Summer 2024 box office revenue is expected to reach $3.67 billion, down 10.3% from 2023, according to final data released by Comscore on Tuesday. As counterintuitive as it may seem, Hollywood studio executives and theater owners are not panicking.
They’re experiencing vastly different emotions as the summer box office officially begins in late May. Revenue this month was down a staggering 29% from the previous year, reigniting concerns that the theater experience may not be able to withstand the lasting impact of the pandemic, a historic strike in Hollywood and competition from streaming.
It’s because of the strike that Marvel Studios and Disney can’t open Deadpool and Wolverine In early May, the trilogy was pushed back to late July, marking the first time in years that a Marvel superhero movie won’t have a summer release date. This year, that job goes to Universal Pictures’ action-romance autumn guydid not meet expectations. Disney and the 20th Century kingdom of the planet of the apesReleased mid-month, doing well and successfully rebooting the series, Memorial Day took a major hit as Warner Bros.’ Furiosa: The Legend of Mad Max The tire is flat.
Sony products for June Bad Boys: Ride or Die Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian said the move triggered a major reset and a two-month box office recovery that put “the sins of the past quickly in the rearview mirror.”
Rebound begins with record-breaking performance Brain Teasers 2The film put Pixar back on the map and became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with global box office revenue of more than $1.667 billion as of September 2, including $651 million domestically. will soon be surpassed jurassic world The eighth highest-grossing film in global box office history.
Since then, fierce competition has begun at the domestic summer box office. A slew of films of all genres and sizes underperformed in North America, including Paramount’s A Quiet Place: Day One ($139 million). July wins include Illumination and Universal despicable me 4 ($335.6 million), Amblin and Universal Pictures tornado ($259.6 million) and superhero sensations from Marvel and Disney Deadpool and Wolverinewhich, like Brain Teasers 2It broke multiple records and was the first game in the series to hit $1 billion at the global box office. During Labor Day weekend, dead Pool Threequel hit another milestone by surpassing $600 million at the domestic box office, and ended the long holiday weekend with a global box office take of $1.262 billion.
“The reversal of fortunes for theaters during the summer months is astounding and a lesson in how despite the negative predictions that come with every box office downturn, the industry has always proven itself to be unpredictable and resilient. .
Box Office Theory analyst Shawn Robbins added: “The downturn has become more pronounced in recent years, and we continue to see shifts in consumer habits impacting certain types of movies. Overall, the back half of this lucrative season The segment, anchored by a variety of likable hits, is starting to deliver the kind of consistent box office hits the industry has been craving, a trend that’s expected to continue through the fall, with a post-summer release lineup that’s even better than it was before the pandemic. Strong.
August’s breakthroughs include Wayfarer Studios’ It all ends with usThis furthers Sony’s commitment to delivering female-led fare, following last year’s blockbuster anyone but youwhich helped revive the studio romantic comedy genre. Sony is also home Where the crayfish sing, female king and little women.
It all ends with us Domestic revenue reached $135.8 million, making it the largest non-franchise film of the year. Globally, the box office is set to cross the $300 million mark this weekend, proving that the film isn’t suffering from the controversy between star producer Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni. The feud was hampered by a social media firestorm (Sony sided with Lively, whose favorite clip from the movie was in theaters).
Another late summer highlight was 20th Century/Disney’s Alien: RomulusThe film earned $90.6 million domestically (worldwide, it earned an estimated $293.5 million, the second-highest total in the series, not adjusted for inflation.)
Led by Neon, the independent music scene has also played an important role in the recovery long legsThe film grossed over $74 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing independent horror film domestically in a decade.
On the studio side, Disney’s movie empire is back to its former glory days. Its summer movie box office revenue accounted for US$1.5 billion of the total domestic box office, with a market share of approximately 42%. Universal Pictures also cracked the summer domestic top 10 with three films, followed by Paramount with two films.
“Throughout the remainder of the summer, nearly every studio has several summer releases that are exceeding box office expectations across ratings and genres,” said Box Office Pro analyst Daniel Loria. “Disney dominates the headlines Brain Teasers 2, Deadpool and Wolverine and Alien: Romulus. Universal Pictures succeeds despicable me 4 and tornado. Paramount reaps huge rewards from this A Quiet Place: Day One and bounce back from a shaky opening weekend. if Seeing as this title is worth over $100 million. Sony with products such as Bad Boys: Ride or Diejust shy of $200 million at the domestic box office, will be released in late summer It all ends with us”.
Loria continued: “Warner Bros.’ 2024 slate is much lower-key than 2020. Barbie Summer 2023. furious Even though the Mesmers movie was never a box office behemoth, it could have been better. horizon Unable to find an audience on drama, genre alternatives like Shyamalan-led thriller watchman and trap A humble performance, without the burden of bringing in huge revenue for the studio.
However, Warner has a huge trick up its sleeve: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice A summer-like opening is expected next weekend. The sequel is expected to debut to over $80 million domestically after receiving rave reviews and having its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Meanwhile, the box office continues to struggle, with year-to-date revenue down more than 14% from the same period last year. However, sales of a large number of summer titles exceeded expectations, raising hopes for even greater gains this fall and winter.
“There’s no question that the summer box office will be higher than when we started,” Robbins said. “There are always ebbs and flows in this industry.”
September 3, 4:00 pm: Updated final numbers.
This article was originally published on September 2 at 5:18 pm
