With a big assist from “Dune” and its $40 million domestic debut, theater performance reached a new comparative peak.
With around $94 million of tickets sold this weekend, it’s ahead of any four-week period since theaters reopened.This weekend represents 89 percent of the same weekend in 2019 and puts our comparative four-week survey at 82 percent.
It will decline the rest of the month; two years ago, this was Halloween weekend , which traditionally lacks top new films.It now appears that the full month could be close to 80 percent in relation to 2019.
If this level is sustained in coming months, it will signal a better-than-expected recovery for theaters.More good news is the outstanding performance of Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch.” Opening in 52 theaters in 14 markets, it looks to gross $1.3 million, with an average of $25,000 per theater.
This is the first real signal that older, art-house audiences are ready to return, at least for certain films.
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