US Box Office Sales On Pace To Rebound... To 1982 Levels

Movie theaters in the U.S. are on pace to hit as high as $6 billion in sales this year, but that still would only be the same level as in 1982, adjusted for inflation, Bloomberg reported.

Slow Rebound: Gathering data from Boxoffice Pro, Bloomberg said U.S. box office sales will still be below 2019's $11.3 billion, estimating that sales are on track to hit $4.5 billion to $6 billion.

Last year, sales fell to just $2.3 billion.

But the pace could quicken. Adam Aron, chief executive of the world's largest theater chain, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC, said earlier this week that the chain is no longer in survival mode as cities such as New York and Los Angeles begin reopening theaters.

AMC shares, which have been on a wild ride for a number of reasons, ended the week up 30.99% at $11.16.

Walt Disney Co's DIS "Raya and the Last Dragon" and Warner Bros. "Tom & Jerry" are expected to do well this weekend. Warner Bros. falls under the ownership of AT&T Inc. T through its WarnerMedia holding.

So far this year, the No. 1 selling movie is Universal Pictures' "The Croods: A New Age," which has brought in almost $21.5 million, according to Boxoffice Pro. Universal is owned by Comcast Corporation CMCSA via NBCUniversal.

Streaming Impact: But there's still the open question of whether movie theaters will ever be the same as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers have gotten even more accustomed to using streaming services from the likes of Disney, Netflix Inc NFLX, Paramount+ from ViacomCBS Inc VIAC, and WarnerMedia's HBO, among others.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar told Bloomberg he expects his studio will continue releasing films both in cinemas and online, following a widely-expected trend in the movie industry.

Earlier in the week, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said AMC is "dramatically overvalued."

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