It's officially the biggest summer at the box office since the pandemic started, thanks to big hits like "The Odyssey" and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," as well as surprise hits like "Backrooms" and "Obsession."
On Monday, the total domestic box office earnings for the summer season reached $4 billion, which is only the second time in the post-pandemic era that this milestone has been hit.
The last time the box office hit $4 billion was in 2023, during the "Barbenheimer" craze, which brought in $4.09 billion from May to August.That was a close call.This year, there are still a few weeks left before Labor Day ends the summer season, so this summer is expected to be the highest-grossing since 2019, according to Rentrak.
Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian, said, "Hitting this $4 billion threshold for only the second time since the pandemic is really important.
After several tough years, the idea that people would stop going to theaters and only watch things on screens can finally be put to rest."
The four-month summer season is a key time for the movie industry, making up 40% of the yearly box office.
Before the pandemic, summer earnings usually went over $4 billion.In 2013, the highest summer gross was $4.755 billion, and in 2019, the last normal year, summer sales reached $4.3 billion thanks to "Avengers: Endgame" and other big movies.In 2018, the summer reached $4.42 billion, with "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Incredibles 2" being among the biggest hits.
After the pandemic, Hollywood didn't reach the $4 billion mark.
In 2025, the total was $3.655 billion, led by Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" remake.In 2024, the total was $3.67 billion with "Deadpool & Wolverine" and "Inside Out 2" as the top movies.In 2022, the total was $3.4 billion as "Top Gun: Maverick" dominated theaters.In 2020 and 2021, very few movies were released due to the ongoing pandemic.
This summer, studios had a mix of surprise hits and new movies in popular series.
Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is the highest-grossing movie so far, making $655 million domestically and $1.67 billion worldwide.Universal's "The Odyssey," a big Christopher Nolan film, is also doing very well with $460 million in North America and $1.1 billion worldwide.Disney's "Toy Story 5" is yet another blockbuster, making $470 million in the U.S.Lionsgate's "Michael," a biopic about Michael Jackson, started in spring but continued to do well and eventually earned over a billion dollars in July.
Other top movies include "Backrooms," a low-budget horror movie from A24 that made $197 million in North America and $395 million globally, and "Obsession," a Focus Features thriller that earned $263 million domestically and $488 million worldwide.
Disney's "The Devil Wears Prada 2" also did well, making $220 million in the U.S.and $690 million globally.These genre hits helped make up for some expensive movie flops, like Disney's "Star Wars" spinoff "The Mandalorian and Grogu" and its live-action "Moana," as well as DC's "Supergirl" and Amazon MGM's "Masters of the Universe."
Exhibitors are happy with the trend, thinking this year might be the first since the pandemic to break the $10 billion mark in domestic ticket sales.
The summer will end with Warner Bros.' sci-fi mystery "The End of Oak Street" starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, and Sony's paranormal thriller "Insidious: Out of the Further." Then, in the fall, Amazon MGM's "Verity," a Colleen Hoover adaptation, and two Warner Bros.movies, Tom Cruise's "Digger" and "Practical Magic 2" starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, will come out.This is followed by holiday hits like Lionsgate's "Sunrise on the Reaping," a "Hunger Games" prequel, Warner Bros.' "Dune Part III," and Disney's "Avengers: Doomsday."
Dergarabedian predicts that this year will be studied by studios in the future.
He asks, "Is the old-school thinking correct that audiences just want well-known IP, big blockbusters, sequels, and franchises?" Of course they do.But they also want new and original stories that challenge them.
