The Zhitong Finance App learned that with the strong release of the two blockbusters “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey,” which proved that high-quality summer films are effectively driving viewers back to the big screen, cinema operators' stock prices rose in response on Monday.
After the opening of the New York market on Monday, AMC Cinemas (AMC.US) stock soared 7.5%, then regained most of the gains; Marcus (MCS.US) rose as high as 11.4%, Cineplex rose 4.1%, IMAX (IMAX.US) climbed 6.8%, and CNK.US (CNK.US) also recorded a 6.5% increase.
AMC said this past weekend set the highest revenue record in its 100-year history. From Wednesday to Sunday, its AMC and Odeon theaters attracted a total of 10.2 million viewers to watch the latest film starring Tom Holland once again as the beloved superhero. AMC also announced that the number of visitors to Dolby Cinemas and food and beverage revenue both hit new highs for the company. The number of viewers also surpassed the 7.8 million mark set three years ago when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” played against each other on the same stage.
The new “Spider-Man” is distributed by SONY.US (SONY.US) Film and Television Entertainment and co-produced with Marvel Pictures, a subsidiary of Disney (DIS.US). The film grossed 360 million US dollars in North America on the first weekend, with a cumulative total of 932 million US dollars worldwide. Not only did it become the highest-grossing film of the year, but it also set a record high for the first weekend in Hollywood film history.
“This is certainly a historic weekend for AMC,” CEO Adam Allen said in a statement. “This is a strong and irrefutable proof: as long as the producer releases the work the audience is looking forward to, and supported by strong publicity support, the audience will be extremely enthusiastic about the cinema-watching experience.”
The “Spider-Man” series has proven to be Sony's tried and tested success model. Since the beginning of this century, this cobwebed criminal fighter has become a central character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the most successful IP series in Hollywood history), and related films have grossed billions of dollars.
However, Spider-Man wasn't the only one to excel this summer. “The Odyssey” directed by Christopher Nolan was screened on July 17. The local box office reached US$124.5 million on the first weekend, which also greatly boosted the demand for movies in high-end cinemas such as IMAX.
AMC said that demand for “Odyssey” is still strong on more than 200 IMAX screens around the world, and the AMC Lincoln Plaza 13 Cinemas in New York screened the 70mm IMAX version around the clock for the third consecutive weekend from Friday to Sunday.
“It goes without saying that audiences of all ages are eager to experience outstanding films on the big screen,” Jeff Tomashek, president of Marcus Cinemas, said in a statement.
Ximanke Studios also announced that its local weekend box office reached a record high, and pointed out that the continued popularity of “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” jointly contributed to a double breakthrough in attendance and snack sales.
According to statistics from box office tracking agency Rentrak, movie ticket revenue has increased 15.2% year-on-year so far this year, which is expected to hit a new high after the pandemic. Market research agency EntTelligence estimates that the number of viewers of “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” reached about 24.1 million, making it the film with the highest attendance rate since 2020; the total number of moviegoers so far this year has also risen 11%. EntTelligence data also showed that the increase in ticket prices and the increase in the proportion of people watching movies in high-end formats such as Imax and Dolby have jointly driven a larger increase in box office revenue.
Although phenomenal blockbusters like “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” aren't common, there are still a few potential movies on the market this year, including “Dune 3” and the new “The Avengers” film, which will be screened on the same day on December 18.