Aussie box office could crack $1bn with big Christmas hits: Cinema Association Australia

It’s been a tough grind for the Aussie box office in 2025, but a big Christmas season could finally lift ticket sales above $1bn for the first time since the Covid pandemic battered local cinemas.

That’s according to Cinema Association Australasia executive director Cameron Mitchell, who holds out high hopes for expected box office monsters like The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and the reboot of Anaconda starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, both hitting Australian cinemas on Boxing Day.

“The strength of the content throughout the fourth quarter, coupled with the cinema industry’s investment in new premium screens and experiences, is expected to drive box office receipts above the $1bn mark, equating to over 55 million cinema visits across Australia in 2025,” Mr Mitchell told NewsWire in November.

“The film slate in the final few months of the year is incredibly strong, with a diverse release slate with broad appeal, with over 80 films releasing nationally including Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, The Running Man, Wicked: For Good, Five Nights At Freddy’s 2, Ella McCay, Rental Family, The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants and Anaconda on Boxing Day, an expected huge local success given the movie was filmed locally on the Gold Coast.”

In 2024, the domestic box office collected $951m.

In 2019, before Covid shuttered cinemas across the country, receipts totalled more than $1.2bn.

Since then, the industry has been slowly climbing back to the $1bn mark.

But this year’s Christmas season will need to deliver multiple hits to cross that psychological barrier.

As of November 5, the year-to-date take had hit $801m, according to Numero.

Joe Proud, owner of the independent three-screen Odeon Star cinema in Adelaide’s beachside Semaphore suburb, reports a “flat” year, with several disappointing flops.

“Ever since opening up (from Covid), we’ve kind of had a consistent rise each year, whereas this year, it probably might be a little bit down, or I think it’s more flat on last year, but people were expecting another jump from last year and I don’t think that’s happened,” he told NewsWire.

He said several movies had not performed as expected, referencing the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere.

“I thought that was going to do really well, and it hasn’t done much at all,” he said.

“The people coming out are really enjoying the film, it’s just not drawing people through the front doors unfortunately.”

His biggest hit was A Minecraft Movie.

The Warner Bros. behemoth took in $56.51m in Australia, according to Box Office Mojo, and $1.47bn across the world.

Mr Proud surfed the wave by putting on a special “chicken jockey” session, encouraging movie lovers to come along and throw popcorn about.

“That sold out in the blink of an eye,” he said.

“Two hundred and seventy people in there. We had millions of views on our socials.”

But Mr Proud said the industry was “never going to go back to what it was before Covid”.

If nothing else, the drop-off in moviegoing is stark.

In 2019, Australian cinema admissions hit 84.7 million. This year, admissions were 45.1 million as of November 5.

Some operators are trying to squeeze more revenue from reduced volumes by charging higher ticket prices for bigger screens, plushier seats and in-movie dining.

Fewer punters but more dollars per admission.

But Mr Proud said his family-orientated cinema would keep prices affordable and bet on higher volumes and a greater spend on the candy bar.

Tickets at the Odeon go for just $12, well below the industry average price of $17 from 2024.

“It’s that hurdle of getting them through the front door for the first time in quite a while, whether that’s via a new movie that they are interested in or playing an older one that we are trying to do, that’s what we’re trying to concentrate on,” he said.

Mr Mitchell is optimistic about 2026 and expects further growth in ticket sales.

“The Cinema Association Australia is anticipating another 5 per cent to 7 per cent box office growth in 2026 with an incredible line-up releasing globally, including Song Sung Blue (starring Hugh Jackman), Wuthering Heights, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, Minions 3, Masters Of The Universe, Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, Moana (Live Action), Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three and Jumanji 3 among countless other hits,” he said.