Only 4 big films left in 2022

The 2022 box office is the epitome of a Hollywood underdog story.

Despite nearly 40% less movie content available in theaters than in 2019, Comscore data shows that ticket sales have fallen by about 30% since the beginning of the year.

Moviegoers have returned to theaters since the coronavirus pandemic and are spending more than ever on tickets and popcorn. However, the lack of consistent theatrical releases will be a heavy burden on the industry in the final, crucial months of the year.

Currently, only four blockbusters will be released in theaters until the end of December:

• Warner Brazzers.’ “Black Adam” – October 21
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by Disney and Marvel Studios – November 11
• Disney Animation’s Weird World – November 23
• Disney’s Avatar: The Way of the Water – December 16

In 2019, nearly two dozen blockbuster-style films were scheduled on the calendar for the last four months of the year, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Sunrise”.

“Right now, we are seeing that as we get closer to the fall, we are kind of hitting another pause,” said Sean Robbins, chief media analyst at BoxOffice.com, “And a lot of that is really due to the protracted pandemic. questions.”

These issues include a production shutdown that delayed filming and pressure on visual effects studios to complete projects on tight deadlines.

There is no doubt that moviegoers are interested in returning to cinemas. Movies like Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Jurassic World: Dominion, and Thor: Love and Thunder have brought audiences back. However, with fewer films of all budgets, studios and theater operators have fewer opportunities to bring audiences to the big screen.

“The question for me right now is how soon can we get back to more movies like Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Elvis and Black Phone? for some smaller movie releases such as Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Amsterdam and Don’t Worry Darling to break out and generate higher-than-expected ticket sales. Universal’s Halloween Kills will hit theaters and on Peacock on October 14th.

“Hopefully this will happen later in the fall and during the holidays,” he said. “But for now, it will really be 2023 before maybe some sort of month-to-month consistency reappears.”

That’s why many studios have turned to library content, movies that were previously shown in theaters, to bring people back to theaters. Disney has already re-released the Star Wars prequel Rogue One in theaters and plans to re-release the original Avatar at the end of September. Sony is also releasing an improved version of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Re-releases are nothing new in the industry, especially when it comes to major anniversary milestones for popular and iconic features, but according to Comscore, 90% of these screenings are scheduled through Fathom Events and not by the studios themselves. Fathom is a joint venture between AMC, Regal and Cinemark that brings older films back to theaters for limited screenings.

Fathom’s upcoming anniversary screenings include Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan 40th Anniversary, Pitch Perfect 10th Anniversary, Poltergeist 40th Anniversary and To Kill a Mockingbird 60th Anniversary.

The company also releases a list of Halloween titles in October, including 1932’s The Mummy, 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein, 1954’s The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and 1943’s The Phantom of the Opera. In addition, it will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Scream 2 and the 30th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Fathom is also working with Universal to release three Judd Apatow films ahead of Bros, a romantic comedy that hits theaters on September 30th.

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Trainwreck” and “Knocked Up” will be re-released starting September 19 with pre-recorded intros from director Nicholas Stoller and co-stars Billy Eichner and Luke MacFarlane.

Action films dominated the box office in 2022, so counterprogramming like these rom-coms could attract demographics that are reluctant to return to theaters or win back customers who want to enjoy another genre on the big screen.

According to Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom, these re-releases allow theaters to have additional content and sell Bros to the public.

Similarly, Disney is hoping that the re-release of Avatar in late September will attract fans and increase interest in the upcoming sequel, The Way of the Water.

“The box office is currently over $5.3 billion YTD, which is much higher than the last two years so far, but naturally lower than in 2019 and 2018,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Sr. media analyst at Comscore.

“With big films like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November and obviously Avatar: The Path of Water in December, among others, the industry is likely to have a projected domestic box office gross of around $7.5 billion in 2022.” . he said. “Frankly, this is a great result for an industry that had a 2020 level of just $2.3 billion and a 2021 level of $4.6 billion.”

Dergarabedian and Robbins noted that there will be many more films in 2023, both in terms of the number of films and the variety of content. As more and more films are released, the overall domestic box office is expected to recover stronger.

The 2022 box office lost Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which was scheduled for December 21, last month, when Warner Bros. Discovery has rescheduled the film to March 17, 2023. It replaced Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is now arriving for Christmas 2023.

“The first quarter is loaded with big films that should build momentum for a strong summer next year,” Dergarabedyan said.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.