Summer movie season has 'plenty of tricks up its cinematic sleeve' for AMC

By James Rogers

A year after the 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon, movie-theater chains are enjoying a boost in foot traffic from this year's hit summer movies, says analytics company Placer.ai

A year after the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, movie-theater chains AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. and Regal Cinemas are riding the wave of summer movies like "Deadpool & Wolverine" and "Twisters," according to foot-traffic data from analytics company Placer.ai.

"Last year was one of the most exciting ones in recent memory for cinema, with multiple films breaking box-office records and driving foot traffic at movie theaters across the country," Bracha Arnold and Lila Margalit of Placer.ai wrote in a blog post. "But 2024 has had plenty of tricks up its cinematic sleeve, and several summer releases have been meeting the high bar set by Barbenheimer."

Placer.ai noted that Disney's record-breaking "Inside Out 2," which was released in June, "kickstarted the summer" with a major moviegoer boost. "Inside Out 2" reached $1 billion at the box office just 19 days after its June release, setting a new record for an animated movie.

Related: 'Inside Out 2' success is AMC's saving grace in second quarter

AMC (AMC), Cinemark (CNK) and Cineworld Group's Regal have all enjoyed major theater-visit boosts from this summer's hit movies, with "Deadpool & Wolverine" driving the biggest spikes, according to Placer.ai. During the week of July 22, AMC saw visits jump 139.5%, Regal saw them climb 140.5% and Cinemark saw a 132.7% increase, compared to a year-to-date weekly average.

Despite the challenges the movie-theater industry has faced in recovering from COVID-19 related slowdowns, the cinemas' foot-traffic numbers were also up on dramatically compared to a similar prepandemic period in the summer of 2019 - with AMC up 32.2%, Regal up 32.4% and Cinemark up 65.5% compared to July 29 to Aug. 4 of that year, according to Placer.ai. "Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw," one of that year's highly anticipated releases, opened in the U.S. on Aug. 2.

During a conference call to discuss AMC's second-quarter results last week, Chief Executive Adam Aron noted that "Deadpool & Wolverine," which opened on July 26, "has set all sorts of revenue and attendance records for AMC." Even before its release, the movie, starring Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, had racked up more day-one ticket sales than any other R-rated movie at AMC.

Related: AMC, boosted by 'Deadpool & Wolverine', set for market-share gains as box office rebounds, says Wedbush

While "Deadpool & Wolverine" has been the runaway hit of the summer, "Twisters," released on July 19, also drove significant visit spikes throughout the country, according to Placer.ai. "And of the major markets, some of Twisters' biggest visit boosts took place in states with plenty of hands-on tornado experience - like Texas, where July 19 visits to AMC, Regal and Cinemark (combined) were up 98.5% compared to a YTD daily average," wrote Arnold and Margalit.

Speaking during AMC's second-quarter earnings call, Aron said that while this year's third quarter may not overtake the same period last year - which was marked by the success of the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon - a slew of major releases are expected in the fourth quarter. These include "Joker: Folie à Deux," "Moana 2," "Gladiator 2" and "Mufasa: The Lion King," he noted.

AMC shares were down 4.9% Wednesday and have lost 21.1% this year to date, while Cinemark shares were down 1% Wednesday and up 84% on the year.

-James Rogers

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-07-24 1429ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.