When the world was first hit by corona, one of the most hit industries or one among the most hit industries was the film industry. Suddenly, there was panic among people and among the industry biggies alike. The situation seemed gloomy for the future of cinema halls across the world, not to mention in the US.
Obviously, no one wanted to sit in a jam-packed theatre with a virus looming large, and neither did the theatre owners want the responsibility of leading to an increase in cases or subsequent deaths due to the pandemic. That was a time when the streaming industry really picked up, and suddenly everyone was talking about how streaming could be the future and theatres would shut shop soon.
However, the more home-bound people were, the more resilient they became, and they showed that they enjoyed the thrill of watching a movie on the big screen. The Americans had a wide choice when it came to theatre, though with AMC, Regal, Cinemark, and other options.
However, according to data by Looper, there was a tough fight between two chains – AMC and Cinemark. Both chains saw spikes during the release of Spiderman: No Way Home, which grossed $1.9 billion. Similar spikes could be seen during The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick.
While AMC is strong with 950 theatres across the world, Cinemark has its presence in the US and Latin America. Also, AMC has a stronger presence on online media as compared to Cinemark.
But the big and good news is that people are thoroughly enjoying returning to theatres irrespective of the chain. To put it shortly, the magic of cinema wins over territory wars of movie chains.
