Movies are back with a vengeance

For the better part of the last few years, movie theaters were declared “dead.”

But that narrative’s recently been flipped on its head.

One interesting stat: The year-to-date box office is down approximately 30% from 2019. But the overall number of wide releases in 2022 is down roughly the same amount — meaning, on a per-film basis, movies appear to be doing just fine.

More than fine, actually.

• Thor: Love and Thunder and Minions just combined for the first consecutive $100m+ opening weekends since 2018.
• This past weekend saw $236m in domestic box office sales, up ~28% from the same weekend in 2019 when Spider-Man: Far from Home, Toy Story 4, Aladdin, Yesterday, and Midsommar were all in theaters.

So, while the overall box office is still down from pre-pandemic times, the popcorn is definitely poppin’.

Bonus: Read our piece about how teens in suits are changing moviegoing with a hilarious meme.