Exhibition giant Cinemark reported record fourth-quarter revenue of $814 million, up 27 percent year-over-year and 3 percent above the pre-COVID pandemic fourth quarter of 2019. The company swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $51.3 million, compared to a year-earlier loss of $18.0 million.
The company posted quarterly adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), another profitability metric, of $156.9 million on Wednesday, compared with $79.6 million in the year-ago period.
Related Stories
Fourth-quarter theatrical releases included the likes of Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Moana 2, Gladiator II and Venom: The Last Dance.
Sean Gamble, CEO of Cinemark, during a morning analyst call underscored an ongoing Hollywood box office rebound for North American industry cinema ticket sales at around $8.8 billion in 2024 helping surpass the overall 2023 box office performance by 3 percent. “Despite the significant headwinds that were imposed by the prior year with strikes in Hollywood, as more and more compelling content was released to the big screen, movie going momentum surged, delivering overall results that far exceeded expectations, with numerous all time records,” he told investors.
Gamble added the supply of Hollywood tentpoles into the multiplex was key to sustaining the current box office recovery. After a “relatively light first quarter,” he insisted the 2025 release schedule for the rest of the year pointed a “nice spring back to the recovery trajectory our industry was following prior to the 2023 strikes in Hollywood, and 2026 is already looking like it will be another step forward from there.”
“It’s one of the most diverse slates we’ve seen, so we think that has a lot to offer all types of audiences,” Gamble added about the 2025 release slate. He added the 2026 tentpole release slate with its flow of new films and the number of films reaching theaters has the potential to “close the gap further, if not reach the volume that we saw prior to the pandemic,” as Hollywood looks to get back to and possibly surpass pre-COVID-19 box office levels.
Gamble also discussed Netflix partnering with Imax for a global release of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia two weeks ahead of the film’s streaming debut. He said Cinemark would have liked to see a “more full wide release of a film such as that,” rather than what he saw as a promotional effort for Narnia ahead of a Netflix streaming release into a crowded Christmas 2026 box office period.
Narnia, based on the Chronicles of Narnia book series by C.S. Lewis, is currently set for an Imax release on Thanksgiving Day 2026, before a debut on Netflix during the Christmas period that year. The landmark deal is a win for Imax, which partners with Netflix as it seeks another limited, promotional theatrical run for one of its movie titles.
“So it’s an interesting concept … but I don’t think it’s necessarily one that is sustainable over time,” Gamble argued. With Narnia, the two week exclusive window for Imax was crucial to establishing a long enough run to satisfy theater circuits like Cinemark that operate Imax auditoriums.
The programming window by Imax could change. As part of the agreement, Imax has a four-week window for the film before the Netflix debut, but the film technologies company for now is committed to playing Narnia exclusively for two weeks starting on Thanksgiving Day 2026.
Cinemark announced it has reinstated its annual cash dividend at 32 cents per share. “This event marks another major milestone in our company’s recovery from the pandemic,” Gamble told analysts.
For the three months to Dec. 31, Cinemark’s admissions revenue increased 26.1 percent to $406.5 million, while concession revenue jumped 29.0 percent to $313.4 million, Cinemark said. It also touted “an all-time high food and beverage per cap of $5.96” for the full year 2024.
Its worldwide average ticket price was $7.97, with concession revenue per patron coming in at $6.15. Domestically, the average ticket price was up to $10.39 in the latest quarter, compared with $10.21 a year earlier. In the U.S., Cinemark hosted 32.6 million patrons in the fourth quarter, compared to a year-ago figure of 26.2 million, with the global figure rising from 40.6 million to 51 million.
Based in Plano, Texas, Cinemark operates approximately 500 theaters, including more than 300 in the U.S., with nearly 4,300 screens, and 193 theaters with nearly 1,400 screens in 13 cinemas in South and Central American countries.
A year ago, Gamble suggested that there could be deal opportunities opening up down the line. “I do think in the U.S. we could start to see more attractive opportunities surface in the next year or two,” he said back then.
