RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Cinemark has hit the $1 billion total revenue milestone for the first time ever in a second quarter.
The exhibition giant disclosed the figure in its earnings report as CEO Sean Gamble praised Hollywood studios for delivering a "compelling slate of films."
The theater chain saw overall revenues hit $1.09 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up 15.5 percent from year-ago revenues of $940.5 million as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael, Toy Story 5, and breakout horror pics like Obsession and Backrooms played across its circuit.
Admissions revenue jumped to a record $540 million, compared to a year-earlier $467.1 million, while concession revenue also hit a quarterly record of $433.3 million, against $377.7 million in the same period of 2025. The record results came as the multiplex continues to see a box office recovery on a more diverse and sustained supply of movies from the Hollywood studios.
"We commend our sensational team for their outstanding execution, and we applaud our studio partners for delivering such a fulsome and compelling slate of films that meaningfully connected with audiences throughout the quarter," Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble said in a statement on Thursday.
During a morning analyst call, Gamble pointed to exhibition industry trends expected to sustain the current box office recovery, including consumer spending remaining "stable" and a widening summer movie-going season.
"I remember years ago the summer would have started in June, and now that became May and it's kind of crept out into April. So the periods just continue to expand a bit as we've seen that movies will do real solid business any time of the year," Gamble said.
The theater chief said audiences under the age of 25 are also more willing to disconnect from their cell phones to share in what's on the big screen. "They're valuing the experience more than other generations because it's more differentiated. It's a communal experience together and it's just a whole different level of energy and connectivity," Gamble argued.
His company reported net income of $140.8 million for the latest quarter, or $1.20 in earnings per-share, against a year-earlier $94.7 million in net income, or 81 cents per-share. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $294 million, compared with $232.2 million for the same period of 2025.
Cinemark is expected to carry over its second quarter performance into the current financial period as Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day play on its screens. And looking beyond to 2027, Gamble said the volume of Hollywood releases into next year like Avengers: Secret Wars and Frozen 3 would also help get consumers off the couch and heading back to theaters.
Of course, how movies perform in theaters as opposed to box office projections is always an unknown, Gamble told analysts, before adding: "We're certainly looking optimistically at 2027 based on what we know, but ultimately it's going to be a matter of again the quality of the content, the marketing effectiveness and how it ultimately performs throughout the year, and how spread out that performance is in terms of what it ultimately amounts to in total box office."
Also reporting earnings the same day as Cinemark was Marcus Theatres , the fourth-largest chain in the U.S. The exhibitor saw $150.6 million in revenue, a 14 percent gain year-over-year. Notably, the chain's chief, Jeffry F. Tomachek, said that Toy Story 5 had powered Marcus' highest total revenue for a June opening weekend. Marcus also disclosed that average ticket prices rose about 5 percent in the quarter.
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