Movie Theaters NAICS 512131

Nov 7, 2025 - IMAX Boosts Revenue Via "Premiumization"

• IMAX ticket sales are up 16% year over year in 2025, according to IMAX, while domestic total ticket sales are up only 2.6%, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). IMAX's share of domestic and global tickets are at record highs, and its total worldwide box office is on track to exceed $1.2 billion this year for the first time. Studios now place the IMAX name on advertisements, sometimes in bigger print than the title of the movie itself, according to the WSJ. IMAX executives call it the “premiumization” of the film business. It is their version of getting music fans to shell out for every version of Taylor Swift’s latest album or tickets for the Las Vegas Sphere., according to the WSJ.
• Gen Alpha, which consists of people born from roughly 2013 to 2025, is more interested in seeing movies in theaters than older generations, according to entertainment researcher firm NRG. Roughly 59% of Gen Alpha members said that they enjoy watching movies in theaters more than at home, compared to 48% of Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2012), 45% of Millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen X (people born between 1965 and 1980). The study’s authors suggest that the ubiquity of smartphones and streaming services has made younger consumers more interested in a night out at the multiplex.

• The unique architecture of movie theaters may help them avoid closure during lean times, according to The Wall Street Journal. Movie theaters are built with a sloped concrete floor for stadium seating to provide a clear view of the movie for all viewers. They also have no windows, which makes it difficult to convert them to another purpose. Retail landlords may not be able to use movie theaters for anything else unless they demolish them, so they often agree to rent reductions rather than leaving the spaces vacant when theater chains go into bankruptcy or leases are up for renewal.
• Movie theater industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels in mid-2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal consumption expenditures, an indicator of expenditures on entertainment, increased 2.7% year over year in February 2025, according to the US Bureau of Bureau of Economic Analysis. Movie theaters sales are forecast to increase at a 5.79% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.