Cinema operators eye a 2022 recovery but box office still lower than pre-covid

Australian cinemas have had a difficult two years but are eyeing better times at the box office in 2022, despite the ongoing impact of Covid-19. See what movie blockbusters are on the way.

Spider-Man; No Way Home is the top grossing movie in Australia in 2021.

Despite uncertainty over the Omicron variant cinemas around Australia are expected to continue their slow recovery in 2022 after teetering on the brink for the past two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Negotiating the lockdowns and a lack of big movie releases during 2020 and 2021, smaller cinema operators have banked on a teenager and young adult backed movie blockbuster recovery which was kickstarted at the end of last year by the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the latest James Bond movie No Time To Die.

Vice president of the Independent Cinema Association Kieren Dell forecasts that on average Australian cinema revenue in 2022 will make up at least 75 to 80 per cent of its pre-Covid norm provided their doors remain open and there were no sudden lockdowns.

“It has been a very tough two years. It’s been all over the place,” said Mr Dell whose organisation represents 140 members, 221 cinemas with 783 screens in Australia and New Zealand.

“In 2021 we finished off with a reasonable period with the Spider-Man movie which is one of the biggest of movies of all time.

“In the last quarter we were running at 65 to 70 per cent of normal revenue and before that it was 40 per cent so it’s going to be around the 50 per cent mark for 2021. In 2020 it was about 30 to 35 per cent of normal revenue.”

Crowds slowing return to the cinema.

Mr Dell, who is also the chief executive of Majestic Cinemas, said the offer of a $9m in Federal Government grants, confirmed before Christmas, should enable at-risk cinemas to keep their doors open.

The funds were allocated from the COVID-19 Arts Sustainability Fund and available to eligible cinemas nationwide.

“If cinema owners get to this point then they will probably survive with Federal Government support but it will be pretty touch and go for some,” said Mr Dell whose members make up to 30 per cent of Australian cinema operators.

According to data from the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia in 2020 annual box office revenues dropped 69 per cent on 2019 to just $401m.

The 2021 figures have yet to be finalised they are expected to continue to be well below the 2019 benchmark.

Mr Dell while lockdowns impacted on cinemas to varying degrees on a state-by-state basis a lack of major films, because studios held them back from cinema release, hurt the industry.

“The biggest issue we had was that when Australia was open for business in 2020 and 2021 the rest of the world wasn’t,” he said.

“We are not the same as restaurants and other hospitality businesses. We are a global industry that relies pretty much on overseas product. Between 96 to 98 per cent of our revenue comes from overseas films, and most of that comes from Hollywood.”

A scene from the latest James Bond movie No Time To Die with Daniel Craig.

However with billions of dollars worth of Hollywood movie blockbusters on their way to Australia in 2022 there are expectations the box office will continue to build on the success in the last two months of the year.

According to the latest figures Spider-Man: No Way Home took the crown for biggest opening weekend of the year in Australia pulling in a massive $26.12m in December 16-19.

The latest James Bond epic No Time To Die in second place with $11.23m November 11-14.

“We will have blockbusters coming out of our ears in 2022,” Mr Dell said.

“In the past two years some films went straight to streaming but that experiment seems to have ended and we will go back to major films being exclusively for cinemas.

“We will have a lot of good product this year.”

Mr Dell said teenagers and young adults were driving the end-of-year box office boost and to a lesser extent families, while older cinema goers were more hesitant because of the ongoing Omicron threat.

”Spider-Man is approaching $60m in Australia and about $1.6bn worldwide making it close to the top 10 films of all time,” he said.

“What that is saying is that teenagers and young adults are fuelling those Marvel films and coming out in droves.”

“Families, are coming out to movies like Sing 2 but because of the hesitancy from the older cohort we have movies like Westside Story and the House of Gucci which are struggling.”

BLOCKBUSTERS FOR 2022

The Batman – March

Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore – March

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – May

Top Gun 2: Maverick – May

Jurassic World: Dominion – June

Minions; The Rise of Gru – June

Thor: Love and Thunder – July

Black Adam – July

Mission Impossible 7 – September

The Flash – November

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – November

Captain Marvel 2 – November

Avatar 2 – December

Aquaman 2 – Boxing Day

Originally published as Cinema operators eye a 2022 recovery but box office still lower than pre-covid