Hollywood is in the midst of a blockbuster summer

Hollywood has rediscovered one of its favorite summer traditions: making a boatload of money.

The domestic summer box office has officially crossed the $4 billion mark, fueled by hits including Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Toy Story 5, The Odyssey, Obsession, and Backrooms.

Summer typically accounts for ~40% of annual domestic ticket sales, and Hollywood is now on pace for its highest-grossing summer since 2019.

Roll the numbers

Spider-Man: Brand New Day currently wears the box-office crown with $655 million domestically, followed by Toy Story 5 ($470 million) and The Odyssey ($461 million).

But established franchises weren’t the only movies putting butts in seats. Low-budget horror films Obsession and Backrooms—both directed by social media stars—scared up $263.3 million and $197.4 million, respectively.

Back to the future?

While encouraging, Hollywood’s milestone still comes with some perspective. The domestic summer box office topped $4 billion in 11 of the 12 summers immediately before the pandemic, missing the mark only in 2017.

Then came 2020, when summer ticket sales fell below $100 million as theaters nationwide shut down. The industry has spent the years since trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing.

Looking ahead…Hollywood now has a shot at reaching $10 billion in annual domestic ticket sales for the first time since the pandemic. Getting there will depend on major holiday releases like The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (Nov. 20), Avengers: Doomsday, and Dune: Part Three (both Dec. 18) keeping audiences headed to theaters through Christmas.