(Bloomberg) -- The latest “Star Wars” film won't keep overall box-office sales from slipping in 2019, and the slump is weighing on shares of theater chains.
North American movie ticket sales probably fell by 3.6% in 2019, sliding to $11.5 billion, according to a Comscore Inc. estimates. A string of hits from Walt Disney Co., including “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King” and the newly released “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” didn't manage to buoy the overall industry.
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Cinemark Holdings Inc. and Cineworld Group Plc all declined on Monday after sales data from the opening weekend of “Star Wars” showed the performance won't offset an overall slower year at the box office. It generated about $176 million, slightly short of the $183 million Box Office Pro estimated.
“Hollywood was banking on a strong showing to boost receipts,” Geetha Ranganathan, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a note. “The reception, far below predecessors, may have been partly due to mixed critical reviews.”
| Year | North American Ticket Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019e | $11,450,000,000 | -3.6% |
| 2018 | $11,880,421,021 | 6.9% |
| 2017 | $11,118,760,891 | -2.3% |
| 2016 | $11,382,600,611 | 2.2% |
| 2015 | $11,136,876,490 | 7.5% |
Source: Comscore data
Cinemas are increasingly competing with streaming services, which have made it easy to see movies at home, keeping viewers glued to the couch. Still, 2018 was a record year for domestic moviegoing revenue and there had been hope that the industry can repeat that feat in 2019.
Shares of AMC fell as much as 3.9% to $7.73, while Cinemark dropped 3.4% to $33.66. Imax Corp., the operator of big-screen-format theaters, also declined, falling 4% to $21. Cineworld, which owns the Regal chain, slipped 0.6% in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Gilblom in Los Angeles at kgilblom@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net
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