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Fueled by strong turnout for summer blockbusters Lilo & Stitch (NYSE:DIS) and Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning (NASDAQ:PARA), Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) set a record for Memorial Day weekend in box office sales, concession revenue, and top-grossing weekend for premium formats.
“Once again, huge audiences came out for the experience of enjoying films on the big screen in theaters. We expect the momentum to continue throughout the summer with an exciting slate of films ahead,” said CEO Greg Marcus.
According to data compiled by Comscore, this Memorial Day weekend was the strongest in 12 years with $145.5M in opening day receipts for Lilo & Stitch, and $63M from Mission: Impossible, beating expectations for the two films to gross $200M during the holiday weekend.
Warner Bros’ (NASDAQ:WBD) contributed another $19.7M with Final Destination: Bloodlines, while another Disney (NYSE:DIS) feature, Thunderbolts, brought in $19.7M in ticket sales.
The momentum behind strong sales for Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible is expected to carry into early summer, fueled by a promising lineup that includes Karate Kid: Legends (NYSE:SONY), Ballerina (NYSE:LION)—the fifth installment in the John Wick series—and the live-action How to Train Your Dragon (CMCSA).
The record box office is driving shares within the sector higher, including a 20% rally in AMC Entertainment (AMC), 8% gain in Marcus Corp (NYSE:MCS), and S&P 500 top-performer Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD).
Related tickers: Cinemark (CNK), IMAX (IMAX), Reading International (RDI), National CineMedia (NCMI), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX)
More on Marcus, Warner Bros. Discovery, etc.
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- Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’ leads record-setting Memorial Day weekend
- Movies push for holiday record with ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ eighth ‘Mission: Impossible’