At the box office: August revenues drop 43% from pre-pandemic levels

A slow August at the domestic box office was not the ideal way to end a boon for Hollywood movie owners and studios as they collectively emerged from the COVID-19 crisis.

August 2022 revenue is between $475 million and $477 million, which over the past two years, when the pandemic has kept many customers at home, is one of the lowest estimates in several decades and a 43% drop. . August 2019, according to Comscore. (Since the pandemic closed U.S. theaters in 2020, 2019 remains the preferred benchmark.)

The good news: the box office recovery saw big gains for the rest of the summer, with big hits of course. Top Gun: Maverick. The box office success of Tom Cruise and a variety of other films have shown that viewers of all shows are now returning to theaters.

The summer doesn’t officially end until Labor Day, but the estimated revenue will be around $3.4 billion. This is significantly more than last year ($1.63 billion) and 21% less than in 2019. Comscore will receive final stats in the coming days.

So why did August drop like this and reduce the bottom line, even if it’s 13% or more from 2021’s $423.2 million?

Studio sources and box office analysts attribute the slowdown to a lack of new releases as Hollywood struggles with its supply chain. As of August 2019, a dozen films have been released in over 2,000 theaters across the country, and by 2021, nine — including free boy, jungle cruise s suicide squad. This year there were only six.

In 2014, combined August ticket sales surpassed $1 billion for the first time, led by a bold move by Marvel and Disney. Guardians of the Galaxy August 1st. Revenue for the month surpassed $1 billion for the second time in 2016, thanks to titles like Warner Bros. and DC. suicide squad (August 5th) and Sony sausage party (August 12th). And Universal has been enjoying its last month of summer for quite some time now. Jason Bourne The franchise, including several installments, debuted in late July.

In 2019, Universal fast and furious leave hobbs and shaw (August 2) helped August revenue to $870 million.

The biggest movie of August 2022 so far is from Sony Bullet train, which earned US$ 78 million in the domestic market. He’s done more overseas, grossing $95.4 million to date for a global cumulative North of $174 million. Although the Brad Pitt-directed film did a decent job, it didn’t become a huge success.

Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian applauds Sony for moving the R-rated action thriller from April to August this year. “That gave the month at least a chance to produce respectable numbers, but compared to the sweet summer months of May, June and July, August 2022 will pale in comparison,” he says.

Dergarebedian says August has been a launching pad for “big R-rated titles”, including Inglourious Basterds, District 9, straight from Compton, very bad, tropical storm and also apocalypse nowto mention a few.

“I call August ‘Punk Rock Month’ because studios can technically release a movie in the summer season, which is less safe and edgier in the book and less expensive,” says Dergarebedian. .

together Bullet trainR-rated August releases include Universal’s adventure-thriller genre the beast and a special image of MGM and United Artists three thousand years of longingEach is doing modest business so far (both star Idris Elba).

Nationwide, the next tent to arrive at Warner Bros.’ black adamwhich premieres on October 21 against the Julia Roberts-George Clooney Roma Commission. ticket to heavenby Universal. A week earlier, Universal halloween is over Opening day and date in theaters and in Peacock.

There’s a lot of potential in the year-end release schedule between Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Ever (November 11), Disney’s animated Thanksgiving giveaway strange world (November 23), 20th century Avatar: The Way of Water (December 16) and DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (December 21) and Paramount Babylon Christmas day

Still, the sting has been sharp since this month. A studio executive says, “August was out of the game this year.”