Movie theaters finally emerge from the shadows of the pandemic

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

As movie theater owners and studio executives converge on Las Vegas this week for the annual CinemaCon trade conference, a rare sentiment is emerging — optimism.A string of hits like Amazon MGM Studios’ “Project Hail Mary” and Universal Pictures, Nintendo and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” have ignited theatrical revenue and helped push year-to-date domestic box office revenue about 23% higher than last year, according to Comscore data.And that’s not just due to higher ticket prices.More people are going to theaters, with 154 million tickets sold so far this year in the U.S.

and Canada, up nearly 16% from the same time last year, data from EntTelligence shows.The upswing suggests that the exhibition industry is beginning to recover from the devastating downturn that occurred in the aftermath of the pandemic when people got out of the habit of watching movies on the big screen and instead turned to Netflix and other streaming platforms.Studio executives and theater operators chalk up the improved prospects to several factors, including a better and more plentiful crop of bankable movies that are giving consumers more reason to trek to the multiplex.Several upcoming films could be blockbusters: Walt Disney Co.-owned 20th Century Studios’ 20-year sequel “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and Warner Bros.Pictures’ and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part Three.”That’s given hope to theater executives like Cinépolis USA Chief Executive Luis Olloqui.

The chain’s first-quarter revenue was about 4% to 5% higher than expected.The Dallas-based subsidiary of the Mexico-cinema chain which has 10 locations in California, saw especially high demand for the “Super Mario” movie.On opening weekend, fans bought out all of its merchandise, including a Yoshi-t...