Cineplex, Canada’s leading entertainment and media company, reported Thursday box office revenues of $35.2 million for September, exceeding September 2023 levels by three per cent.
The company said it outperformed the North American box office relative to 2019 by nearly four per cent despite a tough comparison, as September 2019 was the second highest September ever with the record-breaking title IT Chapter Two.
It said top films for the month included the long-awaited Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which delivered an impressive domestic opening weekend of $111 million. Deadpool & Wolverine continued to perform strongly, generating a staggering $1.3 billion at the global box office to date. Guests continued to elevate their movie-going experience with 70.1 per cent of Transformers One box office revenues coming from premium formats such as 3D, IMAX, ScreenX, D-BOX, VIP and UltraAVX.
“Cineplex saw increased momentum in international programming, with it accounting for a tremendous 14.9 per cent of September’s box office revenue, compared to North American peers at 4.8 per cent. The three highest-grossing international films for September included Ardaas Sarbat De Bhalle Di, Bibi Rajni and Stree 2, all of which were in Cineplex’s top 10 films for the month,” said Cineplex in a news release.
“Third quarter 2024 box office revenues of $174.9 million, represented 98 per cent of 2019 levels in the same period and 93 per cent of 2023, despite the tough benchmark of the ‘Barbenheimer’ cultural phenomenon in 2023. Box office performance this past quarter was driven by the success of Disney’s two major titles, Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2, along with Universal’s hit Despicable Me 4, which collectively accounted for approximately half of Cineplex’s box office.”
“Our third quarter saw a steady stream of diverse film content which drove audiences into our theatres and again signified the strength of sustained movie-going,” said Ellis Jacob, President and CEO, Cineplex. “With highly anticipated titles like Gladiator II, Wicked, Moana 2, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, we foresee a strong fourth quarter for the business. This represents an exciting moment for our company and highlights shareholders have much to look forward to.”
| Period | 2019 Box Office | 2023 Box Office | 2024 Box Office | 2024 as a Percentage of 2019 | 2024 as a Percentage of 2023 |
| July | $76,935 | $86,388 | $72,468 | 94 % | 84 % |
| August | $56,537 | $67,592 | $67,199 | 119 % | 99 % |
| September | $44,393 | $34,253 | $35,217 | 79 % | 103 % |
| Q3 Total | $177,869 | $188,233 | $174,884 | 98 % | 93 % |
| (i) Balances are in thousands of dollars. | |||||
Cineplex has 169 movie theatres and location-based entertainment venues. It operates Canada’s favourite destination for ‘Eats & Entertainment’ (The Rec Room), complexes specially designed for teens and families (Playdium), and an entertainment concept that brings movies, amusement gaming, dining, and live performances together under one roof (Cineplex Junxion). It also operates successful businesses in digital commerce (CineplexStore.com), alternative programming (Cineplex Events), motion picture distribution (Cineplex Pictures), cinema media (Cineplex Media) and digital place-based media (Cineplex Digital Media).
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