The numbers are revealed: The film that conquered the box office and became the summer hit in Israel
"Checkout" or "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"? "The Odyssey" or "Toy Story 5"? Mako has received the ticket sales data for the most prominent films of the summer in Israel, presented here for the first time. "There was a diverse and original offering, which brought cinema back to the cultural and current agenda."
For years, people have been talking about the death of cinema. The coronavirus shut down theaters, audiences grew accustomed to the convenience of watching movies at home, and both in Hollywood and Israel, it seemed the industry was struggling to recover. However, in the last year, something has changed: audiences have returned to theaters—hundreds of thousands in Israel and millions worldwide. Films have broken box office records, and while cinema may not have returned to its glory days yet, it is clearly on its way, as the data reaching mako illustrates.
Let’s start with "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse". Released only about five weeks ago, the film has already grossed 2.332 billion dollars worldwide, placing it fourth on the all-time highest-grossing films list, even ousting James Cameron's "Titanic." In Israel, the film has sold about 750,000 tickets.
But with all due respect to the superhero, Israelis actually preferred their heroes at the local supermarket: "Checkout", which brings the characters from "Shefa Issachar" to the big screen, is the box office champion in Israel with about 900,000 tickets sold so far. Industry sources expect it to cross the one-million mark by the holidays.
What else brought Israelis to the cinemas this year?
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About 600,000 tickets for "The Odyssey", Christopher Nolan's film, which has grossed 1.55 billion dollars worldwide.
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About 500,000 for "Minions and Monsters".
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About 400,000 for "Toy Story 5", which has crossed the billion-dollar mark globally (1.13 billion dollars).
Additionally, the terrifying "Obsession", "Michael" about the King of Pop, and "Super Mario Galaxy" attracted about 300,000 viewers each in Israel alone. The sequel to "The Devil Wears Prada" sold about 250,000 tickets, the live-action adaptation of "Moana" about 200,000, and the film "Saltiz" was watched by more than 175,000 people.
"There was a diverse and original offering—from 'Obsession' which conquered Gen Z, 'Michael' which conquered all audiences, to 'The Odyssey' which dominated public discourse," said Dorit Mizrahi, CEO of Tulip Entertainment. "All these films created an experiential viewing in cinemas that doesn't exist on any other platform, brought together youth, children, adults, and families, and brought cinema back to the cultural and current agenda."
