Coronavirus News
‘TENET’ Suspense Builds for Theater Chains…
Moviegoers don’t seem inclined to go see just anything. For theater operators, the question remains on whether they will go see the right thing. The past weekend brought a mix of data points on that end. An X-Men spinoff from Disney called “The New Mutants” generated just $7 million in box-office sales in the U.S.…
Moviegoers don’t seem inclined to go see just anything. For theater operators, the question remains on whether they will go see the right thing.
The past weekend brought a mix of data points on that end. An X-Men spinoff from Disney called “The New Mutants” generated just $7 million in box-office sales in the U.S. and Canada. That was with about 52% of U.S. screens having reopened following months of closures from the coronavirus pandemic, according to estimates from Comscore. Given that movie attendance today requires masks and buffer-zone seating, it seems a subpar movie with a critic score of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes just wasn’t enough to get even devoted moviegoers into seats.
A quality movie, though, may still have some draw. Following several delays brought on by the pandemic, the highly anticipated Warner Bros. thriller “Tenet” opened in 41 international markets and grossed about $53 million over the weekend. Many who went also seemed willing to pay up for the experience: IMAX reported Monday that “Tenet” generated about $20,000 per screen even with attendance limited to about 50% of normal capacity on average. IMAX tickets generally command a premium of 40% or more to regular ticket prices.
Theater chains such as AMC , Cinemark , Cineworld and IMAX have all been banking heavily on “Tenet” to bring moviegoers back, so the strong international results were an encouraging sign ahead of the movie’s U.S. opening this weekend.
But the U.S. also has been harder hit by the pandemic than many nations, which could leave domestic moviegoers more skittish to return. After falling sharply earlier this year, shares of the three major listed theater chains, along with IMAX, have run up an average of 41% over the past month compared with the S&P 500’s 7% gain. AMC’s share price jumped more following Tuesday’s close after the company said it expects to have 70% of its U.S. theaters open by the end of the week. The domestic debut of “Tenet” will bring some fresh drama yet.
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