Labor Day marks the unofficial end of Hollywood's summer, and this one closed the books at $4.76B domestic, an all-time record (not adjusted for inflation). That tops 2013's $4.75B, which stood for 13 years, and blows past the $4B milestone everyone was praying for this time last year (summer 2025 came in at $3.67B). It's also the first summer where all four months cleared $1B apiece. Some takeaways from the season:
- Two movies carried it. 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' sits at $923M domestic, about $14M shy of 'The Force Awakens'' all-time record (likely falling this week). It and 'The Odyssey' alone made up roughly a third of the summer.
- Universal and Sony won the studio race. Summer domestic grosses (vs. summer 2025): Universal $1.23B (+63%), Disney $1.03B (flat), Sony $1B (+459%, thanks Spidey), Lionsgate $270M (+296%). Then there's Warner Bros., which went from last year's 'Weapons' high to $239M, down 76%.
- IP wasn't a free pass. 'Mandalorian & Grogu' (lowest Star Wars ever), 'Supergirl' ($72M on a $186M budget), and the live-action 'Moana' ($126M on $250M) all fizzled, while originals like 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' cleaned up.
But the best news is attendance. Higher ticket prices have propped up a lot of the post-COVID numbers (an adult ticket now runs $13.46 on average), so a dollar record on its own doesn't say much. This one came with 322M admissions versus 275M last summer, and a lot of that was Gen Z and people who don't normally go to the movies ('Backrooms' skewed 55% under 25).
Looking ahead… A $10B year is within reach for the first time since 2019. The next tentpole-sized releases are 'Sunrise on the Reaping' in November, followed by 'Avengers: Doomsday' and 'Dune: Part Three' going head to head on December 18.
