13 Apr CinemaCon Preview: How Paramount & Warner Bros’ Crazy Plan For 30 Films A Year Could Be Taken Seriously [Deadline]
By Anthony D’Alessandro
April 12, 2026| What a difference a year makes.
Last year at the start of CinemaCon, we were questioning the existence of theatrical after a dead first quarter that had the domestic box office dragging 11% behind 2024 (this is all before A Minecraft Movie turned around the entire marketplace, literally spiking its advance tickets as the industry walked the slot machines of Caesars Palace, ultimately becoming a near $1 billion global-grossing film).
This year, the domestic box office stands at $2.26 billion, the first time that it’s been there since 2019, up 23% over the same January 1-April 12 period a year ago, per Comscore. Wide releases (movies opening in more than 1,000 theaters) hit 162 last year, ahead of pre-Covid numbers like in 2019, when there were only 138. More people are going to the movies this year also, with admissions at 154 million, up 16% over last year, according to EntTelligence.
Read more on Deadline.