After a domestic box office that’s been battered by double strikes, exhibition, and the industry overall, can thank Warner Bros for leaving three potential, ultimate $100M+ grossing movies under the tree; those being DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Wonka and The Color Purple.
However, it’s not going to be a Christmas like those of yore, either pre-or-post Covid, simply because there’s no ten-quad tentpole in the Star Wars, Avatar or Spider-Man: No Way Home sense of the word that will blitzkreig the box office.
A year-end gift as such brings a substantial amount of spillover business into the New Year, and with 2024 projected to drop -10% due to the strikes’ delay of tentpoles into 2025, we are already starting next year on the wrong foot.
But still, Warners saw this and remained committed to holding their Christmas dates, asking exhibition for extra promotion on their end (that is if the actors strike remained ongoing).
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