Using Hollywood’s publicity-machine-ready math, this summer’s $4.76 billion estimated haul was 9 percent higher than the $4.35 billion collected in 2019, the summer before Covid upended moviegoing. Adjusted for inflation, the 2019 total rises to $5.7 billion, putting this summer 17 percent below it. Higher ticket prices disguise a deeper decline in attendance. From Jan. 1 through Aug. 16, domestic theaters sold an estimated 568.4 million tickets, down 30 percent from the same period in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Source: Hollywood’s Box Office Boom Comes With 248 Million Missing Tickets