So much for being the first in line for the highly anticipated Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” concert film.
With the last-minute news that the film’s release was being moved to Thursday instead of the originally announced date of Friday, some Swift fans have expressed frustration that they may have to buy tickets all over again.
Or as one commented Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter), “you’re telling me I had to fight for my life on the cineplex website for opening day tickets just for her to add showtimes tmrw?”
Swift revealed the change to the film’s release schedule on Wednesday, saying, “Due to unprecedented demand we’re opening up early access showings of The Eras Tour Concert Film on THURSDAY in America and Canada!!”
Swift attended the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, joined by some 2,200 fans. But on Thursday, she was back to taking in a Kansas City Chiefs game, according to an Associated Press report.
Swift has attended other Chiefs games this season to root on tight end Travis Kelce. The pair are said to have a growing relationship.
Some Swifties greeted the announcement of the film’s new Thursday release date with joy. “Taylor Swift always knows how to surprise us! Can’t wait for this incredible journey to begin!” said one.
But others were disappointed that they no longer had those first-to-see bragging rights. And they suddenly were faced with the dilemma of having to buy tickets all over again if they wanted to maintain that position. In turn, that left them with the problem of what to do with the tickets they purchased for Friday showings.
One commenter on X thought it was pretty savvy of Swift to boost the box office this way, saying the singer is “getting more sales out of her fans by moving opening night.”
Another commenter also said this was “a smart move” on Swift and her team’s part.
Not that theaters haven’t already sold plenty of seats for the film. The movie is set to have at least a $150 million opening, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and has buoyed the AMC AMC, +5.57%
and Cinemark CNK, -2.66%
chains.
Despite the overhang of the Hollywood labor strikes, “a significant bull case remains” for Cinemark , according to Morgan Stanley. The firm said the July box office-boom from the dual release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” squashes the theatrical bear case despite ongoing uncertainty from the dual labor strikes. Analyst Benjamin Swinburne raised his price target on shares to $24 to $22, suggesting 36.9% upside from Friday’s close. He reiterated his overweight rating on shares. “Balancing the permanence of the good news with the transience of the bad news keeps us OW,” Swinburne said in a Monday note. He added, “We continue to see theatrical revenues as the fastest area of growth in Media & Entertainment in ’23 now expected to be ~25% YoY. This is based on further box office growth in ’24, but ’24 attendance at just ~70% of ’19 levels which we see as potentially conservative. We have a $14 bear case PT or ~20% downside.” “Barbie” reached $1 billion at the box office in just three weeks, according to Warner Bros. Oppenheimer, meanwhile, has surpassed the $500 million mark, Universal said — bringing the total “Barbenheimer” proceeds to more than $1.5 billion. Cinemark shares are trading at a discounted multiple relative to historical levels — likely due to the uncertainty surrounding the labor strikes and their impact on future film supply, Swinburne noted. Although he acknowledged limited visibility on the issue, he forecasts “limited impact” of the strikes on 2024 performance, barring production remaining shut down beyond late fall. “Strikes-aside, studios continue to build back production and we expect increased film supply from both traditional and streaming studios over the next few years. We continue to expect film supply to ramp in ’24 vs ’23, for now, supporting ~5% box office revenue growth,” said Swinburne. The analyst added that Cinemark is “uniquely positioned” to benefit from the North American box office recovery owing to a combination of factors, including its conservative balance sheet pre-Covid. The company’s investment in premium in-theater offerings and technology have also helped it gain domestic market share and grow average ticket price mostly organically, versus price hikes, Swinburne continued. The counter-cyclical nature of moviegoing trends also relieve pressure of macroeconomic downturns, according to Morgan Stanley. “While macroeconomic outlook concerns continue, particularly with a weaker than expected 2H23 ad market in broader media, core movie going trends remain strong, with US ATP up 18% and per caps up 40% vs 2Q19,” Swinburne said. The stock added 1.2% Monday before the bell. Shares have more than doubled year to date. CNK YTD mountain CNK in 2023 — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report. Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.
A general view of Micron Technology’s building in Singapore, June 23, 2020.
Micron Gcm Studio | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading Monday.
Block — Shares of the payments stock lost 3% following a downgrade to market perform from outperform by KBW. The firm cited pressures from “‘small risks starting to add up,” including potential regulatory scrutiny of its Cash App business.
related investing news
Tesla — Shares of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company fell more than 1.5% after the firm announced another price cut in the U.S., its fifth since the start of the year. The move came as tougher U.S. standards are set to reduce the $7,500 tax credit available for Tesla’s Model 3. The EV maker also said Sunday it will open a new Megafactory in Shanghai that is capable of producing 10,000 Megapacks — large batteries —a year.
