• by Wayne Friedman , May 25, 2021

Ramping up the big summer movie season -- as COVID-19 pandemic conditions abate -- movie studios' national TV advertising spending is slowly growing. But it still lags behind 2019 levels.

For the most recent two-month period (March 24-May 24), total industrywide national TV spend is estimated at $83.2 million -- producing 6.8 billion TV impressions, according to iSpot.tv.

A year ago -- during the most intense crush of the pandemic marked by massive theater closures -- total national TV spending was at $16.2 million (3.8 billion impressions). Typically, the big summer movie season starts with the Memorial Day weekend.

Two years earlier, in 2019 -- during a pre-pandemic period -- movie studios came in at $236.9 million in national TV spending (with 28.7 billion total impressions)

Warner Bros. has placed the most dollars in this current period at $34.4 million -- followed by Universal Pictures at $8.8 million, 20th Studios with $8.2 million, Walt Disney at $7.3 million, and Warner Bros. Animation with $5.7 million.

Walt Disney's "Cruella" is tops in terms of impressions gained during the period, at 762.6 million. "Cruella" opens this weekend.

Previous movies that have already opened include Warner Bros.' "Those who Wish Me Dead," with 651 million impressions ($5.6 million total U.S. box-office revenue, according to IMdb’s Box Office Mojo). "Godzilla vs. Kong" is at 594 million impressions ($96.9 million), while Warner's "Mortal Kombat" has 550.7 million impressions ($41.3 million).

MGM's "Wrath of Man" earned 450.4 million TV impressions ($18.9 million total box-office revenues), and Universal Pictures' "Nobody" has 425 million impressions ($25.7 million).