Hollywood summer box office passes $4.6 billion, best performance since the pandemic

Hollywood is closing out its best summer since the pandemic, as an eclectic mix of blockbusters, sequels and original films wooed moviegoers back to the theatres.

The US and Canadian box office generated $4.6 billion in ticket sales from the first weekend in May through 30 August, according to measurement firm Rentrak.

Ticket sales are up 26% above last summer, thanks to blockbusters like Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," Universal's "The Odyssey" and Pixar's "Toy Story 5." Analysts estimate the total box office for 2026 could top $10 billion.

The summer season, which officially ends on Labor Day, 7 September, is unlikely to surpass the inflation-adjusted, all-time high of $6.8 billion set in 2013, when blockbusters like "Iron Man 3" and "Despicable Me 2" captivated moviegoers.

Still, this summer, the local cineplex seemed to offer something for everyone.

Two horror movies made by directors who got their start on YouTube — "Backrooms" and "Obsession" — attracted an unprecedented number of Gen Z moviegoers. "Michael," "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and "Scary Movie" brought women back in force, while young men found themselves reflected in Peter Parker's struggles with isolation in "Spider-Man."

"We are seeing literally every single age group, every single demographic, out in theatres," said Jim Orr, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Universal Pictures.

The film industry appears to have regained its footing after the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the simultaneous writers' and actors' strikes in 2023.

"The impact of the strikes on the studios was more lasting than people realised," according to Michael O'Leary of the Cinema United trade group representing theatre owners. "In the last year or so, the studios are starting to hit their stride again."

Films like Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" also sparked interest in 70 millimetre film, contributing to a record summer box office for IMAX.

"The success of 'The Odyssey' has changed perceptions of what could work with IMAX with almost every constituency," said IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond.

Fewer titles

Production is still down. Studios offered 34 films in wide release over the summer, two more than in 2025, but well shy of the 44 broadly distributed films in 2019.

Audiences showed a greater eagerness to see movies on opening weekend this summer in surveys conducted by market researcher Enact Insight, as Hollywood took chances on original stories rather than relying on familiar stories and characters — known as intellectual property, or IP — and sequels, a tactic studio executives have used for years.

"Hollywood turned into a sequel and IP factory," said Greg Durkin, founder and CEO of Enact Insight, as it sought to limit the risk of financing big-budget films. The ultimate hedge against box office disaster is a diversified portfolio that takes creative risks, he said.

That diversity of offerings paid off, especially among Gen Z, including moviegoers in their late 20s and early 30s, a demographic film executives once worried would never get into the moviegoing habit, preferring streaming and social media.

Tim Richards, founder and CEO of Europe's Vue cinema chain, said the wider range of films was working. "A lot of people had written off the Gen Zs, said they weren't interested, and they're coming back in record-breaking numbers," he said.

"That's a global phenomenon, and that's been really encouraging since that's our future audience."

Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, said the summer momentum could continue through the end of the year, when two widely anticipated films, "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Dune: Part Three" reach theatres. He forecasts that the domestic box office could reach $10 billion this year -- a threshold it hasn't crossed since 2019.

"That'll put to rest any idea that the movie theatre is making a comeback," said Dergarabedian. "The movie theatre is back."