The Summer box-office is over, and with Labor Day ticket sales included, North American cinemagoing revenue has come in at $3.6 billion – just behind the $3.67 billion of last year and notably behind the $4.09 billion of 2023.
THR reports that this is being seen as a “worst-case scenario” for the industry, with one top studio executive telling the outlet they are “very, very nervous for the future” with concern being over the lack of audience for films as opposed to a lack of product.
Since mid-June, the trade indicates only one weekend proved a better performer than last year – the weekend “Superman” launched.
Research firm JustWatch Media, which monitors trailer campaigns and moviegoing habits, found that while early in the Summer only 25% of people were willing to wait until streaming to see a Summer movie – that number grew to 36% in recent weeks as more mid-size movies hit the marketplace and just aren’t pulling in the numbers.
One big difference this year, and not included in the gross figure above, is that the foreign box office has fizzled this year with Asian markets in particular seeing large downturns in their taste for Hollywood fare. However, the downturn goes beyond that and is being considered global.
Pre-pandemic, eight of the top ten highest-grossing studio movies in a year earned over 60% of their total earnings from the foreign box office. That number fell to six last year and three this year.
