Cinema industry leaders are weighing longer theatrical windows, venue reinvention, and closer studio-exhibitor collaboration to restore box office momentum
Theatrical leaders continue to wrestle with a simple but powerful proposition: give movies more exclusive time on screens and you may help the entire industry recover. That argument was crystallized when Cinema United CEO Michael O’Leary publicly advocated for a 45-day window, insisting that shorter windows that push films quickly to streaming have squeezed small and mid-budget titles. The call struck a chord with many chains and independent operators who say that scarcity and exclusive theatrical runs help preserve the vitality of the box office ecosystem.
At the same time, studios and distributors counter that there is no single lever that will restore pre-pandemic grosses. The industry has changed structurally: the number of wide releases has declined in recent years, exhibition footprints are being reimagined, and streaming platforms and new corporate players such as Amazon MGM have altered distribution calculus. Still, the mood is cautiously optimistic—2026 is tracking roughly 26 percent ahead of 2026 at the same point, and many expect a strong summer could push domestic receipts toward and possibly above the $9 billion mark for the year.
Exhibitors complain the market simply needs more films to screen. Data from Comscore shows there were 112 domestic wide releases in 2026, down from a peak of 127 in 2016 and with only 94 wide releases in 2026. Fewer new titles means fewer chances for breakout hits and less reason for patrons to return regularly. Chains argue that volume and variety—blockbusters alongside family films, comedies, horror, faith-based projects, repertory shows, and event cinema—create habit-forming behaviors that sustain attendance.
But distributors and studio executives push back: simply increasing output is not a guaranteed solution. Marketing resources, timing, and audience appetite matter. Regal’s U.S. marketing chief observed that today’s approach needs to be more demand-driven and focused on making the venue itself feel like a destination. In short, supply alone won’t reliably produce predictable attendance without complementary promotion and compelling in-theater offerings.
The response from many exhibitors has been to reengineer the venue beyond a darkened auditorium. Chains are investing in upgraded food-and-beverage offerings, lounge spaces, arcades, and even full family entertainment centers. San Antonio-based Santikos, for example, has added bowling, laser tag, and VR at several sites to extend a two-hour movie outing into a four-hour evening. Smaller operators are experimenting with bar-and-dining combinations or curated local programming to create a neighborhood hub.
Upgrading presentation quality is another priority: exhibitors and distributors agree that sound, projection, seating comfort, and cleanliness must improve. Many are turning to premium large format (PLF) auditoriums to make screenings feel like events, though the cost is steep—one independent operator invested around $350,000 for a single PLF screen. That investment can strain smaller chains, especially when studios sometimes pressure exhibitors to show certain titles on PLF screens, raising questions about local programming autonomy.
The debate over exhibition windows remains central. Advocates for longer exclusive runs point to the loss of second-run houses and the revenue they provided, arguing that a 45-day window would give theaters more runway for promotions and late-stage ticketing initiatives like Santikos’s Final Cut $5 program for films in their final theatrical weekend. Some studios have moved back toward longer windows—Universal announced a return to 45-day windows for PVOD—while others maintain varying delays to SVOD (Disney regularly places films on Disney+ after about 90 days, whereas other studios may wait up to 120 days).
Pricing evolution is also on the table. Chains experimenting with dynamic pricing seek to better align ticket costs with demand, and suggestions such as adding weekday discount days have defenders and detractors. Distributors worry that too much price volatility could alienate audiences, while exhibitors say tailored discounting could boost weekday occupancy. Underpinning all these debates is a persistent call for better coordination: local theaters want more transparent marketing intelligence and earlier access to creative assets so they can build targeted community campaigns. Success, industry veterans stress, will come not from a single policy but from a combination of smarter windows, improved presentation, flexible pricing, and deeper studio-exhibitor collaboration.
Ultimately, there is no single silver bullet. The industry is trying to balance the economics of content production, the realities of running physical venues, and changing consumer habits. With coalitions like Cinema United convening high-profile filmmakers—Jerry Bruckheimer as chair and Emma Thomas as vice chair, with supporters such as Ryan Coogler, Celine Song, Brad Bird, and Jason Reitman—and with billions pledged to upgrades, the next phase will be defined by which combinations of strategy theaters and studios can align behind to restore broader momentum for the box office.