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Hollywood is enjoying a strong summer at the US box office, with blockbuster releases such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey helping cinemas head toward their biggest annual summer haul in more than a decade.
The North American summer box office is projected to reach around $4.5 billion, surpassing the strong summers of 2023, marked by Barbie and Oppenheimer, and 2019, when The Lion King and Avengers: Endgame dominated theatres.
A diverse lineup has helped attract audiences back to cinemas. Michael has drawn music fans, The Odyssey has appealed to audiences seeking epic spectacles, The Devil Wears Prada 2 has attracted fashion fans, while Toy Story 5 has brought families and children to theatres.
Two unexpected low-budget thrillers from YouTube creators, Obsession and Backrooms, have also performed strongly, together contributing about $460 million to the North American box office.
The surge has brought relief to theatre owners and the wider film industry after years of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid expansion of streaming services.
When cinemas closed during the pandemic in 2020, studios increasingly released films directly to streaming platforms or offered simultaneous theatrical and home releases. Disney moved some Pixar films directly to Disney+, while Warner Bros. released Dune in theatres and on HBO Max on the same day.
As audiences became accustomed to watching new releases at home, studios have increasingly relied on large-scale spectacles, major stars and franchise films to encourage moviegoers to return to cinemas.
The latest box-office performance suggests that, despite the continued growth of streaming, theatrical movies can still draw large audiences when studios offer films designed for the big screen.
