Attendance at theaters is at record levels. Interest in new movies is peaking, thanks to multipronged strategies that incorporate social media and channels beyond traditional advertising and a demographic shift is bringing younger, more enthusiastic crowds to movie theaters.
“It’s the summer of cinema, and I think it’s only just getting started,” says Kevin McGaw, SVP and head of marketing at Screenvision Media. “And 2026 is going to be gangbusters.”
Those crowds are creating new opportunities for brands to target moviegoers with richer, more immersive experiences beyond a pre-show ad on the big screen. Everything from cobranded concessions and special popcorn flavors, in-lobby entertainment, and other activations are now becoming part of the media plan, especially as new blockbusters—such as Jurassic World: Rebirth or Wicked: For Good—allow for richer marketing at the movie theater.
After the obstacles the movie industry faced during the pandemic and the strikes, both the pipeline of releases and ticket sales are moving at a record pace, says McGaw. The cinema advertising company is projecting seven more movies will see $100-million-plus opening weeks in the remainder of 2025 and at least nine titles will top that milestone in 2026.
“People are interested in going to the movies,” McGaw explains. “There’s momentum in projects that are coming to theaters, and I think the studios are starting to figure out not just what projects should go on the big screen, but how to market those things effectively.”
Generation X, and the even younger demographic of Generation Alpha are discovering the experience of moviegoing, as streaming settles into maturity and going out to see a film becomes more than merely catching up on the actual movie. Ninety percent of Gen Z went to the movies in 2024, and those stats are expected to repeat when year-end numbers are collected this year, says McGaw. He noted members of that cohort are expected to purchase a total 440 million tickets this year.
“They love that time away, unplugging and spending time with friends in an environment that’s driving cultural moments that are really relevant to them,” says McGaw.
Studios that had pushed many releases into streaming during the pandemic, hoping to boost streaming subscription numbers, are now rethinking their windowing strategy, says McGaw. They are keeping blockbuster movies in theaters longer, and choosing more carefully which releases to shift to video platforms and when.
“Those titles that were once taken away from the theaters are now back in the theaters,” says McGaw. “That ultimately gives advertisers the opportunity to align with a lot of these big cultural moments.”
Photo booths and popcorn buckets
Indeed, brands are finding opportunities in cinema advertising as a way to harness those cultural moments in a way that is not possible with other experiences, says McGaw.
“They can plan and schedule ahead of a buzzy, viral, cultural moment, whereas in a lot of other platforms it’s a wing and a prayer. You just hope to be in the right place at the right time,” says McGaw. “In this environment, we kind of know when the right place is and when the right time is.”
While pre-show inventory is still Screenvision Media’s bread and butter, cinema advertising is also evolving beyond the big screen, says McGaw. Marketing activations now cover the entire movie theater and beyond, leveraging new technologies such as geolocation and augmented reality (AR) and even classic activations such as photo booths to enhance the moviegoing experience and offer brands new opportunities in the lobby, at the concession stand, and even after the audience has left the theater.
Screenvision Media has had success with lobby activations such as branded photo booths, working with a national health and wellness retailer and a national bank. It also has created custom concessions, such as commemorative popcorn buckets, and even created a special flavored popcorn this summer as part of an effort with a leading CPG brand.
Marketers are leaning into in-lobby digital extensions and augmented reality opportunities because they know the moviegoing experience extends beyond the screen. They want to “really start their message and their story with moviegoers when they get not just in their seats, but into the building itself,” he says.
And the traditional on-screen experience is also evolving, says McGaw. Screenvision Media has had success with pre-show takeovers, such as an M&M’s takeover during the run of Jurassic World: Rebirth this summer. It is planning another one this fall with another advertiser for the release of Wicked: For Good.
“It’s the idea to sequentially engage the moviegoer and really immerse them in an advertiser’s brand from when they sit down to when the movie starts,” says McGaw.
A smarter use of data allows advertisers to move beyond the obvious seasonal tentpoles and uncover valuable opportunities in other films – whether that’s sleeper hits, genre titles, or specific IP – that align more directly with their target audiences.McGaw notes that genres such as horror have dedicated audiences that can be effectively targeted. He pointed to the success of genre movies such as Sinners and Weapons, which have done quite well in theaters, offering advertisers niche opportunities at scale. Screenvision Media has enabled a number of its participating theaters to sell inventory programmatically, in order to target those audiences.
“It’s gone beyond the screen, because ultimately that’s where we are in today’s media ecosystem,” says McGaw.
It will be a rich ecosystem in the near future. The pipeline for 2025 and 2026 is full of blockbusters and genre movies that promise to bring in large audiences, allowing for plenty of opportunities for advertisers, says McGaw. Some titles bound to draw crowds later this year and next include new installments of the Avatar, Minions, Avengers, Spiderman and Toy Story franchises; Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and The Devil Wears Prada 2, just to name a few.
“If you look at the remainder of this year and all of 2026, there are so many great projects coming to cinema that advertisers really have an opportunity to leverage the cultural moments that these projects are going to drive,” he says. “I think it’s a very unique opportunity for advertisers to get alignment with these projects.”
