Hollywood’s box office comeback just showed up in black and white.
Two of the country’s biggest theater chains, Cinemark Holdings and Marcus Theatres, both reported record-setting second-quarter earnings on Thursday, riding a summer packed with movies audiences actually wanted to see.
“We commend our sensational team for their outstanding execution, and we applaud our studio partners for delivering such a fulsome and compelling slate of films that meaningfully connected with audiences throughout the quarter,” Cinemark Holdings CEO Sean Gamble said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Cinemark, the country’s third-largest theater circuit, crossed $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever in a second quarter. Total revenue hit $1.09 billion for the three months ending June 30, up 15.5 percent from $940.5 million a year earlier, according to Deadline.
Admissions revenue climbed to a record $540 million, up from $467.1 million, while concessions revenue also set a new high at $433.3 million, compared with $377.7 million in the same quarter last year. TOY STORY 5, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE and MICHAEL packed Cinemark’s auditoriums.
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Net income nearly doubled to $140.8 million, or $1.20 per share, up from $94.7 million, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA jumped to $294 million from $232.2 million, and Cinemark expects the momentum to carry into the current quarter as Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY and SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY hit its screens.
Marcus Theatres, the fourth-largest chain in the country, reported its own numbers the same day, with revenue climbing 14% year-over-year to $150.6 million. Marcus Theatres President Jeffry F. Tomachek credited TOY STORY 5 with powering the chain’s highest total revenue ever for a June opening weekend, and average ticket prices rose about 5 percent across the quarter, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Neither chain is riding on a single blockbuster. Wide releases are on pace to hit 115 to 120 this year, nearly matching 2019’s pre-pandemic total and a sharp jump from the 94 Hollywood managed in 2024, Variety reported. Younger moviegoers are driving much of that traffic, too, with 87% of Gen Zers and 82% of millennials saying they’ve seen at least one movie in a theater over the past year.
Movieguide® has been tracking this turnaround for a while now. Back in 2024, Movieguide® reported on a PwC forecast predicting the industry wouldn’t fully climb back to pre-pandemic revenue until 2026, and that call is playing out almost exactly on schedule, with domestic box office running 21 percent ahead of last year’s pace.
That recovery matters beyond the spreadsheets. A healthier theatrical business means more studios competing for a family’s night out, which means more chances for a movie like TOY STORY 5 — which Movieguide®’s review praised for promoting traditional marriage, good parenting, and making amends — to find a packed house instead of getting buried by a streaming algorithm.
Still, a full theater doesn’t guarantee a good influence. OBSESSION topped $400 million worldwide this year despite Movieguide®’s review calling it a “fairly predictable morality tale” that “ends on a depressing and hopeless tragic note.” The lesson for families hasn’t changed even as the industry rebounds: more screens filling up means more discernment is needed about what actually lands on them.
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