This summer, there was a bit of movie madness — and it has mall owners reconsidering the value of movie theaters as anchor tenants.
Getting a ticket to see “The Odyssey,” especially in the coveted 70-millimeter IMAX version, was about as easy as getting a glimpse of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on their wedding day. Ticket apps crashed. Sellouts happened months in advance. Scalpers took advantage, and there were extra screenings at all hours.
There were other big movie hits this summer and spring, including “Toy Story 5,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” and “Obsession.” Ticket sales at box offices this year in the U.S. are seen exceeding $10 billion, far outpacing last year’s $8.9 billion, according to industry estimates. Gen Z and Millennial moviegoers are going to the cinema the most, averaging around seven visits a year.
All that hoopla is welcomed by developers and mall operators because they see these hit movies driving traffic and sales at stores and restaurants in their properties, and supporting what many have been observing — a post-pandemic trend toward people wanting to get out and socialize more. They cite a renewed interest in visiting malls for more than just shopping. Mall traffic, while still under pre-pandemic levels, has been steadily climbing in the past three years, spurred by dining, entertainment and experiential formats, particularly movies as of late. For the first half of this year, traffic at open-air shopping centers rose 4.7 percent, followed by indoor malls up 1.9 percent, and outlet malls 1 percent ahead year-over-year, according to Placer.ai, a platform that analyzes foot traffic across different venues. Positive trends have continued in the second half so far, with traffic at open-air shopping centers up 5.1 percent, indoor malls up 4.3 and outlet centers up 0.5 percent, year-over-year, Placer.ai reported.
