The absence of last year’s mammoth hit Deadpool & Wolverine was felt in Cineplex’s third-quarter results, which came in at nearly $35 million less than the same period for 2024.

The company reported overall revenues of $348.9 million for Q3, coming up short of estimates. Shares of Cineplex fell in the wake of the report, which was released on Thursday (Nov. 6).

In an interview with BNN Bloomberg, Cineplex president and CEO Ellis Jacob said the massive success of last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine “skewed the comparisons” for box office performance this quarter. The Marvel Studios blockbuster opened in July 2024 and went on to gross more than US$630 million at the North American box office and US$1.3 billion worldwide.

Jacob expressed optimism for Q4 based on pre-sale forecasts for major upcoming releases such as Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire & Ash, as well as the continued growth of the company’s premium experiences business.

Key results from Cineplex’s Q3 earnings report are below.

Overall Q3 revenue: $348.9 million

YOY change: An 8.7% decrease from $382.3 million

Reason for change: A 9.1% decrease in theatre attendance due to a particularly strong film slate in the year-prior quarter, which was driven by the historic opening of Deadpool & Wolverine in July (US$205 million in North America) as well as the same month’s Despicable Me 4, which debuted to US$122 million in the U.S. and Canada.

The decline in attendance had a carry-on effect on theatre food service revenues. Concessions sales came to $116.3 million for Q3, a decrease of 10.9% from $130.6 million in the 2024 quarter.

Q3 box office revenue: $159.5 million

YOY change: An 8.8% decrease from $174.9 million

Reason for change: As above, the lack of an overperforming tentpole like Deadpool & Wolverine led to an overall decline in attendance. This was despite strong showings for several summer releases in Q3, particularly the blockbusters Superman, Jurassic World Rebirth and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as well as lower-budgeted genre fare such as Weapons and The Conjuring: Last Rites.

Audience appetite remains: In a statement, Cineplex’s Jacob emphasized that, despite the decline, “the consistency of film product and the continued appetite for premium experiences remained evident throughout the third quarter.” The company reported that premium experiences accounted for 44.7% of box office revenues for Q3.

Foreign-language growth: Cineplex also pointed to the continued success of its specialty and event cinema programming, with international films accounting for 13.6% of its Q3 box office revenues compared to 8.4% across North America. Notably, the anime feature Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle set a record as the highest-grossing foreign-language release ever at the North American box office, surpassing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Cinema media revenues: $19.2 million

YOY change: An increase of 6.1% from $18.1 million

Reason for change: Cineplex spotlighted its ability to leverage its data and analytics expertise to sustain its YOY growth in advertising revenues despite the challenges of the market.

This quarter also saw the company complete the previously announced sale of its place-based media division, Cineplex Digital Media (CDM), to U.S.-based digital signage company Creative Realities, Inc. for a total purchase price of $70 million. In a release, Cineplex said the sale will enable it to “reduce leverage, pursue strategic share repurchases within the parameters of our current debt agreements and allocate capital toward broader corporate priorities.”

As per the agreement, Cineplex will also continue to operate as the exclusive ad sales agent for CDM across Canada.

Image courtesy of Cineplex