It’s officially the biggest summer at the box office since COVID, thanks to blockbusters like “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” as well as breakouts like “Backrooms and “Obsession.”
On Monday, domestic revenues for popcorn season reached $4 billion, hitting the milestone for only the second time in the post-pandemic era. Hollywood’s first $4 billion summer since the great box office reset was 2023, when “Barbenheimer” 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.
“Hitting this $4 billion threshold for only the second time since COVID is truly significant,” says Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian. “Coming 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.”
The 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 “normal” period at the box office, summer revenues climbed to $4.3 billion, thanks to “Avengers: Endgame” and several other billion-dollar blockbusters. In 2018, popcorn season reached $4.42 billion with “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Incredibles 2” among the highest-grossing movies.
In 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’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake); 2024 reached $3.67 billion when Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2” were the two biggest titles; and 2022 hit $3.4 billion as Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” was dominating in theaters. Barely any movies were released in 2020 and 2021 as the world was still grappling with the virus.
This summer, studios succeeded with a mix of sleeper hits as well as new installments in reliable franchises. Sony’s Marvel adventure “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is the highest-grossing movie with $655 million domestically and $1.67 billion globally to date. Universal’s Christopher Nolan epic “The Odyssey” is also crushing expectations with $460 million in North America and $1.1 billion worldwide after four weekends of release. Disney’s Pixar sequel “Toy Story 5” is yet another billion-dollar smash, including $470 million Stateside. And although Lionsgate’s “Michael” debuted in spring, the Michael Jackson biopic remained a draw for months and eventually joined the billion-dollar club in July.
Other top earners were two low-budget Gen Z horror sensations, A24’s “Backrooms” with $197 million in North America and $395 million worldwide, and the Focus Features thriller “Obsession with $263 million domestically and $488 million globally, as well as Disney’s comedy sequel “The Devil Wears Prada 2” with $220 million domestically and $690 million worldwide. Those genre-spanning wins helped offset a number of big-budget misfires, including Disney’s “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and live-action “Moana,” as well as DC’s comic book adaptation “Supergirl” and Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe.”
Exhibitors 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 “The End of Oak Street” with Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, and Sony’s paranormal thriller “Insidious: Out of the Further,” will close out the summer before the fall brings Amazon MGM’s Colleen Hoover adaptation “Verity,” and two Warner Bros. titles, Tom Cruise’s “Digger” and “Practical Magic 2,” starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. That’s before holiday season offerings like Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games” prequel “Sunrise on the Reaping,” Warner Bros. sequel “Dune Part III” and Disney’s Marvel epic “Avengers: Doomsday.”
“This entire year will be studied for future strategy by studios,” predicts Dergarabedian. “Is the old-school thinking correct, that audiences just want known IP, big blockbusters, sequels, and franchises?” Of course they do. But they also want challenging fare, unique and original stories.”
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