2021 Box Office Revenue’s Still in Recovery

Big news: The domestic box office was down 60% (↓ $6.8B) vs. 2019.

U.S. movie ticket revenue (YoY growth) according to Box Office Mojo:
1) 2012 – $10.8B  (↑ 7%)
2) 2013 – $10.9B  (↑ 1%)
3) 2014 – $10.4B  (↓ 5%)
4) 2015 – $11.1B  (↑ 7%)
5) 2016 – $11.4B  (↑ 2%)
6) 2017 – $11.1B  (↓ 3%)
7) 2018 – $11.9B  (↑ 7%)
8) 2019 – $11.3B  (↓ 5%)
9) 2020 – $2.1B (↓ 81%)
10) 2021 – $4.5B (↑ 113%)

28D5.1-2021A

Interesting: There was a big spread between the area with the slowest recovery (Washington, DC) vs. the fastest (Utah).

Areas with best recovery:
1) Utah
2) Idaho
3) South Dakota
4) Wyoming
5) Nevada

Areas with worst recovery:
1) Washington DC
2) Vermont
3) Hawaii
4) Maryland
5) New York

Bottom line: Spider-Man: No Way Home has grossed $670M+ domestically, ranking #6 all-time.  It is the only release from either 2020-21 to land in the top 100.

Interesting: Marvel films accounted for more than ¼ of domestic box office revenue last year.

Marvel share of domestic box office according to Matthew Ball:
1) 2008 – 5%
2) 2019 – 15%
3) 2021 – 26%

Big question #1: How many movie screens are there in the U.S.?

U.S. indoor movie screens according to the National Association of Theater Owners:
1) 2000 – 36K
2) 2005 – 37K
3) 2010 – 39K
4) 2015 – 39K
5) 2020 – 40K

Big question #2: Can current box office revenue sustain 40K movie screens?

Quick answer: Probably not, but ticket sales were in decline before the pandemic.

Quick math on movie theater business between 2000-19:
1) Indoor movie screens – ↑ 13%
2) Ticket sales – ↓ 13%
3) AVG ticket price – ↑ 70%
4) Ticket revenue per indoor screen – ↑ 30%

Reply

or to participate.