Americans Are Ready to Socialize
Here comes the industry optimism
Given the Biden administration’s plans to let the coronavirus public health emergency expire on Thursday, it’s not surprising that executives across these industries are striking an optimistic tone.
The Hollywood box office has shown in recent months that highly anticipated films (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) and surprise hits (“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”) are enough to bring consumers back to theaters. Despite the current writers strike, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. CEO Adam Aron was bullish on the near future.
"We could not be more optimistic about the prospects for the 2023 box office, except to say that 2024 looks even better," Aron said last week.
Still, nearly a quarter of the general population (22%) remains uncomfortable going to the movies, a worrying figure for a theatrical industry that’s already combating the rise in streaming that was, in part, driven by COVID-19. Many box-office experts say the theatrical industry may never recover to its pre-pandemic heights.
In the sports world, fans have returned to cheer their favorite teams and players on from the stands. Just look at the country’s favorite sport: The average NFL crowd hit 69,442 attendees last season, a more than 3% uptick year over year, per Sports Business Journal. The NBA, which played its 2020 postseason in a “bubble” for player and personnel safety, also bounced back, setting new records for attendance and sellouts during its most recent season.
Despite some recent bad press, Ticketmaster-owner Live Nation Entertainment Inc. said it has sold 90 million concert tickets so far this year, a 20% jump year over year. Major tour announcements from acts like Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen have certainly helped.
And while the pandemic altered the way we order food — from contactless in-person ordering to the rise of delivery apps — the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Restaurant Industry report said the food service industry will grow this year to reach $997 billion in sales. (That’s more than $100 million more than the industry’s 2019 figure.)
Business owners seem happy about the current state of play, too: “Nearly 3 in 4 operators say business conditions are already close to normal — a new, more positive normal — or are well on the path,” per the organization.
Surveys were conducted between May 2020 and May 2023, among a representative sample of approximately 2,200 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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