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ATLANTA — We're in the thick of the presummer movie doldrums.
While movie theaters are anxious to continue their post-pandemic recovery, the residual impact of 2023 strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild — which halted work on productions for months at a time — is being felt, with several holes in the schedule left by films that pushed their release dates back.
There's hope on the horizon, though: Last summer was a godsend for theaters struggling to restore attendance to pre-pandemic levels, with acclaimed hits like "Barbie," "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" and "Oppenheimer." And there's the potential for another "Barbie"-sized hit this summer: Sequels to "Deadpool," "Inside Out," "Despicable Me" and more successful properties are coming soon.
But until then, movie theaters are getting creative to bring audiences in. From anticipated re-releases to expanded screenings in premium formats like IMAX, plus the occasional pricey, curiously themed popcorn buckets, here's what movie theaters are doing this year to appeal to audiences when the release schedule is sparse.
Re-releases, mini film festivals and exclusive merch can bring viewers back
There's typically a lull in the release schedule in the months following the cutoff for Oscars eligibility. Prestige films are usually held until the fall and early winter so they don't have to compete for attention with expensive crowd-pleasers, which normally dominate summer.
Historically, late winter and early fall have been slow periods for movie theaters because studios rarely release their biggest titles in that time. January, February and September in particular have been nicknamed "dump months" since studios plopped films with questionable box office prospects into those release slots with little fanfare.
That's held true so far this year, too: January and February fell short of typical box office numbers for those months in the pre-pandemic era, said Ray Subers, senior vice president and head of film for NRG, or National Research Group, a firm that follows developments in entertainment and tech.
Alamo Drafthouse, meanwhile, one of the most successful specialty theater chains in the U.S. with over 40 locations, has leaned into quieter months with gusto, programming screenings of classics and hidden gems and often pairing them with winning merchandise and a themed menu.
John Smith, Alamo Drafthouse's senior film programmer, likened the "dump months" to "hurricane season — we know it's coming and can prepare."
Smith heads a team devoted entirely to "alt content," so they're monitoring the schedule of first-run films to find gaps to fill. "If we're only ever playing the 'hits,' we're missing out on growing and sustaining a film-loving audience that demands a diverse and satisfying film slate," Smith said. "They're the audience that we rely on in the slower time periods, and who help us stand out on the films that we think are important."
People are seeing a trip to the theater as a special treat, so enhancing these premium experiences could be a key differentiator for theaters in today's landscape.
–Ray Subers
Major chains like AMC and Regal are leaning into counterprogramming and opportunities off-screen, too. Both theaters are upping their merchandise game, with AMC's infamous "Dune" popcorn vessel and green popcorn and Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man toys for "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" at Regal. They're also both betting big on re-releases.
And though superhero flicks are usually synonymous with summer, the release schedule this summer is mostly devoid of family-friendly Marvel and DC tentpoles (save for two R-rated romps starring Deadpool and Kraven the Hunter). AMC is filling the void by bringing all eight Spider-Man movies, starting April 15, in a weekly event called Spider-Mondays.
The biggest re-release gimmick of the year, though, belongs to Disney: On May the 4th, known as "Star Wars Day," select theaters will host a theatrical marathon of nine "Star Wars" films in the "Skywalker Saga" back to back (to back, to back …) starting May 3 and ending on May 4.
Betting on IMAX and indie
Critics and fans of recent hits like "Oppenheimer" and "Dune: Part Two" have called on fellow viewers to experience the films on the biggest screen possible — and, in most cases, that's an IMAX screen. IMAX theaters typically feature massive screens with a taller aspect ratio and sharper image resolution, and some directors shoot on film stock specifically meant for IMAX.
Those enhancements mean that tickets are steeper for films in IMAX, sometimes running more than double the price of admission. But audiences have shown an increased willingness to shell out for films that excite them: Both "Dune: Part Two" and "Oppenheimer" saw about 20% of their sales come from IMAX tickets, Variety reported earlier this month.
With IMAX attendance up and more interest in films screening in premium formats from IMAX competitors like Dolby Cinema or ScreenX, there's "clearly room for expansion," Subers, the NRG film researcher, said.
"People are seeing a trip to the theater as a special treat, so enhancing these premium experiences could be a key differentiator for theaters in today's landscape," Subers said.
Though there's always potential for breakout hits, movie theaters will likely stay a bit quieter in April and May, still reeling from strike-related setbacks and the typical pre-summer schedule, Subers said. But the back half of the year will be chock-full of potential blockbusters and sequels to familiar favorites, he added: There are 15 franchise films scheduled between June and late December whose predecessor earned over $150 million at the U.S. box office (such as "Moana," "Bad Boys" and "Sonic the Hedgehog"), which suggests that theaters could see healthy attendance until the end of the year.
And even though various factors have slowed down the movie theater revival of 2024 so far, 2025 is promising to be a massive year at the movies: Superheroes will return in full force with new versions of "Fantastic Four" and "Superman," films from beloved auteurs like Paul Thomas Anderson and Bong Joon Ho and reimaginings of popular IP from Snow White to the video game Minecraft.
"The strikes made the first half of this year merely OK, and the second half pretty big," Smith said. "It's making 2025 look like one of the best cinema years since 2019."
