This week, Cinemark announced that Q4 2021 was its first profitable quarter since the onset of the pandemic. Even with the general recovery of the exhibition sector, Cinemark has significantly outperformed the industry average. Powered by SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – the highest-grossing film in Cinemark’s history – the Dallas-based exhibitor with over 500 locations was able to generate $666.7M in revenue for the quarter, $65M higher than analysts had projected.
While these earnings were refreshingly positive, the country’s third-largest exhibitor still faces concerns over the increasing portion of revenue coming from a handful of blockbuster titles. Cinemark partnered with Netflix to offer a one-week exclusive screening last May of Netflix’s original feature ARMY OF THE DEAD. They have also continued to market successfully their private theater rental offerings, which emerged as a lifeline for the exhibitor during the height of the pandemic.
Cinemark’s new CEO Sean Gamble expressed with confidence that mid-size studio releases would be coming back in numbers to theaters. “The actual risk factor associated with that has improved because of the more dynamic window,” Gamble said. “So I think there’s the potential over time that we may start to see more of the smaller and mid-tier films getting released theatrically, which could balance out the mix.”
See also: More Than Just Tentpole Movies Will Return To Theaters, Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble Predicts, As Windows Shift Cuts Risk (Deadline)