Minnesota movie theaters are full again with help of summer blockbusters

Movie lovers are trading their couches for theater seats.

After two years of temporary closures and few film releases, theaters in the Twin Cities area and across the country are nearly back to prepandemic strength thanks to summer blockbusters and prices that make moviegoing still one of the most affordable ways to spend a night out.

Yet, despite sizable rebounding, theater operators say they are still vulnerable to a downturn without a steady stream of major movie hits.

The parking lot at Marcus Oakdale Cinema began to fill up Tuesday night as families looked to take advantage of $5 ticket deals. Kids, some carrying blankets or dressed as fairy tale characters, made their way inside as families spilled into the lobby. The buttery smell of popcorn was heavy in the air.

"I like it here because there's like a bigger screen and you get to sit up high," said Selene Belz, 8, as she waited in line with her parents to get snacks.

Mary Lee, who was at the theater with her brothers to see the new "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" movie, said she appreciated that, though the theater was lively, it wasn't too crowded.

"It doesn't seem too busy or crazy today," she said.

Movie theaters struggled during the pandemic even after they reopened. Film companies limited the amount of movies they distributed and many people opted to watch movies at home. But as COVID-19 cases receded, more people ventured outside for entertainment.

This summer the U.S. box office has generated nearly $3.3 billion. That's more than double what it did in summer 2021 but still down more than 20% compared to 2019, according to analytics company Comscore.

Foot traffic to movie theaters has been on the upswing since May. In July, visits to theaters increased 72% compared to March, according to data firm Placer.ai. During the first half of this year, traffic to the country's leading movie theater chains steadily improved with Cinemark visits nearly reaching prepandemic levels last month at just 2% lower than 2019.

Family-owned B&B Theatres says the Mall of America's movie theater, which it took over and reopened in May 2021, is "exceeding expectations."

"We have been extremely pleased with the past year," said Paul Farnsworth, spokesman for B&B Theatres, which is based in Missouri.

Michelle Mann,co-owner of Bloomington-based Mann Theatres, said sales are about 75% of what they were in 2019 and continue to improve. "It is just getting better and better," she said.

Mann said her company is working to cater to the different audiences of each of its eight locations. For example, at its Grandview theater in St. Paul the company successfully started to run classic films earlier this year.

The four-screen, art deco Edina Theatre, which Mann's father owned in the '80s, is being renovated to pay homage to horror classic "The Shining," complete with a Gold Room lounge and a backdrop for people to snap pictures near a broken door like the one where actor Jack Nicholson delivers his famous line, "Here's Johnny!"

"We are just so honored to be the ones to bring it back," Mann said about the theater.

Much of the summer's success is due to big-budget films such as "Top Gun: Maverick," "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Jurassic World: Dominion."

"As long as we continue the proper supply of films, we feel very, very good about the ongoing rebuilding journey of our industry," said Rolando Rodriguez, president and chief executive of Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres.

Revenue for Marcus improved significantly in the second quarter of this year and now is about 80% of prepandemic levels, he said. Based on surveys done for the National Association of Theatre Owners, which Rodriguez chairs, nearly 90% of those who were recently polled said they were receptive to going to movie theaters.

Major U.S. movie chains have also reported business improvements. AMC, the world's largest movie chain, reported revenue of nearly $1.2 billion last quarter compared to almost $445 million last year at this time. Cinemark's revenue increased more than 150% in April, May and June.

However, large movie chains are still losing hundreds of millions of dollars each season as they try to recover ground they lost during the pandemic.

Cineworld Group PLC, which owns Regal Cinemas, said this week it was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as it struggles with billions of dollars in debt and lower admissions levels than expected.

The summer started off strong, but business has began to slow again without new major releases, said Nathan Block, who owns the Woodbury 10 Theatre and the St. Michael Cinema.

"I think we will end up losing what we gained in the last three months, which is kind of discouraging," Block said.

Movie theaters are even more dependent on big-budget films with mass appeal, Block said. Theater owners are waiting for releases such as "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" in November and "Avatar: The Way of Water" in December to draw audiences out of their homes.

There's a segment of moviegoers that just haven't returned to movie theaters and maybe never will, Block said. But for others, he said, a theater provides a sense of community that they missed in the pandemic.

"We need this more than ever," he said. "If movies can play a small part of bringing people back together, we can't afford to lose this experience."