Micron Technology — Micron Technology’s shares gained 8% after its rival Samsung Electronics announced that it plans to cut memory chip production in the near term. Many Wall Street analysts said the move could accelerate a return to supply-demand balance and potential rebound in the chipmaking sector. Chip giant Western Digital also added about 8%.
Excelerate Energy, EQT and other gas stocks — Shares of Excelerate Energy, EQT and other gas stocks ticked higher as natural gas futures climbed. Excelerate added more than 1%, while EQT jumped 3.7% and Matador Resources gained 2.9%. Excelerate also got a boost from a new Deutsche Bank report, wherein the firm initiated coverage of the stock, rated it a buy and said it was trading below its industry peers.
Apple, Google, Microsoft — Shares of major technology companies were in the red during Monday’s trading session. Apple’s stock price lost 2%, Google-parent Alphabet shed 2.8% and Microsoft lost 1.4%.
Taiwan Semiconductor — Shares of the chip giant dropped 2.2% in midday trading after the company saw a decline in monthly revenue for the first time in four years. The stock is still up roughly 17% from the start of the year. Last month, Bank of America upgraded its price target on the company, believing it stands to benefit from investor interest in generative artificial intelligence.
New Fortress Energy — The stock gained 4% after Deutsche Bank initiated New Fortress as a buy. The bank said the company is well positioned in the liquified natural gas sector, which it believes has “potential to create outsized investment opportunities.”
Nikola — Shares fell 3% after Evercore ISI reiterated its in line rating. The firm also cut its price target in half to $1, saying the company has too many headwinds.
Five Below — Shares of the discount retailer gained 3.9% after Roth MKM said that Five Below might be helped by the success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which reported stronger-than-anticipated box office results.
AMC Entertainment, IMAX, Cinemark Holdings — Shares of major theater chains were in the green on Monday after the box office success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which was made by Universal Pictures. AMC’s stock price popped 6.7%, IMAX soared by 2% and Cinemark gained 5.7%.
— CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Alex Harring and Brian Evans contributed reporting
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
Girl watching a comedy movie at the cinema with her friend.
Rgstudio | E+ | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — The movies are still big. It’s the multiplexes that are getting smaller.
Since 2019, the number of total screens in the U.S. have decreased by around 3,000 to just under 40,000.
This consolidation was a direct result of the Covid pandemic, which shut down theaters for a time and triggered a surge in streaming subscriptions. A number of regional chains have shuttered for good, while others were left to reevaluate their financial footing. For many, that meant closing locations or selling off leases.
“Think about retail out there in general, it’s repositioning itself, you don’t have as many of the same branded stores in the marketplace,” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “Consumers are a lot more selective, and I think that for the economics that are necessary, you’re not going to see these 30-plexes anymore.”
Rodriguez said that most newly built locations will range between 12 and 16 screens and those with larger, preexisting footprints will look to repurpose some space for supplementary activities for moviegoers, like arcades, bowling alleys or bars.
Theaters have been forced to innovate, even as Hollywood production returns to normal and studios offer more movies for release than they were able to during the earlier stages of the pandemic.
As the space contracts, cinema operators are investing in the basics, improving sounds, picture quality and seating as well as in bolstering its food and beverage offerings, events and alternative programming. The aim is to improve the baseline experience for moviegoers regardless of the type of ticket they purchase.
“We do better when people get in the habit of seeing,” said Larry Etter, senior vice president at family-owned regional chain Malco Theatres. “And I think that’s what’s going to happen. I think we’re going to recreate the habitual effect that on Friday nights or Saturday nights or whatever it is, we’re gonna go to the movies.”
Already, the industry is seeing improvements in ticket sales. Through Monday, the 2023 box office has tallied $958.5 million in ticket sales, up nearly 50% compared to last year and down just 25% from 2019, according to data from Comscore.
This is a marked improvement from the meager $98.7 million box office tally during the same period in 2021.
Foot traffic has also improved, but continues to linger behind pre-pandemic levels. In the two decades before the pandemic, the industry sold an average of 1.1 billion tickets per year, according to data from EntTelligence. Even as Covid restrictions were lifted in 2022, just more than half that number of tickets were sold for the year. And ticket sales should rise in 2023 as studios release more films.
While cinema operators are pleased that studio production has increased, they are no longer taking audiences for granted.
To that end, operators have started with upgrading projectors. Over the last few years, movie theater operators have been removing traditional digital projectors and installing laser units, citing cost savings over time and a better picture quality for moviegoers.
“It’s a little bit expensive, but it will produce a better product on the screen,” Malco’s Etter said. “The more light you have the clearer everything is and the easier it is to see. And it will be much more economical. It’s sustainable because you are going to use about 60% of the utilities that you did before.”
