Why Cineplex CEO Has Positive Outlook for Theaters in 2024
By Movieguide® Contributor
While the entertainment industry still fights to recover from last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes, Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob believes 2024 will be a good year for theaters and theatergoers.
2024’s box office has had a bleak start. The most popular movie released so far this year is the MEAN GIRLS remake, which grossed just under $70 million domestically. However, as multiple movies later in the year have blockbuster potential, Jacob believes 2024 will be a good year for theaters.
“We are starting to see product coming back,” Jacob told The Hollywood Reporter. “Those are positive that point me in the right direction.”
He was encouraged by the announcement of two more major movies coming to theaters this year: MOANA 2 and MONKEY MAN. MOANA 2’s story was originally set to be a TV show before Disney turned it into a movie. MONKEY MAN was originally slated to release on Netflix before Universal acquired it to release in theaters.
These movies will help fill out 2024’s release lineup. MOANA 2 and MONKEY MAN join DUNE: PART TWO, JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX, KUNG FU PANDA 4, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 and more as tentpole releases for the upcoming year.
Nonetheless, even with the addition of these two movies, many experts remain skeptical about whether 2024 will be a strong year for the box office. Last year, WONKA gave the industry a final bump to crest a $9 billion total gross. At the start of 2024, most experts believe the box office will drop $1 billion, barely passing an $8 billion gross by the end of the year.
Even those with a downward outlook on 2024, however, have high hopes for the future beyond that. With the industry fully recovered by then and many high-profile movies slated for 2025, even if the industry stumbles this year, it is expected to begin to soar again soon.
Movieguide® previously reported:
2024’s box office is projected to falter without a consistent stream of movies with blockbuster potential due to 2023’s extended writers’ and actors’ strikes.
“We should be nervous about the first half of 2024,” an anonymous studio executive told Deadline. “There’s no way that a labor stoppage as prolonged and chaotic as this wasn’t going to have consequences. Fire comes through and burns a forest and a town, and then the fire is over. But the consequences of the fire aren’t over: There’s mudslides, and there’s damaged infrastructure.”
“The fire is over: Now we’ve gotta rebuild the town,” the executive added.
With only 107 widely released movies – compared to 2023’s 124 – coming out this year and numerous gaps in the release schedule, 2024’s box office total is expected to drop at least $1 billion from last year’s $9 billion total.
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