Cinema revives: The summer box office exceeds $4,000 million for the second time since the pandemic

Remember when Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos claimed that cinema was an “outdated idea” and no one wanted to watch movies on the big screen?

The hearings are proving Mr. Sarandos that he is completely and totally wrong.

Cinema is having one of the best years since 2019, and officially the best summer at the national box office since COVID. For some context as to the period, the US summer box office runs for four months, running from the first Friday in May to Labor Day weekend in early September.

This means that the national collection of the popover season as of Monday, August 10 reached $4 billion dollars, achieving this milestone for the second time in the post-pandemic era. He did this primarily with undoubtedly versatile hits like Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($655 mdd), The Odyssey ($460 bn), the sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 ($220 billion), the biopic Michael ($372 million), the animated sequel Toy Story 5 ($470 million), science fiction Disclosure Day ($116.6 million), and two horror films that took the billboard by surprise: Obsession ($263 mdd) y Backrooms ($197 mdd).

All the figures correspond to the national box office.

EYE ON THE DATA: although the biopic Michael It was released during the spring, had a long run in theaters, which contributed essentially to the summer box office. In July it reached $1 billion at the global box office, establishing itself as the highest-grossing biopic of all time.

All of these various box office successes helped offset several big-budget flops, which on paper sounded like they would dominate the season. Such is the case of the spinoff of Star Wars, The Mandalorian and Groguthe live-action of Moanathe DCU movie, Supergirl, and the reboot of Masters of the Universe.

The first Hollywood summer that achieved a gross of $4 billion since returning to theaters after the massive closure due to COVID, It was in 2023when the phenomenon of Barbenheimer (Barbie y Oppenheimer) drove ticket sales to $4.09 billion between May and August.

The summer 2026 box office will exceed the $4.09 billion of the summer of 2023, since there are still a few weeks until Labor Day closes the summer season, and there are projects on the billboard that have a lot of gas left, and others to arrive shortly. This summer will easily become the highest grossing since 2019.

With figures from Rentrak via Variety.

Paul Dergarabedian, director of market trends at Rentrak, said:

“Reaching this $4 billion threshold for the second time since the pandemic is truly significant. After several turbulent years, the idea that cinema-going would be replaced by small-screen entertainment can finally be discarded”.

The summer movie season is extremely important for the industry, since Revenues represent 40% of the annual box office.

Let's put into context what the collection of the palomera season looked like, prior to COVID-19.

Before 2020, summer revenues regularly exceeded $4 billion. In 2013, $4,755 million dollars were reached (without adjustments for inflation); In 2018 it reached $4.42 billion dollars, with the launches of Avengers: Infinity War y The Incredibles 2 in the summer period, while in 2019, also known as the last regular year in cinema, revenues reached $4.3 billion, mainly with the monstrous box office of Avengers: Endgame.

In 2020 and 2021 there were the minimum number of cinema releases, as most resorts were under mass closure.

The first year that showed signs of resurgence was 2022, when Top Gun: Maverick It reminded an entire industry that considered cinema dead, that the audience was hungry to return to theaters and that they would do so for projects with heart. That year, the summer box office reached $3.4 billion, with Maverick. Thank you Mr. Movies (he who knows, knows).

2023 was the year of Barbenheimer and the first occasion in which the aforementioned $4,000 million dollars was exceeded. By 2024, it was reduced to $3.67 billion dollars, being the main proposals of the summer Deadpool & Wolverine and the animated sequel Inside Out 2and 2025 closed the season with $3,655 million dollars, with a box office led by the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch.

The good news extends beyond the summer season, as some expert projections indicate that 2026 could become the best year in total annual box office since 2019.

It seems that studios are finally understanding that audiences want both IP installments and sequels to well-known franchises, as well as original projects, independent cinema, and unique and captivating stories.

See you in the theaters.