Local audiences head back to the cinema as global box office numbers show 23 per cent growth

Superhero franchise movies and blockbuster sequels were supposed to be cinema’s big saviours in 2025. They were the movies that would lure us back to the Multiplex after COVID, get bums on seats and popcorn in hands as we sat ready and waiting for the latest bells-and-whistles extravaganza.

It didn’t happen. Not to the extent many were expecting.

As 2026 rolled around and numbers were tallied, it became clear: save for the success of family-friendly flicks Zootopia 2, Avatar 3 and Lilo & Stitch, most big hitters missed the mark.

Fast forward a few months, and there’s a much rosier outlook.

The first quarter of this year has shown a marked improvement, with global ticket sales up 23 per cent.

In only its second weekend, the Super Mario Galaxy movie managed to pull in $US300 million ($418m) in the US (it’s sitting pretty at $23m as of this week in Australia) and Ryan Gosling’s surprise hit Project Hail Mary continues to draw eyeballs, surpassing $US500m dollars globally, with $3.61m collected last week in Australia.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s zeitgeisty new film, The Drama, also continues to perform well, currently sitting in the top five films locally, along with the animated film Hoppers and Nicola Coughlan’s The Magic Faraway Tree.

What’s changed?

Why are we suddenly re-energised at the thought of sitting in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers to watch movies again?

Right out of the gates, 2026 has delivered crowd-pleasers — movies audiences actually want to see.

Those thirsty for romance could get their pulses racing courtesy of a romp in the heather with Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie for Emerald Fennell’s modern take on Wuthering Heights.

Gamers, and those nostalgic for a slice of their childhood, could set off for a trip round the galaxy with Super Mario Galaxy Movie. And if you’re game for a good jump scare, cinemas had you covered on that front too, courtesy of the slasher flick Scream 7.

While Marvel spin-offs and franchise flicks might once have scratched our itch, it seems our tastes have branched out these past few years.

“Audiences are voting with their wallets,” Jim Orr, head of domestic distribution at Universal Pictures in the US, recently told Variety.

“The films that have come along recently have been able to appeal to a broad range of people.”

Julianne Coker and her family headed to their local cinema this week with one goal in mind: to make a day of it.

“You can feel the buzz in Perth at the movies on the school holidays,” she told The Sunday Times. “The carpark is full, busy foyers, and lots of families.

“We always make a day or night of it at Innaloo and go for the full experience. Today we are seeing the new Mario movie in 4DX.”

Movie theatres are going out of the way to entice audiences back to their venues.

Investments are being made on upgrading facilities, improving sound systems, and making food and beverage options more enticing.

Venues are going out of their way to offer better premium offerings too, making a ‘night at the movies’ an experience worth travelling for on a chilly Autumn evening.

“One of the biggest drivers of box-office value is the diversification of the cinema experience itself,” says Natalie Cameron, Director or NRC Agency, which represents Paramount Pictures, STUDIOCANAL and others in WA.

“People are trading up. Formats such as IMAX, 4DX, Gold Class, V-Max, SCREENX, and boutique lounge-style cinemas are helping turn moviegoing into an experience worth paying more for.

“We’ve gone from going to see a movie to booking a movie experience. It’s not so much a routine outing, but a more planned and premium social event. Audiences are booking ahead, choosing formats and seating more carefully, and often bundling the film with dinner, drinks, or a full night out.

“People are being more selective on their movie choice, but when they do go, they’re going big. So it isn’t necessarily more people in seats — it’s better seats, better screens and better stories.”

Even local cinemas, those that may not have the coin to keep up with their bigger corporate cousins, appear to be reaping the rewards of the diverse slate of films on offer right now. Oscar contenders lure audiences to their venues, and once seated, they become captive consumers of ‘coming soon’ trailers, and the cycle continues.

And then there’s IMAX.

Australia is a huge market for the premium, immersive cinema experience, the local arm of the business generating over $18.6 million in box-office revenue in 2025, ranking it amongst the brand’s top 15 global markets.

