Cinemark’s Earnings Fall Short Of Expectations, Despite Lift From ‘Black Panther’

Cinema giant Cinemark Holdings posted lower first-quarter earnings, despite strong ticket sales for Black Panther.

The company reported per-share earnings of 53 cents, falling short of analysts’ consensus estimates of 60 cents a share. Revenues for the first three months came in at $780 million, virtually the same as last year but surpassing analysts’ forecasts of $761.7 million.

“Fueled by the unprecedented success of Black Panther, the North American industry box office results in the first quarter far surpassed expectations, demonstrating the powerful potential of a break-out film,” Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said in a statement.

The King of Wakanda wasn’t strong enough to lift ticket sales for the chain, which fell about 5% to $452 million. Concession sales fell to $261 million in the quarter, down 2% compared to the same time last year.

A newly introduced loyalty program, Movie Club, is helping bring in additional revenue.

Cinemark operates 533 theaters with 5,964 screens in the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and 13 other Latin American countries.