Etter explained that traditional digital bulbs need to be replaced after around 2,000 hours and produce so much heat that theaters have to pay more to air-condition the projector rooms. And laser components last for 20,000 hours so they can go years without being replaced.
Many theater operators told CNBC they are planning similar upgrades to sound systems, saying they have partnered with companies like Dolby to bring quality speakers into their auditoriums.
“We’ve invest in Dolby Atmos, we’ve invested in new screens, we’ve invested in laser projection,” said Rich Daughtridge, president and CEO of Warehouse Cinemas. “To me, that’s baseline. I feel like you have to create the best sound and picture experience you can create to get people motivated to spend money to come out to the cinema.”
General atmosphere during the IMAX private screening for the movie: “First Man” at the IMAX AMC Theater on October 10, 2018 in New York City.
Lars Niki | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Across the industry, theater chains big and small are also replacing outdated stadium seating with recliners in a bid to improve the overall cinema experience.
“[We are] really looking at our theaters and making sure all of them are amazing,” said Shelli Taylor, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. “So if they don’t have recliners, we’re going in and we’re upgrading. We’re giving face-lifts where needed and just really refreshing and making sure that we continue to deliver that premium experience which people grow to love and expect from Alamo.”
In 2022, 15% of all domestic tickets sold were for premium screenings, with the average ticket costing $15.92, according to EntTelligence data. A standard ticket costs an average of $11.29.
So far in 2023, that premium ticket average is higher — $17.33 each — because so many moviegoers saw Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” in premium formats and 3D.
Big blockbusters have always been a driving force of ticket sales for cinemas. Before the pandemic, theater owners relied predominantly on studio advertising — trailers, TV spots and posters — to promote content and drive moviegoers to cinemas. Now, they are putting more in that mix.
Loyalty programs, direct marketing and special events are some of the recent tactics operators have employed to bring in audiences. AMC launched its first-ever advertising campaign in 2021 featuring Nicole Kidman with the tagline “We make movies better.” The company invested around $25 million in the campaign.
Budget-conscious smaller chains have to be a little more creative.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with distributors just talking about better and more efficient ways to market their films,” Warehouse’s Daughtridge said. “Often, that is data marketing and paid social, better trailer placements and [putting] tickets on sale at the right time.”
“I think there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit,” he said of email lists, loyalty programs and social media for personalized marketing.
Warehouse, which will soon open its third location, has also run promotions that range from offering margaritas with movie tickets to special “daddy-daughter” date night showings. Mid-pandemic, Warehouse Cinemas capitalized on the release of Solstice Studio’s “Unhinged” by hosting a car smash event during the film’s fifth week in theaters.
More recently, the chain held “pajamas and popcorn,” a promotion that entitled customers who wore PJs to the cinema a free popcorn. During that promotion, the company showed an Indiana Jones film and the classic animated dinosaur film “The Land Before Time.” Tickets were $5 each.
“The Land Before Time” showings sold 1,400 tickets, Daughtridge said.
“It was one of those events that just popped off,” he said. “We didn’t expect it to do that much business.”
For big chains like AMC, Regal and Cinemark, alternative programming has come in the form of live events, with cinemas setting up streams for concerts, sports and even Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.
Mid-sized chains like Alamo Drafthouse are even delving into the whimsical. When Oscar favorite “Everything Everywhere All at Once” played in cinemas, the theater chain passed out hot dogs to ticket buyers who went to its “feast” event to mark the famous hot dog fingers scene in the film.
Still from A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
A24
The company also worked with the Lincoln Zoo ahead of the opening of its new location in the Chicago neighborhood of Wrigleyville to do an outdoor screening of “The Lion King” in the lions’ den at the zoo.
Alamo isn’t the only chain innovating with food and beverages. Concessions have long been a staple at the cinema, but in recent years theater owners have expanded on the traditional popcorn and soda fare.
Cinepolis, which operates more than two dozen cinemas in eight states, is a luxury dine-in theater chain that offers a wide variety of food and beverages, ranging from chicken wings to lobster tacos. Cinepolis hosts “movie and a meal,” a specialized dinner that is catered to a specific new film release.
“For us, the food is crucial for local experience,” Cinepolis CEO Luis Olloqui said, noting how more people have big high-definition TVs at home, coupled with the ability to order out from top notch restaurants.
This trend isn’t likely to slow down, and industry insiders are optimistic about the future of the movie theater business.
“I think we, unfortunately, had some very bad public relation aspects through the course of Covid,” said Rodriguez of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “And now we have to kind of rebuild that muscle with the consumers and remind them, ‘Hey, you know, that’s behind us. Theaters are fine.’”
