Summer Blockbusters Expected To Power Box Office In Second Half: Here's What's Next And A Look At 5 Stocks To Watch

In 2021, only three movies grossed more than $200 million domestically at the box office. Six months into 2022, five movies have passed the $200 million domestic total, and more blockbusters could be on the way.

Experts see the domestic box office hitting between $7.5 billion and $8 billion for 2022, suggesting that the second half will come in a range of $3.9 billion to $4.4 billion and ahead of the first half of the year.

Here is a look at some of the most anticipated movies for the second half of 2022:

• July 1: “Minions: The Rise of Gru”
• July 8: “Thor: Love and Thunder”
• July 22: “Nope”
• Oct. 4: “Halloween Ends”
• Oct. 21: “Black Adam”
• Nov. 11: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
• Dec. 16: “Avatar: The Way of Water”
• Dec. 21: “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”

Along with theatrical blockbusters coming in the second half of the year, streaming companies won’t be far behind.

The blockbuster slate from Netflix Inc NFLX includes “The Sea Beast” from the writer of “Big Hero 6” and “Moana,” “The Gray Man” starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, vampire movie “Day Shift” with Jamie Foxx, “Me Time” with Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart and more.

Disney+ subscribers will get highly anticipated releases of “Pinocchio” starring Tom Hanks in September, along with “Hocus Pocus 2,” a sequel to the 1993 film.

Related Link: From Batman To Scorsese: 10 Highly Anticipated Movies For 2022 And What it Means For 9 Stocks 

Stock to Watch: Adam Aron, CEO of movie theater company AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC recently highlighted “Top Gun: Maverick” passing the $1-billion global box office mark. Aron has been hyping up the 2022 lineup all year and based on the results of the first half of the year, he might’ve been right all along.

AMC’s first quarter revenue of $785.7 million came in ahead of Street estimates and marked a large improvement over the $148.3 million reported for the first quarter of the previous year.

AMC is set to report second quarter earnings in August that will include the results from the blockbuster-filled June, and could use the report to highlight what’s in store the rest of the year.

Cinemark Holdings CNK is another movie theater stock to watch, with shares faring better in 2022 and the potential to be a winner with consumers venturing back to the theater. Cinemark will likely report second-quarter earnings in July.

If consumers opt to take more trips to movie theaters and truly enjoy the movie going experience, they may venture into an IMAX theater from Imax Corporation IMAX. The oversized movie theater company will report quarterly earnings in July.

On the movie studio side, the biggest movies for the second half likely will belong to The Walt Disney Company DIS, which has movies for the Thor, Black Panther and Avatar franchises coming. Add in some highly anticipated movies on Disney+ and Disney could be the best way to play the second half of 2022.

Another potential winner to still play out for the first half and second half of 2022 is Comcast Corporation CMCSA. The company had “Jurassic World Dominion” in June, which could provide strength in the next earnings report. In the second half of 2022, Comcast’s Universal Pictures also has movies in the Minions, Halloween and Shrek franchises (Puss in Boots) and “Nope,” a highly anticipated horror film from Jordan Peele.