While movie theaters have been fighting an uphill battle since the pandemic, premium cinema formats have carved out a niche for themselves by delivering a unique experience for moviegoers, and now make up roughly 15% of the domestic box office.
One of these formats, Dolby Cinema, is on pace for a record year. Dolby executives report that the format’s domestic box office revenue has grown 26% since 2022, reports Axios. Dolby is reporting a year-over-year growth of 62% in revenue from January 1 to April 6 in 2026, generating $46 million.
Premium format revenue is up across the board, with IMAX reporting that 2025 was its highest-grossing year ever.
“There’s a lot of things that kind of stacked up against us as an industry, and we are pulling our way out of it,” says Jed Harmsen, vice president and general manager of cinema and group entertainment at Dolby Laboratories. “I think we have a real positive outlook and opportunity. We just have to deliver on that differentiation.”
