Screentime
Movie Theaters Set to Rebound in 2021, Only to 1980s Levels
- U.S. tickets seen at $4.5 billion to $6 billion: Boxoffice Pro
- ‘Raya’ and ‘Tom & Jerry’ led North America weekend box office
Photographer: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
The U.S. box office is slowly improving, with family films from Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. drawing audiences to reopened cinemas, but the industry won’t be back to its pre-pandemic self for years -- if ever.
At the current pace of recovery, domestic ticket sales may reach $4.5 billion to $6 billion in 2021, according to Boxoffice Pro. That’s roughly triple the volume of last year, but far below the level of 2019. Adjusting for inflation, a $6 billion year would be less than the industry generated in 1982, when “E.T.” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” ruled cinemas.