Latest news with #ShawnRobbins
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Memorial Day Box Office Sales Inspire Optimistic Start to a Movie-Filled Summer
The success of Disney's live-action 'Lilo & Stitch,' along with the other Memorial Day Weekend movies, highlights the rise in one of Los Angeles' biggest industries: movies. With Memorial Day Weekend being an often big box office weekend, this year's weekend was the highest ever as moviegoers returned to theaters in record numbers. Memorial Day Weekend box office sales doubled from last year with 'Lilo & Stitch' achieving a record-breaking $183 million domestically and $341 million worldwide. Tom Cruise's 'Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning' beat its personal box office record with $77 million in sales. The Weekend's total ticket sales were $326 theatre company shares rose quickly following the achievement. AMC's stock soared over 23%, while Marcus Corporation—parent company to Marcus Theatres rose 20%, according to CNBC.'Everything came together at the right time with two eagerly anticipated, positively reviewed tentpoles courting a diverse range of audiences,' Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory told CNBC. 'This record holiday frame continues a box office winning streak which began in the spring and has now grown into bona fide momentum for what will likely be a $4 billion-plus summer at domestic cinemas thanks to a string of promising blockbusters on the slate.'Theatres can anticipate a blockbuster movie summer with the release of a live-action remake of 'How To Train Your Dragon' (June 13) and a number of sequels, such as 'M3GAN 2.0' (June 27), 'Jurassic World Rebirth' (July 2), and 'Freakier Friday' (Aug. 8). Additional highly-anticipated releases are 'Materialists' (June 13) starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans , Pixar's 'Elio' (June 20), DC Universe's 'Superman' (July 11), and 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' (July 25).
CNBC
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Movie theater stocks soar after record-breaking Memorial Day box office
Shares of movie theater companies soared on Tuesday following a record-breaking Memorial Day Weekend at the domestic box office. AMC saw its stock jump more than 20%, while shares of Marcus Theatres' parent company Marcus Corporation climbed 8% and Cinemark stock leaped 2.5%. The tandem releases of Disney's live-action "Lilo & Stitch" and Paramount's "Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning" alongside holdovers Disney and Marvel's "Thunderbolts*," Warner Bros.' "Sinners" and "Final Destination Bloodlines" led to an estimated $326 million haul, the highest Memorial Day box office ever, according to data from Comscore. It is also more than double the $132 million in ticket sales collected last year during the same period. "Everything came together at the right time with two eagerly anticipated, positively reviewed tentpoles courting a diverse range of audiences," said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. "This record holiday frame continues a box office winning streak which began in the spring and has now grown into bona fide momentum for what will likely be a $4 billion-plus summer at domestic cinemas thanks to a string of promising blockbusters on the slate." AMC, Cinemark and Marcus Theatres each posted their best Memorial Day Weekend ticket revenues of all time, as well as record food and beverage sales for the holiday. "Finally it would appear that our industry has turned a corner," Adam Aron, CEO of AMC, said in a statement. "Since early April, weekend after weekend, moviegoers have been demonstrating their preference for theatrical moviegoing. A record-setting Memorial Day holiday is yet another sign of the continued strength and relevance of moviegoing in 2025." "Lilo & Stitch" tallied $183 million during the four-day frame, leading the pack, while the eighth installment in the Mission Impossible franchise scooped up $77 million. "Final Destination Bloodlines" took in $23.9 million, "Thunderbolts*" added $11.8 million and "Sinners" snared $11 million, Comscore reported. The combination of new product and strong carryover from previously released films fueled the weekend, Chad Paris, chief financial officer at Marcus Corp, told CNBC. "This is the first time this year where I would say we've had a fulsome amount of product for the weekend," he said. "And we're now getting into the stretch in the calendar where we'll have a steady cadence of product releases and across genres, a lot of different products for people to go see." Over the summer period, which ends Labor Day Weekend, the domestic box office will see the release of Universal's live-action version of "How to Train Your Dragon," a new Disney and Pixar feature "Elio," the hotly anticipated "Jurassic World Rebirth," Warner Bros.' "Superman" reboot, and Disney and Marvel's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." In between these tentpoles are a slew of low-and-mid budget films across genres like horror, drama, comedy and sports. "Every other studio and every other movie on the horizon over the next few weeks are going to ride a wave and benefit from the performance of the past couple of months," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. "We're going to have one hell of a summer and if Memorial Weekend is any indication, we're certainly looking at a $4 billion plus summer at potentially $4.2 billion plus and that's great news after a summer of 2024 that failed to reach that milestone."
CNBC
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Disney and Marvel's 'Thunderbolts*' snares $76 million domestic opening
A group of unconventional antiheroes has jumpstarted the summer box office. Disney and Marvel's "Thunderbolts*" tallied an estimated $76 million during its domestic opening weekend, the third highest debut of 2025. Including international ticket sales, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe flick snared an estimated $162.1 million globally. "With the debut of 'Thunderbolts*,' May is shaping up to be one the best on record," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. Last year, the summer box office — which kicks off the first weekend in May and runs through Labor Day — struggled at the start, with Universal's "The Fall Guy" only snapping up $28 million in its first three days. It was the first year since 2009 that a Marvel film wasn't on the slate to start the season. Marvel films have struggled in recent years to live up to the record-setting achievements of "Avengers: Endgame" in 2019. For every box office hit there was a major miss, and audiences bemoaned the studio's quality inconsistencies. Even in the last year, "The Marvels" and "Captain America: Brave New World" underwhelmed, while "Deadpool & Wolverine" overperformed. "Every franchise movie faces its share of tailwinds and headwinds, inherent and external factors that dictate what audience anticipation and response will be," said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. "But there's no doubt 'Thunderbolts*' is a moment worth a victory lap for Marvel after several years of wildly varying sentiment toward multiple films and streaming series." While $76 million is middle of the pack for the MCU, it's a strong performance for "Thunderbolts*," box office analysts told CNBC. "To launch an ensemble of junior varsity characters unfamiliar to many outside the core fan base, and to do so with some of the best word of mouth the MCU has seen from critics and audiences in years, is a fresh reminder of what Marvel is capable of when the creative engine fires on all cylinders," Robbins said. "Thunderbolts*" currently holds an 88% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, from 257 reviews and a 94% rating from audiences. "The opening weekend performance of 'Thunderbolts*' is just the beginning for this well-reviewed crowd-pleaser," said Comscore's Dergarabedian. "[It] looks to follow in the tradition of 'A Minecraft Movie' and 'Sinners,' with long-term playability." In recent weeks, Warner Bros.' "A Minecraft Movie" and "Sinners" have consistently lured in moviegoers, with smaller-than-average weekly attendance drops. The hope is that "Thunderbolts*" will continue that trend. .
