Top Gun: Maverick Soars As Consumers Return to the Theater
Top Gun: Maverick Shatters Memorial Day Weekend Box Office Records
Beating The Box Office Record!
Top Gun: Maverick, sequel to the 1986 hit Top Gun, shattered Memorial Day Box Office records, coming in at $160.5 million domestically on opening weekend, and $248 million worldwide. Top Gun: Maverick is now expected to finish above $300 million after its domestic run, which would be Tom Cruise’s top earning movie ever. 55% of moviegoers were 35 and older, and 21% of moviegoers are between the ages of 18 and 24. This large showing of 35 and older is unheard of, especially post-COVID, and shows the draw of Tom Cruise and the long awaited Top Gun: Maverick.
What Does This Mean For Movie Theaters?
When the markets opened Tuesday after the long weekend, we saw AMC stock up 13% in pre-market, and Paramount Global, the studio responsible for Top Gun: Maverick, up over 4% pre-market. Top Gun: Maverick is a sign that people will return to movie theaters to see big name movies. Movie theaters have struggled post-COVID, with consumers 44% less likely to return to a movie theater. Streaming services have become much more popular, and stocks that take advantage of this trend have performed well. Despite this change in mentality, Top Gun: Maverick drew in moviegoers of all ages, which shows consumers could change their mind if the movie was significant enough.
No Signs Of Slowing Down For the US Consumer
This chart above shows the overall consumption for all US consumers, and ignoring the COVID outlier change, we are remaining steady in spending. Simply put, this means people are still spending money and are not slowing down at all. This is a great sign for stocks like AMC, Netflix, Paramount Global, Comcast, and Disney, as people are still spending money on entertainment. As long as this holds true, we could see a trend up in moviegoers, but as soon as people have less money to spend, entertainment budgets will be the first to be cut. But for now, we are seeing a strong consumer and strong growth, and signs of hope for many movie theaters, which many thought were becoming a relic of the past.