Between the buzz of fresh box office releases, school hols excitement and a flurry of winter weather warnings, cinemas could be the place to be right now. In the US, movie theatre ticket sales have started popping off. 🍿 After a drought in bold blockbuster releases last year, US cinemas raked in more than US$1.1 billion this June - more than double that of 2021 - fueled by Paramount’s (PARAA, PARA) Top Gun: Maverick and Universal Pictures’ (owned by Comcast (CMCSA)) Jurassic World Dominion. And Baz Lurhmann’s blinging biopic Elvis, from Warner Bros. (WBD), has sung in more than US$100 million worldwide. 💎

Thanks to TikTok’s #gentleminions, fans have been getting loudly suited ‘n’ booted to help smash box office records with Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, starring our own warrior princess, Lucy Lawless. And there’s more promising news to come for theatres. Disney (DIS) may have struck Marvel magic. Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder has received at least one rave review, and is expected by some to hammer home heavy hitting sales numbers. 🔨

Now that theatres are finally able to get back to business, selling us enormous buckets of delicious, overpriced popcorn, they’ll be hoping to see revenue come back with a Vengeance. In the first quarter of 2022, AMC Entertainment (AMC) revenue jumped more than five times year-on-year, and investor eyes will be glued to see just how big recent blockbusters have been for the company when they report their second quarter earnings in early August. 🎞️ Earnings updates from theatre chains Marcus Corp (MCS), which also operates hotels, and Cinemark Holdings (CNK) may also be essential viewing.

But what theatres really, really want is their long-awaited Christmas present, due to arrive in December. Called ‘the bell ringer’ by AMC, the year will come to a head with hugely anticipated 3D screenings of Avatar 2, James Cameron’s Aotearoa-located sequel to what was at the time of its original release, the #1 grossing movie of all-time. 🎟️