Tag Archives: movies

Box Office Recovery Signals Broader Audience Engagement

Lifestyle, , , , ,

Movie theaters had their strongest weekend in a long time, with ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada more than doubling compared to the same time last year. Unlike in the past, when one big movie might drive all the excitement, several different films across genres helped push audiences back into theaters.


The top movie was Sinners from Warner Bros., which made $45 million in its second weekend—dropping only 6% from its debut. Typically, movies lose about half their earnings after opening weekend, so this small decline is unusual. So far, Sinners has earned $161.6 million worldwide, and premium screenings like IMAX made up a growing share of ticket sales.

In second place was a special re-release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith for its 20th anniversary. It brought in $42.2 million worldwide, boosted by recent announcements related to the Star Wars franchise and benefitting from nostalgia-driven marketing.

The Accountant 2 from Amazon MGM Studios debuted in third place with $24.5 million, showing strong appeal among older audiences. A Minecraft Movie continued its successful run, adding $22.7 million in its fourth weekend. The video game-based film has now made $380 million in North America alone. Rounding out the top five was Until Dawn, another video game adaptation, which opened with $8 million.

Thanks to these films, total ticket sales for April are up 102% compared to last year, and the year’s overall box office is now tracking more than 10% ahead. Analysts say this momentum could set the stage for a strong summer season, starting with Disney’s Thunderbolts in early May.

AMC Expands Premium Screen Offerings Amid Blockbuster Surge

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AMC Entertainment is betting big on premium cinema. The company plans to add 40 new Dolby Cinema theaters across the U.S. by 2027, a 25% expansion that will bring AMC’s premium screen count to over 200. This strategic move coincides with Hollywood’s preparation to release a slate of highly anticipated blockbusters.

Premium large format (PLF) theaters have become crucial to the industry’s financial health, despite accounting for just 9.1% of the domestic box office in 2024. The number of PLF screens has grown to 950 theaters—a 33% increase in just five years—reflecting consumers’ willingness to pay premium prices. These tickets average nearly $17 each—8% more than in 2021—for experiences featuring state-of-the-art visuals, immersive sound, and luxury seating.

“Premium moviegoing is defining the modern box office,” said Dolby Laboratories president and CEO Kevin Yeaman, whose company partners with AMC to deliver cutting-edge cinema technology.

AMC’s innovation push extends beyond Dolby Cinema. The chain recently agreed to introduce 65 ScreenX auditoriums and 40 4DX theaters globally with CJ 4DPLEX, offering unique experiences from panoramic multi-projection to motion seats with sensory effects.

Recent blockbusters validate this strategy. Films like Oppenheimer, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Dune have thrived in premium formats, capturing substantial PLF box office shares. Industry analysts expect this trend to accelerate with upcoming releases from major franchises, including Avatar: Fire and Ash, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and two more Star Wars movies planned for 2026.

AMC’s investment highlights a fundamental shift in exhibition business models. By prioritizing quality over quantity as theaters compete with streaming services, AMC aims to strengthen its position as a destination for immersive entertainment that cannot be replicated at home.

McQueen with Producers Brian O’Shea & Jeff Bowler

Consumerism, , , , ,

Movie fans will want to know that the life of Steve McQueen will, indeed, become a movie for the big screen. And we hope it will be soon. McQueen has secured financing with a deal between Lake Forest Entertainment and The Exchange with Brian O’Shea and Jeff Bowler.

McQueen actually wrote about his own life at the time of his death, and those who loved him can’t wait to see what he had to say. The movie will be partly based on the 2010 biography Steve McQueen: The Life and Legend of A Hollywood Icon that was written by Marshall Terrill. The author actually worked for ten years doing research on McQueen.

Producers will be The Exchange’s Brian O’Shea and Jeff Bowler with Graham Kaye’s Lake Forest. The Exchange and their team including Jeff Bowler will handle the foreign and domestic sales.

When discussing the vision for the film, O’Shea emphasized that it won’t be a regular true life tale. As he said, “We’re figuring out how to tell the story now. It won’t be the obvious biopic.”

He then discussed some of the secrets of the movie:

“Barbara McQueen (McQueen’s last wife) has a diary that was kept by his nurse in Mexico that was then given to the author of the book that was done on him by Marshall Terrill. Something happened in McQueen’s life that has been kept secret for a long time. We think we have a very interesting way into this story.”

Now all we have to do is wait.