Summer Box Office Breaks All-Time Record With $4.67 Billion — SkimNews
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- Domestic summer ticket sales reached $4.76 billion from May 1 through Sept. 7, surpassing the 2013 record of $4.755 billion set by "Iron Man 3," "Despicable Me 2" and "Man of Steel" — though the source notes the 2013 figures weren't inflation-adjusted and this year's popcorn season ran 130 days vs. 123 in 2013.
- For the first time in history, every month of summer grossed above $1 billion: August led at $1.27 billion, followed by July ($1.18B), June ($1.08B) and May ($1.07B), according to Rentrak.
- Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" topped the box office for a sixth consecutive frame with $23.5 million over Labor Day, reaching $923 million domestic and $2.4 billion globally — poised to pass "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ($936M) as the highest-grossing domestic release ever unadjusted for inflation; it already ranks third globally behind "Avatar" ($2.9B) and "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.7B).
- Universal's "The Odyssey" earned $17.3 million over the holiday weekend after eight frames, lifting to $589 million domestic and $1.62 billion worldwide, with IMAX contributing $486 million globally — 30% of its total.
- "Coyote vs. Acme" placed third with $15.8 million from 3,727 venues and $38.3 million domestic after two weekends — a film Warner Bros. originally shelved as a $30 million tax write-off before selling it to indie distributor Ketchup Entertainment after public backlash.
- Two new holiday releases stumbled: Paramount's "By Any Means" opened at No. 4 with $9.3 million from 2,903 theaters against a $30 million budget, while Lionsgate's "Fall 2: Deadpoint" ($2.8M, No. 12) and A24's "Onslaught" ($2.2M, No. 13) failed to crack the top 10.
Why it matters: Summer represents 40% of the annual domestic box office, and crossing the 2013 record — even with caveats (no inflation adjustment, 130 vs. 123 days) — suggests audiences are returning to theaters five years after COVID disruptions. But the same season that delivered "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey" also produced bombs from Disney's "Moana," DC's "Supergirl" and Amazon MGM's "Masters of the Universe," showing the recovery isn't evenly distributed across studios.
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