies like Joker: Folie à Deux, Gladiator 2, and Mufasa: The Lion King still to come.