November sees high box office turnout as people are returning to cinemas

Cinemas are making a major comeback. Recent box office numbers in North America show several new films with strong attendance numbers.

This speaks to a bigger trend: that more and more people are getting out of the house and going to the movie theatre.

“We just saw Moana, so we thought, why not experience Moana 2 on the big screen. It’s the holidays for us, so we’re actually visiting from Toronto. We thought it would be a cool thing to do today,” the Nestor family told CityNews Winnipeg.

According to late box office numbers, it appears many other families like the Nestors are following suit. 

In North America, Gladiator 2 grossed over $111 million since premiering on Nov. 22, only to be outdone by Wicked, which grossed over $263 million in the same span. 

Then, there’s Moana 2, which grossed a whopping $225 million in just its first weekend.

“When the content is there, we really see an influx of our guests coming into the movie theatres,” said Ellis Jacob, CEO of Cineplex. “And even when I personally went to see Wicked, I ended up with a bunch of lousy seats because the theatre was sold out. But I was happy to do that and see all of the guests enjoying the movie experience.”

This return to the cinemas is a trend that’s been on the upswing for years. After pandemic shutdowns, according to IMDB, the yearly box office numbers were just over $4.4 billion in North America in 2021. 

That number in 2024 is over $7.6 billion, so far.

For Ryan Lawrence and his four-year-old daughter, it’s the entire movie theatre experience that’s getting them back out to the cinema.

“The sound, the games, the food, the popcorn smell that you get when you walk in the door.  And yeah, she was born right during COVID, so it’s a new experience for her at four years old, and she loves it. My kids all talk about coming to the movie theatres all the time. So, popcorn is the biggest one I think,” said Lawrence.