AMC Theatres (NYSE:AMC) and Cinemark (NYSE:CNK) saw strong foot traffic at their theaters during the first weekend of April, helped by the success of A Minecraft Movie (NASDAQ:WBD).

Both theater chains are optimistic that moviegoer trends will improve in the second quarter and the remainder of this year after a slow Q1. CNK and AMC stock are up more than 5% in early open market trading on Monday.

"A MINECRAFT MOVIE's performance, which finished well ahead of public industry predictions, helps reinforce AMC's belief that the box office will be stronger going forward than it was in the first quarter of the year," AMC said in a statement.

AMC said it saw 33% of its attendance in premium auditoriums on Saturday, April 5.

"This weekend's impressive box office result makes two things very clear. First, as we've been saying for many months, after an expected slow start to the box office in 2025, the rest of the year looks to be much stronger…. And second, the over-indexing of attendance in the PLF auditoriums of our theaters demonstrates that our guests have a keen preference for premium experiences. AMC CEO Adam Aron said.

On the other hand, Cinemark said A Minecraft Movie helped the theater chain achieve "an all-time-high three-day domestic opening weekend for a PG-rated film" as mobs of moviegoers across the U.S. came to see the Jason Momoa-Jack Black starrer.

"The cinematic momentum will continue throughout the year and beyond as more compelling content is delivered to the silver screen," Cinemark said Monday.

Analysts at Macquarie, who attended the CinemaCon movie convention in Las Vegas at the start of April, forecast a 7% growth for the U.S. box office at $9.2B in 2025.

The research firm is confident that moviegoers pace will not be affected by the recession and the sector will make it through an economic downturn "unscathed," among other things. IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) and Cinemark (NYSE:CNK) are its top picks.