Are Movie Theaters Making A Comeback?

Box-office hits like “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie” brought audiences back to theaters. Hopefully, Hollywood is paying close attention.

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Like many aspects of life in our post-pandemic world, cinemas have yet to return to how they used to be. Audience attendance has been inconsistent, and buzzy blockbusters are few and far between. Not to mention, swift digital releases have made it incredibly convenient to watch films from the comfort of our own homes.

Five years after COVID-19 shut down much of the world, movie theaters have struggled to generate enough excitement to get audiences back into seats. That is, until two big-screen juggernauts turned the tide last month.

At the top of April, “A Minecraft Movie” delivered the first undeniable box-office smash of the year, opening to $313 million globally. Two weeks later, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” enjoyed a solid $63 million global debut, stirred mainly by the director’s viral push for an IMAX viewing experience that audiences gladly embraced. Ticket sales for the horror flick have surpassed the $100 million mark worldwide, and demand remains so high that the movie has just scheduled an IMAX 70mm re-release in select theaters from May 15 to May 21.

“Audiences have spoken and we listened,” Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. Pictures’ president of global distribution, said in a statement on Thursday. “If ever a film needed to be experienced in this incredible larger-than-life format, it’s ‘Sinners.’ Ryan has delivered a film that has been embraced by fans who appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into creating a film for this screen-filling format, and we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to see it — or see it again — in 70mm Imax.”