"Multiplexes in the United States and Canada had their worst summer since 1981 [ ... when the U.S. had 100 million fewer people] after adjusting for inflation and excluding the Covid pandemic years." pic.twitter.com/yevkLPqdJj

— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) September 3, 2025

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3551309

Called it.

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Brian Earl Spilner said:

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https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3551309

Called it.

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TCTTS said:

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And yet, as was pointed out when this same stat was posted in the box office thread a couple days ago, 2025 box office overall is still up year-to-date 4% over 2024, with that percentage only set to increase by the end of the year (via the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, Wicked: For Good, and one of the most packed awards seasons we've had in years).

2026 will be even higher than 2025, very likely significantly so, considering next year's incredible slate.

And 2027 has a legit shot at breaking the 2018 all-time box office record, considering that slate, which is one of the most bonkers we've ever seen in terms of blockbusters.

Yes, superhero/sequel/reboot fatigue is real. That, and movies will never be as popular again as they once were. But it was bad four months and nothing more. It happens. Movies in general are still more popular now than they've been all decade, and over the next two years that popularity/trend is only going to soar. In other words, this is a non-story, certainly not indicative of a larger trend.

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TCTTS said:

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The numbers don't lie. While the projections going forward are obvious to anyone who can read.

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Fenrir said:

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TCTTS said:

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And yet, as was pointed out when this same stat was posted in the box office thread a couple days ago, 2025 box office overall is still up year-to-date 4% over 2024, with that percentage only set to increase by the end of the year (via the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, Wicked: For Good, and one of the most packed awards seasons we've had in years).

2026 will be even higher than 2025, very likely significantly so, considering next year's incredible slate.

And 2027 has a legit shot at breaking the 2018 all-time box office record, considering that slate, which is one of the most bonkers we've ever seen in terms of blockbusters.

Yes, superhero/sequel/reboot fatigue is real. That, and movies will never be as popular again as they once were. But it was bad four months and nothing more. It happens. Movies in general are still more popular now than they've been all decade, and over the next two years that popularity/trend is only going to soar. In other words, this is a non-story, certainly not indicative of a larger trend.

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Tickets sold are half of the peak from the early 2000s and there was a noticeable dropoff from covid that simply has not fully recovered yet. 2019 had 1.2 billion tickets sold and the highest since covid is 2/3 of that.

I don't think relying on box office revenue as the sole arbiter of the health of the industry is particularly accurate given the overall inflation that we've seen accompanied with the fact that staying afloat in terms of revenue has required ticket prices to sharply increase which may very well not be a great thing long term.

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TCTTS said:

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Fenrir said:

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TCTTS said:

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And yet, as was pointed out when this same stat was posted in the box office thread a couple days ago, 2025 box office overall is still up year-to-date 4% over 2024, with that percentage only set to increase by the end of the year (via the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, Wicked: For Good, and one of the most packed awards seasons we've had in years).

2026 will be even higher than 2025, very likely significantly so, considering next year's incredible slate.

And 2027 has a legit shot at breaking the 2018 all-time box office record, considering that slate, which is one of the most bonkers we've ever seen in terms of blockbusters.

Yes, superhero/sequel/reboot fatigue is real. That, and movies will never be as popular again as they once were. But it was bad four months and nothing more. It happens. Movies in general are still more popular now than they've been all decade, and over the next two years that popularity/trend is only going to soar. In other words, this is a non-story, certainly not indicative of a larger trend.

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Tickets sold are half of the peak from the early 2000s and there was a noticeable dropoff from covid that simply has not fully recovered yet. 2019 had 1.2 billion tickets sold and the highest since covid is 2/3 of that.

I don't think relying on box office revenue as the sole arbiter of the health of the industry is particularly accurate given the overall inflation that we've seen accompanied with the fact that staying afloat in terms of revenue has required ticket prices to sharply increase which may very well not be a great thing long term.

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I straight up said movies will never be as popular again as they once were, no one is disputing the number of tickets sold, and of course Covid irrevocably changed the industry forever, negatively/drastically so. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I realize the point you're trying to make - that increased box office doesn't equal increased popularity, big picture. And that's fair. But I never said anything to the contrary. I merely pointed out that "bad summer" does not equal "bad year" or an increasingly downward trend going forward.

