Palace Amusement Company Ltd broke the $1-billion revenue mark for its year ended June 30, 2018 and has credited the increase in sales to Marvel and DC comic series such as Blank Panther, Justice League and other movies like Girls Trip.

“They responded with a level of enthusiasm that broke records around the world and here in Jamaica; that featured sold-out houses, multiple viewings and patrons arriving at the cinemas regally dressed in African-inspired outfits — improving our attendance and increasing revenue figures by 17 per cent and topping the billion-dollar mark,” the movie theatre operator said in a report to shareholders on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Sales of the theatre moved up $173 million over the year 2017 to total $1.1 billion. According to Palace, attendance across the circuit moved up 14 per cent, in addition to other operating income which jumped to $67.7 million, contributing to net profit of $137.3 million for its year ended 2018. That’s an increase of 76 per cent, over 2017’s net profit of $32.8 million.

Palace Amusement’s flagship location, Carib 5 earned $580.6 million, followed by the Montego Bay-based Palace Multiplex at $269.8 million and Palace Cineplex in Sovereign at $205.7 million.

“It was a year that gave new meaning to the industry term ‘spectacular’. Paying homage to great cinematography and animation, patrons were served a diet of interesting characters brought to life,” the company said.

The price of Palace Amusement stocks near doubled in March as investors anticipated record earnings from its continuous sold-out shows of Black Panther. The stock grew 96.4 per cent to $1,100 from $560.

Like patrons, investors are also awaiting the planned reopening of a four-screen cinema in Portmore, St Catherine, by the movie theatre operator.

“While 2018 will be hard to beat, we look forward to challenges of 2019; as it is our aim to remain true to our mission to ensure that the cinema remains a preferred option and that the audience enjoys the ultimate movie experience, complete with the best available technology and first-class customer service,” the company said.

Palace Amusement noted that as it continues to look for ways to improve its service across the circuit, Carib5’s concession area was upgraded with new point-of-sale terminals, along with improvements to snack offerings.

Also, work has commenced to upgrade the Box Office Ticketing System at Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay in order to improve operations and centralised reporting.

“That will enable our patrons there to join those in Kingston in booking their tickets and even selecting specific box seats via the website. Significant upgrades were done to the car parks at Carib5 — paving, fencing and the installation of vehicle access controls and boom gates for the security of patrons.

“This, as a further investment to last year’s cameras and lighting. Additionally, we recently changed our security management company for all our locations, from Guardsman to KingAlarm, in an effort to ensure that the presence of trained security personnel is felt,” the company said.