Business Insider
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
A massive Star Wars re-release shows fans are desperate for more movies
Star Wars is roaring back to life, much like Anakin Skywalker in "Revenge of the Sith." Box-office analysts are buzzing about a comeback for the franchise after the success of the re-release of 2005's "Revenge of the Sith" in theaters. The popular Star Wars prequel broke through a crowded spring slate last weekend and raked in $25 million. Disney has made a slew of Star Wars TV shows for Disney+ in recent years, but hasn't released a new Star Wars movie since 2019. That drought seems to have Star Wars fans pining to see lightsaber battles on the big screen again. "There is a hunger out there for big-screen Star Wars content," Shawn Robbins, the director of movie analytics at Fandango, told Business Insider. "It's definitely not gone away." Industry analysts see the reissue's success as a sign that this iconic film franchise is set to rise out of the lava despite struggles on the TV side. Disney didn't respond to a request for comment. Too much, or not enough? Disney+ launched shortly before the pandemic in November 2019. Since then, Disney hasn't released a new Star Wars movie in theaters, though it debuted a dozen Star Wars shows on its streaming service. But while "The Mandalorian" was a breakout hit and "Andor" was critically acclaimed, most of its other shows didn't get the same reception from critics or fans. Over time, interest gradually faded. Veteran film critic Scott Mantz said that despite a few wins, the Mouse House "oversaturated" Disney+ with so-so Star Wars series. "You had so much Star Wars stuff that was kind of OK that it diluted the franchise," Mantz said. "It just didn't feel as special as it did when we had to wait three years between each film." However, the "Revenge of the Sith" re-release — as well as the popularity of the "Andor" series — suggests that the general lukewarm sentiment toward Star Wars shows is primarily about execution, not overall franchise fatigue. Nostalgia sells, which is why Disney has leaned into sequels, remakes, and reboots. "They occasionally miss, but they know exactly what they're doing," box-office analyst David A. Gross said of Disney. "Their collection of franchise film stories, and how they manage them, is outstanding." A flurry of false starts Although Star Wars has gone six years without a new film, that wasn't necessarily the plan. Disney had announced splashy Star Wars movie projects from Marvel president Kevin Feige as well as a trilogy from "Game of Thrones" cocreators D. B. Weiss and David Benioff, though they've since folded. The company also said back in 2017 that "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson would create a new Star Wars movie series, but nothing has come of it yet. Johnson confirmed in 2019 that he was working on the project, and reiterated in 2022 that he was set on finishing the films. A movie starring Daisy Ridley as Rey also got delayed, while a film announced five years ago, "Rogue Squadron," from Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, doesn't yet have a release date. Yet another forthcoming trilogy led by X-Men producer Simon Kinberg was announced last fall, though there's no release date set. In short, Disney has announced a ton of movie projects in recent years, but none have seen the light of day. After a break, Star Wars can break out While fans may be frustrated by the long wait for new films, Robbins said Star Wars "needed a break" after Disney made so many shows in a short span. The successful re-release of "Revenge of the Sith" leads him to believe Disney is building goodwill with Star Wars fans, who proved they're willing to show up to theaters. Robbins said that if this past weekend is an indication, anticipation is building for Star Wars' next films: "The Mandalorian & Grogu" slated for 2026 and the recently unveiled "Star Wars: Starfighter" in 2027. The fact that legions flocked to theaters to watch a 20-year-old film they could stream on their couch signals they're craving the goosebumps they can only get from big screens, movie analysts said. "Whenever you're in a movie theater and the opening crawl and the Star Wars theme comes on, I mean that is iconic, epic — baked into our movie-going DNA," Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. Nostalgia strikes back Disney analyst Jason Bazinet of Citi said investors were frustrated by the company's high-profile misses in theaters in recent years. Unlike with Star Wars, Disney has pumped out Marvel movies, but for every "Deadpool & Wolverine," there were flops like "The Marvels." Bazinet said he thinks the conservative "go woke, go broke" critique of Disney has merit. "It feels like there's more and more of a 'woke' overlay that's happening at a lot of the movies," Bazinet said. He thinks Disney should focus on the "old iconic stories" that appeal to fans in "the middle of America." Despite Bazinet's comments, however, even Star Wars films that have been criticized for perceived progressiveness in some corners of the fandom — like 2017's "The Last Jedi" — have done well at the box office. Only 2018's "Solo: A Star Wars Story" was seen as a true financial flop in Hollywood. And recent interviews BI conducted with 12 Disney superfans revealed their biggest complaint was a lack of originality in recent films, not a move toward " wokeness." "The franchise is in a good spot to make that return to the big screen," Robbins said of Star Wars. "Disney can feel more confident in that being a potential hit — as long as that movie is good on its own merits."
