Hollywood Sees Strong Summer Box Office Recovery Led by Horror Films and Michael Jackson Biopic

Hollywood's film industry is experiencing its best summer box office performance since the COVID-19 pandemic, with U.S. annual ticket sales potentially surpassing $10 billion for the first time in seven years, according to CNBC. The summer season, running from early May through Labor Day in September, has generated $1.8 billion so far, just 2% below the same period in 2019. This season is notable for lacking a major blockbuster or superhero film at the start, instead gaining momentum from hits like Disney's "The Devil Wears Prada 2," Universal's "Obsession," and A24's "Backrooms," both low-budget horror films directed by former YouTubers.

Additional support came from Lionsgate's "Michael," a biopic about Michael Jackson released in late April. Together, these films have earned $850 million since early May, nearly matching the $1 billion earned by Disney-Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" during the same period in 2019. Disney-Pixar's "Toy Story 5," which opened last week with $160 million, also boosted the industry, marking the franchise's best opening ever. Overall, ticket sales in the U.S. have reached $4.4 billion since the start of the year, about 15% less than in 2019.

Notably, films like "Michael," "Obsession," and Amazon MGM's "Project Hail Mary" have shown stronger-than-usual box office stability, with weekly declines of only 20% to 40%, compared to the typical 50% to 70%. "Obsession" even saw ticket sales increase by 39% and 14% in its second and third weekends, respectively. Paul Dergarabedian, head of market trends at Rentrak, stated these six key films could push summer box office revenues to $4.2 billion. Since 2019, the summer season has only surpassed $4 billion once, in 2023, driven by "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer." The industry aims to fully return to pre-pandemic revenue levels in the second half of the year.