Published: April 14, 2026
By Kayla DeKraker
The movie theater industry took a huge hit during the COVID pandemic in 2020, but things are finally starting to look up nearly six years later.
Theater operators are optimistic about the future of cinemas after a challenging period marked by streaming competition and changing audience habits. They believe that a strong lineup of movies in 2026, combined with recognizable stars, could help bring audiences back to theaters. In this context, “bankable” actors, like Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, Timothée Chalamet, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Austin Butler, are more important than ever because their presence can influence whether people choose to watch a movie on the big screen versus at home.
Bob Bagby, CEO of B&B Theaters, believes having a wide array of movies will get audiences back in theaters, too.
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“Having a diverse supply of movies on a year-round basis. Since COVID, we get a wonderful selection of movies over the holidays, and then into January, there’s nothing big to keep people in the habit of going,” he told Variety. “We need studios to release movies year-round and not just put all the movies during summer and Christmas.”
When theaters hit those slower months, they have to cut their costs “as tightly as you can,” Greg Marcus, Marcus Theatres CEO, said.
“You can play alternative content, but this business wasn’t built that way,” he explained. “It was built for national releases. If a great home experience was our only headwind — if we weren’t dealing with shorter windows, lack of product and high film rentals — we could overcome the slower months with alternative content.”
He added, “If you’re asked to overcome a 20% decline in box office with alternative content, that’s going to be a challenge.”
The pending Warner Bros.-Paramount merger expected later this year also has theater CEOs on edge.
“We’re always concerned about consolidation and the impact it could have on the availability of major releases,” said Mike Bowers, CEO of Harkins Theatres. “I have no reason to doubt the sincerity about Paramount’s efforts, but we have to look at how this has played out in our industry in the past. Historically, consolidation has resulted in fewer wide release and less diversity of film product.”
Overall, though, the movie theater industry finally seems to be on the up-and-up. The first three months of 2026 boast a “domestic box office revenue…up 23% compared with 2025, marking the strongest first quarter since the pandemic,” per the LA Times. TheWrap pointed out, though, that it is still 27% below 2019’s Q1 earnings.
Family-friendly movies like HOPPERS, PROJECT HAIL MARY and THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE certainly have helped boost the box office.
“These PG family titles are really a good deal for the box office right now for a good reason,” Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution at Universal Pictures, said. “People want to be out, they want to do something that is exciting and immersive and also economical. It’s a way to build memories.”
Although time will tell what the future holds for theaters, it looks like the movie industry’s pandemic woes may finally be at an end.
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