The CinemaCon 2024 convention took place last week at in Las Vegas at the Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Conference Center. It is the world’s largest annual gathering of motion picture exhibitors, this year drawing more than 6,000 industry professionals from over 80 countries.
As always, the event was highlighted by presentations from major Hollywood studios and leaders of major exhibitor circuits. A somewhat unspoken reality was the box office slump since last summer’s success, with the beginning of 2024 being particularly alarming. On the one hand, 2022 and 2023 had delivered 8 quarters of growth, climbing out of the hole left by the pandemic.
On the other hand, the first three months of 2024 were down 10% from the first quarter last year. Many observers have blamed this on last year’s labor strikes, creating production delays and release date changes. This reality presented several tough questions for CinemaCon attendees to grapple with.
Most major film studios came to the show with announcements, new trailers, and premieres of upcoming theatrical releases. Several A-list stars including Kevin Costner, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson came to Las Vegas to promote their upcoming films. Others could not appear in person but prepared video statements for the audience, including Michael B. Jordon, John Krasinski, Ryan Coogler, Keanu Reeves, and Ridley Scott.
One reason why so many could not appear in person was that they were still heading down finishing off projects that were delayed by the strikes. Sony Pictures Entertainment chose not to present this year, citing the impact of the strike on production. They handed their traditional slot over to Crunchyroll, Sony’s Anime division, which presented a slate of upcoming features. However, the absence of the larger studio was felt.
Some concern was voiced about the future of exhibition at a Wednesday panel moderated by Matt Belloni from Puck News, who questioned AMC CEO Adam Aron on whether he considers the domestic theatrical market to be a “$10 billion industry or an $8 billion industry.” When Belloni questioned Aron about the financial status of his company, the CEO expressed optimism about the future based on the film slate for 2025 and 2026. Aron expects the domestic box office for both years to rise to $10 billion or more. He dispelled rumors that AMC might be forced to declare bankruptcy to resolve its outstanding debt burden.
Belloni also expressed skepticism about Amazon’s and Apple’s commitment to theatrical release, asking Aron “How much money would Road House have made if [it had been] released in theaters?” “Lots” answered Aron.
See Also: CinemaCon: Theater Owners Chief Michael O’Leary Calls for More Capital Investment Amid Tough Times
