Movie Ticket Sales Hit Record Mark In '16, But Streaming Media Remains A Threat

Domestic movie-ticket sales for '16 are expected to reach $11.3B, a "record sum but a modest 1.5% increase from last year’s haul" of $11.14B, according to Daivd Ng of the L.A. TIMES. Disney "once again dominated the competition, thanks to Pixar’s 'FINDING DORY' and Marvel’s 'CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR,' which are projected to take the Nos. 1 and 2 box-office spots, respectively." Movie attendance "continues to languish across the country." ComScore data shows that attendance is "projected to be essentially flat compared with last year, with cinemas seeing an increase of just half of 1%" from '15, lifting attendance to "just above 1.3 billion moviegoers." The industry "continues to deal with young audiences staying away from cinemas in favor of streaming media." Meanwhile, movie ticket prices "continue to rise." The average price in the U.S. "hit $8.51 in the third quarter of this year," up from last year’s average ticket price of $8.43 (L.A. TIMES, 12/28).