Summer box office starts with big sales

The summer box office is off to a hot start, with weekend ticket sales topping $161 million, a nearly 88% improvement over the same three-day frame in 2025. Disney and 20th Century Studio’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2” led the pack, adding $41.6 million during its second week. Warner Bros.’ “Mortal Kombat II” snared $38.5 million during its opening, while Lionsgate’s “Michael” brought in another $37.9 million in its third week in theaters.

The weekend was bolstered by new releases like Amazon MGM’s “The Sheep Detectives” and Paramount’s “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour”, as well as holdovers from Universal’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and Amazon’s “Project Hail Mary”.

According to Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore, the second weekend in May often provides solid returns from newcomers that bridge the gap between the opening weekend of the summer and the important Memorial Weekend coming up in about 2 weeks. He notes that this period is crucial for the box office, as it sets the stage for the summer movie season.

The top 10 performers of the weekend included seven returning titles, with five of those films reporting a drop in ticket sales of less than 50% from the prior weekend, according to data from Comscore. The Devil Wears Prada 2 saw a 46% drop in second-week ticket sales, while Michael declined just 30% between its second and third week in theaters. They experienced a significant drop in ticket sales, but still performed well.

Box Office Trends

These trends bode well for the domestic box office, which has generated $3.02 billion through Sunday, a 16% jump from the same period last year, according to Comscore data. Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, suggests that escapism and ease of access may be important factors in the box office’s success, making investing in entertainment a viable option.

Historically, while ticket prices have increased over time, going to the theater remains one of the more affordable out-of-house entertainment options for individuals, couples, and families. The box office is still recovering from the pandemic, but it is showing signs of improvement.

Summer Movie Season

The summer movies season, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day in September, is about to get a boost from several blockbuster titles, including Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu in late May, Pixar’s Toy Story 5 in June, and Warner Bros.’ Supergirl. In July, Disney has the live-action Moana, Universal is set to release Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The industry is expecting a strong summer, with many successful films on the books before the heart of the summer movie season arrives, which may also impact the education landscape in terms of film studies.

Robbins notes that ebbs and flows will naturally occur within the full year’s box office narrative, but the industry is currently enjoying something near a best-case realistic scenario with many successful films on the books, and the use of AI chatbots may help improve customer experience.