A new facility opened in Innaloo last year and has proved popular with local moviegoers.

Perth-based social media film review platform Pick N Flix co-founders Michael Drysdale and Danielle Marsland said its addition to the scene has been a bonus for cinema lovers, pointing out that large-format cinema experiences deliver something that can’t be replicated at home — “no matter how good your setup is”.

“It’s the size, the spectacle, and the artistry of cinema shown in the highest fidelity that really pulls movie lovers back into theatres,” Drysdale said, pointing out it offers a chance to elevate the viewing experience for fans.

“Films are works of art and being able to slow down and appreciate the craft that goes into making them by going to the cinema, to me, is a nice respite from the constant noise of the always-on content world we live in.

“In an era of AI slop and a constant deluge of lo-fi content, it’s nice to let yourself be absorbed in something people laboured over.”

Last week, Gower Street Analytics projected 2026 global box office takings would be $US34.7 billion, an approximate 3 per cent increase year-on-year from 2025, and 16 per cent higher than 2024.

Not massive figures — and still far below pre-COVID levels — but a start, and something for the industry to get excited about as they travelled to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual trade show where studios pitch theatre owners their slate for the coming year.

Attendees at the conference this week have already had good news, with Universal announcing it would keep its movies in cinemas longer.

Prior to COVID, the industry standard was 90 days, but that had shrunk to as little as 17 days after the pandemic.

Small-screen audiences will now potentially have to wait longer for films to make their way to streaming services, something that is likely to maintain cinema momentum in the months to come.

“We’re going to take a year or so to re-educate people that, no, a new movie doesn’t leave (theatres) in 17 days,” Bob Bagby, CEO of B&B Theatres in the US, told Variety.

“So now people will have to think, ‘I don’t want to miss out on the excitement of the movie’.”

And going to the movies is still exciting. There’s still something alluring about the shared experience of watching that big cinema screen.

“Streaming movies at home can be quite a solitary activity for people who live alone, or relax alone,” Marsland pointed out.

“Cinema brings together not just you and the friend you went with, but a whole bunch of strangers in a single room — collectively you all share the out-loud laughter, the ‘holding your breath’ tension, the engaged silence, the emotional release.

“It’s that communal energy that makes certain films feel bigger than the screen itself. We felt this really happened in the final Globe Theatre scene of Hamnet, the crowd gasping during the racy scenes in Wuthering Heights, people singing along in Song Sung Blue, everyone laughing at alien Rocky in Project Hail Mary.”

Christina Lee, Associate Professor in English and Cultural Studies at Curtin University agreed.

“Going to the movies is an event which requires an investment of your time, effort and money,” she explained.

“It’s a different viewing experience to watching TV at home, where you can control what you watch, when and how. In a sense, going to the movies is closer in intensity and focus to being at a live event.

“Unless you buy another ticket to the film, once a moment has passed, it’s passed. There’s no pausing or rewinding a scene if you need a bathroom break.”

Lee says watching a film at the cinema essentially becomes a social experience.

“While you may be sitting in a room full of strangers, there is a connection to others because of your shared interest in the film and the undivided attention you are all giving it,” she explained.

“There’s nothing quite like the exhilaration of cheering on your heroes with a few hundred other audience members.”

“I enjoy the immersive, uninterrupted experience of going to the movies. I love walking out of the theatre feeling transformed by the experience, whether it is the sensation of pure joy or the strong urge to reflect on things I saw in the film.”

Cinema still has plenty of high-profile champions. You only need look at this year’s Oscars or Golden Globes or BAFTAS to hear winners paying tribute to the medium.

In her BAFTA Leading Actress acceptance speech, Hamnet star Jessie Buckley spoke of her love for cinema, saying she “believes in storytelling to bring us together as a community”.

While accepting the award for supporting male actor for Sentimental Value at the Golden Globes, Stellan Skarsgård kept his message short: “Cinema should be seen in cinemas”.

“In a cinema, where the lights go down and eventually you share the pulse with some other people. That is magic.”