Quality content drives successful summer for Aotearoa cinemas

Over one million admissions have been delivered to cinemas across Aotearoa this summer, according to Val Morgan.

The latest data, from audience measurement tool CineTAM, covers December 19 to January 11 and shows admissions are up +45% on the same period last year.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third instalment in the Avatar series, has been the standout, drawing over 500,000 admissions in Aotearoa since its release on December 19. At the global box office, it has surpassed $ 1.2 billion.

Val Morgan New Zealand sales director Matt Tremain says, “It’s really exciting to see another big summer at the cinema. The diversity across the slate has been a huge contributing factor to the success, alongside the growth of our advertising network, with the addition of Silky Otter now part of our circuit.” 

Another big summer

Zootopia 2 has also crossed the $ 1 billion mark at the global box office. It is the second biggest film of the summer in Aotearoa, with 280,000 admissions since its release on November 27.

Wicked: For Good is also having a solid run, delivering 210,000 admissions to date.

The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, has emerged as a breakout success with 85,000 admissions in New Zealand and $ 192 million at the global box office. This result has led to a sequel being greenlit. 

Several other releases are contributing to cinema’s successful summer, including Anaconda, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants and Song Sung Blue.

Strong growth across demographics

Val Morgan also reports strong growth seen across multiple hard-to-reach demographics. Youth admissions rose sharply, with P14–24 up +105% and P18–39 up +20%, while affluent ABs recorded +87% growth.

Tremain adds, “Looking ahead, the quality and depth of the content across 2026 is at an all time high, from original stories and globally recognised IP.

“The family slate is shaping up to be the biggest on record, led by titles including The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5, Minions 3 and Moana. Alongside this sits a lineup of major, globally loved franchises such as The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Mandalorian & Grogu, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Dune: Part Three, Avengers: Doomsday and Jumanji 3.

“There’s so much great content coming, which means there’s an abundance of opportunities for brands, no matter their target audience,” says Tremain.

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