CNK - Don't Bury Movie Theater Stocks... Yet
2024-02-20 11:40:00 ET
I wasn't at my local movie theater over the holiday weekend, and I'm guessing that you weren't, either. Domestic ticket sales clocked in at $92.3 million for the four-day holiday window, 45% lower than the industry's box-office receipts a year earlier. Based on the industry average admission price, less than 3% of the country went to a multiplex during the extended weekend.
Things were far worse a week earlier when $29.1 million in tickets were sold. Super Bowl weekend can be challenging for exhibitors, but that was the worst weekend for theater operators in nearly three years. To find it, you have to go all the way back to May of 2021, when many studios were holding back on content and patrons were hesitant to risk going to an even empty theater during the peak COVID-19 crisis.
I wouldn't bet against the players, including multiplex-operator Cinemark (NYSE: CNK) and theatrical-experience super-sizer Imax (NYSE: IMAX) in this environment. The lull should be temporary, though my tune may change under the unlikely scenario that filmgoers are still staying away from screenings later this year.
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Don't Bury Movie Theater Stocks... Yet