Monday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Here’s a look at Monday’s business headlines with Jane King.

American moviegoers say they plan to head to theaters in 2023 more often than they did this year, according to a survey by Fandango.

According to the survey, 84% of movie watchers say they intend to see at least six films in a movie theater in 2023. Last year, 80% said they wanted to see a minimum of five movies in theaters.

The survey findings are promising for theaters, which have been struggling with a lack of new releases since the pandemic. Forty fewer films were widely released in 2022 than in 2019, according to data from Comscore.

Fandango’s survey also indicates a big appetite for familiar characters and universes. Many of the most-anticipated films of 2023 are prequels, sequels, or films otherwise connected to a well-known franchise.

The most-anticipated movie of 2023 is “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3,” followed by “Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” according to the survey.

All three films are franchises and legacy films that are what’s called a “box-office insurance policy,” according to media analysts at Comscore, who say studios are always risk-averse and the greatest insurance is that, with these types of films, at least people will know what the movie is about.

Most movie watchers also said they plan to be in theaters more often in 2023 than they were this year, with 84% saying they intend to see at least six films in a movie theater. Last year, 80% said they wanted to see a minimum of five movies in theaters.