Entertainment
North American summer box office projected to reach $4.5 billion amid higher ticket prices and lower attendance
Revenue has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but the industry faces a sharp decline in total tickets sold, active screens, and overall movie releases.
The short version
- North American theater revenue is on track for a $4.5 billion summer, surpassing previous record-setting seasons in 2019 and 2023.
- Higher revenue is primarily driven by rising ticket prices and premium formats rather than increased attendance, which remains down nearly 250 million tickets from pre-pandemic levels.
- The industry is operating with fewer total movie releases and thousands fewer active screens following post-2019 theater closures.
- Hollywood studios and theater operators face long-term sustainability questions as high individual film earnings mask broader declines in cinema habituation.
Key facts
- North American summer box office revenue is projected to hit $4.5 billion, higher than the summer tallies of 2019 and 2023.[NPR]
- Five 2026 films have crossed $1 billion in global revenue, including Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, Toy Story 5, Michael, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.[NPR]
- Independent thrillers Obsession and Backrooms, produced by YouTube creators, generated $460 million in North American ticket sales.[NPR]
- Data from S&P Global shows North American ticket sales through mid-August dropped from 795.9 million in 2019 to 547.1 million in 2026.[NPR]
- According to research firm Omdia, North America has lost more than 7,000 movie screens since 2019, when 44,283 screens were in operation.[NPR]
- EntTelligence data indicates average adult ticket prices have risen above $13, up from around $9 seven years ago, with premium formats averaging $18.46.[NPR]
- Approximately 300 films played in theaters this summer, down from roughly 400 in the summer of 2019.[NPR]
What remains uncertain
- It remains uncertain whether the film industry's strategy of relying on higher ticket prices and fewer total releases is commercially sustainable over the long term.[NPR]