{"id":565799,"date":"2026-08-11T14:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/565799\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:36:08","slug":"summer-box-office-hits-4-billion-for-second-time-since-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/565799\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Box Office Hits $4 Billion for Second Time Since COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s officially the biggest summer at the box office since COVID, thanks to blockbusters like \u201cThe Odyssey<\/a>\u201d and \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day<\/a>,\u201d as well as breakouts like \u201cBackrooms and \u201cObsession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Monday, domestic revenues for popcorn season reached $4 billion, hitting the milestone for only the second time in the post-pandemic era. Hollywood\u2019s first $4 billion summer since the great box office reset was 2023, when \u201cBarbenheimer\u201d fever propelled ticket sales to $4.09 billion from May to August. That milestone came down to the wire. This year, there are a few weeks to go until Labor Day closes out the season, so the summer stretch will easily rank as the highest-grossing since 2019, according to Rentrak.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHitting this $4 billion threshold for only the second time since COVID is truly significant,\u201d says Rentrak\u2019s head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cComing after several tumultuous years, the idea of theatrical moviegoing as something that would be replaced by small-screen entertainment can finally be put to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe busy four-month frame is crucial for the industry, representing 40% of the annual box office. Prior to COVID, summer revenues regularly surpassed the $4 billion benchmark, with 2013 setting the high-water mark at $4.755 billion, not adjusted for inflation. In 2019, the last \u201cnormal\u201d period at the box office, summer revenues climbed to $4.3 billion, thanks to \u201cAvengers: Endgame\u201d and several other billion-dollar blockbusters. In 2018, popcorn season reached $4.42 billion with \u201cAvengers: Infinity War\u201d and \u201cIncredibles 2\u201d among the highest-grossing movies.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the years since the pandemic upended the movie theater industry, Hollywood has fallen short of the hoped-for threshold. Grosses in 2025 topped out at $3.655 billion, led by Disney\u2019s \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d remake); 2024 reached $3.67 billion when Disney\u2019s \u201cDeadpool & Wolverine\u201d and \u201cInside Out 2\u201d were the two biggest titles; and 2022 hit $3.4 billion as Paramount\u2019s \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d was dominating in theaters. Barely any movies were released in 2020 and 2021 as the world was still grappling with the virus. <\/p>\n

\n\tThis summer, studios succeeded with a mix of sleeper hits as well as new installments in reliable franchises. Sony\u2019s Marvel adventure \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d is the highest-grossing movie with $655 million domestically and $2.67 billion globally to date. Universal\u2019s Christopher Nolan epic \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d is also crushing expectations with $460 million in North America and $1.1 billion worldwide after four weekends of release. Disney\u2019s Pixar sequel \u201cToy Story 5\u201d is yet another billion-dollar smash, including $470 million Stateside. And although Lionsgate\u2019s \u201cMichael\u201d debuted in spring, the Michael Jackson biopic remained a draw for months and eventually joined the billion-dollar club in July.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther top earners were two low-budget Gen Z horror sensations, A24\u2019s \u201cBackrooms\u201d with $197 million in North America and $395 million worldwide, and the Focus Features thriller \u201cObsession with $263 million domestically and $488 million globally, as well as Disney\u2019s comedy sequel \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada 2\u201d with $220 million domestically and $690 million worldwide. Those genre-spanning wins helped offset a number of big-budget misfires, including Disney\u2019s \u201cStar Wars\u201d spinoff \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d and live-action \u201cMoana,\u201d as well as DC\u2019s comic book adaptation \u201cSupergirl\u201d and Amazon MGM\u2019s \u201cMasters of the Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tExhibitors are encouraged by the momentum, believing this year could be the first since the pandemic to eclipse $10 billion in domestic ticket sales. The Warner Bros. sci-fi mystery \u201cThe End of Oak Street\u201d with Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, and Sony\u2019s paranormal thriller \u201cInsidious: Out of the Further,\u201d will close out the summer before the fall brings Amazon MGM\u2019s Colleen Hoover adaptation \u201cVerity,\u201d and two Warner Bros. titles, Tom Cruise\u2019s \u201cDigger\u201d and \u201cPractical Magic 2,\u201d starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. That\u2019s before holiday season offerings like Lionsgate\u2019s \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d prequel \u201cSunrise on the Reaping,\u201d Warner Bros. sequel \u201cDune Part III\u201d and Disney\u2019s Marvel epic \u201cAvengers: Doomsday.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis entire year will be studied for future strategy by studios,\u201d predicts Dergarabedian. \u201cIs the old-school thinking correct, that audiences just want known IP, big blockbusters, sequels, and franchises?\u201d Of course they do. But they also want challenging fare, unique and original stories.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s officially the biggest summer at the box office since COVID, thanks to blockbusters like \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69,4634,224243,95371],"class_list":["post-565799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-spider-man-brand-new-day","tag-summer-movies","tag-the-odyssey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}