CPXGF - Cinema stocks lag after 'The Flash' 'Elemental' sink

2023-06-20 15:26:28 ET

Cinema stocks are sharply lower on the day following a double disappointment at the box office over the weekend -- as two high-profile releases came up flat.

One key debut from the weekend was The Flash ( NASDAQ: WBD ), the zippy next entry in the DC Comics cinematic universe. Expected to draw at least $70M over the three-day weekend, it pulled just $55.7M, and was projected to hit just $64.2M over a four-day weekend including the Juneteenth holiday, according to Comscore.

But it may be worse even than that, as Warner Bros. ( WBD ) now suggests the four-day take will be just $61M, a significant miss of even the studio's own late forecasts.

Meanwhile it faced competition from traditionally reliable hitmaker Pixar ( NYSE: DIS ), with its latest in Elemental. But the animated film pulled just $29.5M for the three-day weekend and a projected $33.3M over four days, Comscore said -- the worst three-day opening for a Pixar film ever (adjusting for inflation; Toy Story opened to $29.1M in 1995 dollars).

Elemental is Pixar's second straight disappointment after last year's Disney/Pixar film Lightyear wrapped its run with $118.3M in domestic grosses, and just $226.4M worldwide.

Movie-theater stocks were distinctly lower as a group: AMC Entertainment ( NYSE: AMC ) -2.9% , Cinemark ( CNK ) -3.8% ; IMAX ( IMAX ) -3% ; Marcus ( MCS ) -2.9% ; Reading International ( RDI ) -5.3% ; National CineMedia ( NCMI ) -8.9% . Cineplex ( CGX:CA ) is down 1.4% in Toronto.

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