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TCTTS said:

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The numbers don't lie. While the projections going forward are obvious to anyone who can read.

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Mucho austin said:

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It is 100% prices for me.

Family if 4 is about $50-60 minimum just for tickets. Then another $60+ for crappy food & snacks

We would much rather spend the $120-140 on a nice dinner.

The value for the price is just not there anymore. Plus I can get an icee and 2 hot dogs at my local shell for $5

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TCTTS said:

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Fenrir said:

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TCTTS said:

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Fenrir said:

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TCTTS said:

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And yet, as was pointed out when this same stat was posted in the box office thread a couple days ago, 2025 box office overall is still up year-to-date 4% over 2024, with that percentage only set to increase by the end of the year (via the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, Wicked: For Good, and one of the most packed awards seasons we've had in years).

2026 will be even higher than 2025, very likely significantly so, considering next year's incredible slate.

And 2027 has a legit shot at breaking the 2018 all-time box office record, considering that slate, which is one of the most bonkers we've ever seen in terms of blockbusters.

Yes, superhero/sequel/reboot fatigue is real. That, and movies will never be as popular again as they once were. But it was bad four months and nothing more. It happens. Movies in general are still more popular now than they've been all decade, and over the next two years that popularity/trend is only going to soar. In other words, this is a non-story, certainly not indicative of a larger trend.

---

Tickets sold are half of the peak from the early 2000s and there was a noticeable dropoff from covid that simply has not fully recovered yet. 2019 had 1.2 billion tickets sold and the highest since covid is 2/3 of that.

I don't think relying on box office revenue as the sole arbiter of the health of the industry is particularly accurate given the overall inflation that we've seen accompanied with the fact that staying afloat in terms of revenue has required ticket prices to sharply increase which may very well not be a great thing long term.

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I straight up said movies will never be as popular again as they once were, no one is disputing the number of tickets sold, and of course Covid irrevocably changed the industry forever, negatively/drastically so. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I realize the point you're trying to make - that increased box office doesn't equal increased popularity, big picture. And that's fair. But I never said anything to the contrary. I merely pointed out that "bad summer" does not equal "bad year" or an increasingly downward trend going forward.

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It's impossible for you to argue without trying to resort to some weird ad hom isn't it?

My point is you ignore context in some attempt to defend a billion dollar industry from criticism and it seems weird. Unless things improve considerably in the final 4 months, we are potentially looking at a reality where ticket sales actually decrease two consecutive years YOY and your argument is that isn't a possible indication of a downward trend? You're arguing like what I said is highly obvious but you seem to be ignoring it because it's not convenient.

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A) You're "lol" was just as sarcastic/"insulting" as my "Captain Obvious."

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C) AGAIN, I'm not arguing that everything is rainbows and puppy dogs. AGAIN, I was simply making the point that "bad summer" does not equal "bad year," seeing as box office this year will be higher than box office last year, and that box office will only continue to increase - significantly so - over the next two years. I never said that ticket sold will also increase over that time.

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D) As much of a denier-of-reality as you're accusing me of being, you're doing the same thing, just in the opposite direction. You're just as hellbent in trying to paint a picture of doom and gloom. When all I'm simply trying to say is it's not as bad as the OP headline indicates, we're not anywhere close to disaster territory, and that it's going to be okay - not as goods it used to be - but we're reaching a new equilibrium, people are still going to the movies in droves, and the next two years look incredibly promising.

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That's it and that's all.

Chill.

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FL_Ag1998 said:

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I agree that it's premature to call movie theaters a dying industry. And I for one would take the quality of movies we've been treated to this year over the "quantity" of the box office revenue from pre-Covid years where a few Marvel movies per year would inflate the overall industry's revenue.

But I do recall stating during the early stages of the COVID shutdown that the movie theater industry would never fully recover, because too many people would get too used to streaming movies from home just months if not weeks after they were released in the theater. I know that's not some mind blowing revelation now, because it seems to be bearing out. But at the time, the majority of this board shouted me down and told me there is no way that would happen.

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Trajan88 said:

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Way too much CGI these days.

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Woke content and deliberate to the point of insane race swapping is in there somewhere. Rank where you see fit.

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