It's no secret that the way we watch movies has changed dramatically in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic forced theaters to close for months on end in 2020, fundamentally reshaping Hollywood with the industry doubling down on streaming. While studios have largely realized that they still need movie theaters and revenue from the box office, it's been a very slow climb to return to a semblance of normalcy in that department. Unfortunately, a new report offers a sobering reality. In short, we may never return to pre-pandemic standards when it comes to ticket sales. PwC's annual media and entertainment outlook report was released recently, and, per The Hollywood Reporter, the prospects for the box office are not great. The firm expects the industry to finish with $9.6 billion domestically in 2025, up from $8.9 billion in 2024. Those levels will rise to $10.1 billion in 2026, $10.3 billion in 2027, $10.6 billion in 2028, and $10.8 billion in 2029. This sounds like a lot of money, but those numbers won't touch pre-pandemic highs — not even close. The previous domestic box office record was set in 2018, when ticket sales topped $11.8 billion. On the plus side, PwC estimates that we may finally reach pre-pandemic levels again in 2030. The problem? By then, it will be because ticket prices are increasing, with a bigger focus on premium formats like IMAX. Overall, attendance will still be down. Bart Spiegel, PwC global entertainment and media leader, had this to say about it: "Unfortunately, this full recovery is unlikely within the forecast period. However, we project that by the end of 2029, the industry will be on the brink of a full rebound. In other words, 2030 may be the year global box office revenues return to pre-pandemic levels." What does that amount to? There were 777 million admissions in 2023 and 734 million in 2024, a year impacted greatly by the WGA and SAG strikes. 2025 is projected to see 778 million, growing to 823 million by 2029. But that pales in comparison to the 1.3 billion tickets sold in 2019. That's roughly a 37% drop in overall attendance.