CJ 4DPlex Ticket Sales Up 70% in 2023 in Sign of Box Office Rebound
CJ 4DPlex is off to the strongest start in its history with revenues for the first four months of the year tracking 70% higher than 2022. It’s a sign of how much movie fans seem to be enjoying immersive experiences as the pandemic starts to recede.
The first four months of 2023’s box office for the company’s 4DX and ScreenX theaters is tracking 36% higher than pre-pandemic levels (2019), and generating over $150 million through May 1.
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The company’s combined network has more than 1,100 premium screens consisting of both its ScreenX venues, the world’s first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270-degree field of view, and its multi-sensory 4DX theaters, which add motion, vibration, water, wind, snow, lightning, scents and other special effects to movies that are unfolding on screen. The company is headquartered in Seoul with international offices in Los Angeles and Beijing.
Recent films that proved to be particularly strong performers include “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The CJ 4DPlex network also benefited from record-breaking and successful event cinema releases including “BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas” and “Coldplay – Music Of The Spheres: Live At River Plate.”
The event cinema releases account for 11% of the company’s box office to date, it said. In terms of percentage growth, the domestic box office had one of the most dramatic increases, with a 98% increase from 2022.
“We are thrilled with our year-to-date performance of our ScreenX and 4DX formats at the box office, which is coinciding with the rapid growth of both theatre formats globally,” said Jongryul Kim, CEO of CJ 4DPlex. “We are particularly excited about the blockbuster-filled summer which just kicked off with Marvel Studio’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ Universal Pictures’ ‘Fast X,’ Warner Bros.’ ‘The Flash,’ Lucasfilm’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.’ ScreenX and 4DX both provide a truly unique theatrical experience for our exhibitor partners and moviegoers around the world and its adoption is echoed in our box office numbers and global growth.”
“As filmmakers, studios and exhibitors all strive to deliver immersive experiences to audiences, ScreenX and 4DX have emerged as powerful differentiators in the market,” said Don Savant, CEO of CJ 4DPlex America. “We’re proud to see the growth in box office reflects this. We remain committed to playing a key role in driving the industry’s overall recovery.”
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