Market research firm Gower Street Analytics has projected that the global box office will hit $35 billion in 2026 – a 5% increase on 2025 and the second consecutive year of growth.
If it pans out, it would mark the highest-grossing year worldwide since the final pre-pandemic year in 2019, when it hauled in $42.3 billion. In the current decade, the best performance so far was in 2023 with $33.9 billion.
The company’s year-ahead estimates for 2024 were less than 5% off from the actual result, while in 2025 they are looking likely to come in less than 2% off. The figure is calculated a year out and goes from current release calendars alongside additional analyst assessment.
The firm says the North American box-office alone for next year is project to come in at approximately $9.9 billion – 11% up on the 2025 result, but still 14% behind the pre-pandemic era.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa are expected to total $10 billion, Asia Pacific (outside of China) at $5.3 billion, and Latin America at $2.65 billion. China is conservatively estimated at $7.1 billion, down 4% versus 2025 estimates.
Along with major franchise installments in the likes of “Star Wars,” “Dune,” “Spider-Man,” “Avengers,” “Super Mario Bros., “Minions,” “Jumanji” and more, there’s also strong standalone films next year like the live-action “Moana,” the Michael Jackson biopic, and new films from Nolan and Spielberg.
Source: Deadline
