2021 witnessed the return of movies to the big screen with the release of the most anticipated movies that were delayed by the pandemic.
Hollywood had an active year with a variety of films released, such as sci-fi flicks, Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, musicals, character dramas, thrillers, and animations. The audience were quick to re-embrace cinema as their favourite cultural activity.
As we are nearing the end of 2021, let us look back at some of the highlights from the year 2021 that helped bring movies back to the big screen.
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(based on Box Office)
10 blockbuster ads (in no particular order) that lit up the big screen in 2021, as featured in Campaign Middle East :
Brand: Cartier
Title: Expo 2020 Women’s Pavilion
Agency: MediaCom MENA
Brand: Yas Island Abu Dhabi
Title: Stayin’ On Yas
Agency: Starcom
Brand: stc
Title: Our Culture is Our Future
Agency: Universal Media KSA
Brand: Etisalat
Title: #TogetherMeans
Agency: Initiative Abu Dhabi
Brand: Hermès
Title: The Legend of Hermès Della Cavalleria
Agency: Havas Media ME
Brand: NEOM
Title: Made to Change
Agency: Starcom
Brand: Mercedes
Title: The New Mercedes-Maybach S-Class
Agency: OMD
Brand: TRA Bahrain
Title: Digital Theft
Brand: Gulf Bank
Title: AlDanah
Agency: Wavemaker MENA
Brand: Porsche
Title: Macan – Your Sidekick,Everywhere
Agency: BPG Kuwait
There are a dizzying amount of exciting new movies coming to theaters in 2022. These are the top 10 movies you should be looking forward to in the coming year:
For more on the movies coming out in 2022, be sure to check out our sizzle reel, which launches towards the end of January 2022
Souces : Vox Cinemas, IMDB, Box Office Mojo
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Marvel’s first epic to star an Asian hero and Disney’s first theatrical-only release since 2019, had a lot of factors against it, but it didn’t just overcome them, it practically somersaulted over.
According to tracking website Box Office Mojo, Shang-Chi earned $8.8 million from Thursday night (September 2) previews which began at 7pm across North America, the second highest preview result of the pandemic era behind Black Widow‘s $13.2 million, but rang up an estimated US$75.5 million at U.S. theaters between Friday September 3, and Sunday September 5 (labor weekend). As of September 19, the blockbuster has garnered US$160.9 million and US$112 million at the domestic and international box office (respectively), which equates to over US$272.9 million at worldwide box office (1.8 times the production budget of US$150 million), and is the second biggest opening of 2021.
Bob Chapek, Disney’s CEO, described the film as an “interesting experiment”, for the movie was the first franchise by studio to exclusively release in theatre, without the simultaneous release on Disney+, since the outbreak of the pandemic. But Simu Liu, the lead actor in Shang Chi, wrote on twitter – “We are not an experiment… We are the surprise.”
Media and industry pundits too labeled Shang-Chi as a ‘gamble’ for the studio’s choice of committing to a theatre only release, citing various reasons: the pandemic affected box office ticket sales, the fact that Labor Day weekend is typically slow for theaters, and the protagonist is a newcomer (with tweethearts of social media even referring to Liu as ‘Shang-Who’). However, based on movie reviews and box office figures: Shang-Chi broke the high-risk perception by major studios of releasing exclusively in theatres and not having a simultaneous streaming release, proved that the pandemic won’t stop people showing up for Marvel, and that even on a traditionally slow weekend, audiences were willing to return to the big screen for highly anticipated blockbusters.
After Black Widow, Jungle Cruise and Cruella concurrently released on Disney+, the studio announced last week that the rest of its 2021 slate — including Marvel’s Eternals and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story — will each screen exclusively in theaters. The news is promising for cinema exhibitors, for Disney films are routinely among the highest-grossing of the year.
Next up for Marvel are Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home, releasing October 21, November 4 and December 16, 2021.
Contact us for cinema advertising alongside these upcoming blockbusters.
Sources: npr, The Numbers, Variety, Vulture, L.A Times and Cinemablend
4DX had its best year yet at Global Box Office in 2019, with CJ 4DPLEX – the company behind multi-sensory 4DX cinema technology, announcing it had a record-breaking year, grossing more than £246 million ($320 million) for 4DX worldwide.
Marking a 12% increase from 2018’s record of $286 million, it was the best year yet for the groundbreaking format. The uptick is partly credited to booming revenues in the U.S., where 4DX Box Office increased by 73% from 2018, while European markets grew by 17% from the previous year.
The announcement was further proof that a rising tide lifts all boats, after the global box office hit a record high in 2019, surpassing $42.5 billion. Overseas revenues also soared to new heights, topping $30 billion for the first time.
The trend toward premium and immersive cinema formats is helping to fuel this growth.
4DX provides cinema audiences a variety of special effects in cinemas, such as vibrating chairs, blowing winds, fog, and splashing water, through the use of specially designed in-theater technology.
Listed below are the 7 highest movies that smashed 4DX Box Office Records in 2019:
Avengers: Endgame – $34.4M
Aladdin – $25.9M
The Lion King – $23.2M
Frozen 2 – $18.8M
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – $16.9M
Captain Marvel – $14.0M
Spider-Man: Far From Home – $13.2M
The top 4DX markets – Japan, China, Korea, France, U.S, Mexico and United Kingdom – together account for more than 66% of the format’s total global box office takings in 2019. These markets broke records in attendance and global box office, surpassing the top seven record of 2018. Most of all, U.S. became the biggest grosser among seven countries as 4DX box office grew more than 73% in comparison to 2018.
The multi-sensory format and Cinema Advertising
4DX engages audiences to be part of the adventure whilst experiencing the entirety of virtual reality, and also offers advertisers an exciting format of cinema advertising – guaranteed to create greater brand impact.
Here’s an article with example 4D cinema campaigns booked through MVM:
Achieve Greater Brand Impact with 4D Cinema Advertising
Break through the confines of advertising and explore the possibility of aligning your brand with a movies scheduled to release in 4DX format across the Middle East.
Mulan
No Time to Die
Black Widow
F9
Wonder Woman 1984
Top Gun: Maverick
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Jungle Cruise
The King’s Man
Contact us for 4D cinema advertising opportunities across the Middle East.
Sources: Digital Cinema Report and PR News Wire
