North American movie theaters are on track to record $4.5 billion in ticket sales this summer, surpassing totals from 2019 and 2023. While revenue has increased, industry data shows that the recovery from the 2020 pandemic involves fewer moviegoers, fewer active screens, and a smaller selection of films compared to pre-COVID levels.
The film industry faced significant disruption starting six years ago when the pandemic led to temporary theater closures and a shift toward streaming. During that period, major studios like Disney and Warner Bros. released high-profile films, such as Pixar titles and "Dune," directly to streaming platforms or used day-and-date release strategies. To bring audiences back to cinemas, studios have focused on large-scale spectacles and star-driven features.
Current box office success is driven by a small group of high-earning films, including "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," "The Odyssey," and "Toy Story 5," each of which has earned over $1 billion worldwide. Additionally, low-budget thrillers from YouTube creators, "Obsession" and "Backrooms," contributed $460 million to the North American total. However, the number of films playing in theaters dropped from approximately 400 in the summer of 2019 to barely 300 this year.
The scale of the audience shift is measured in hundreds of millions of people. Data from S&P Global shows that theaters sold 547.1 million tickets through mid-August this year, a decrease of nearly 250 million admissions compared to the 795.9 million tickets sold during the same period in 2019. This means that while theaters are generating record revenue, they are doing so with roughly 31% fewer customers than they had before the pandemic. Additionally, the physical availability of cinemas has shrunk; research firm Omdia reports that more than 7,000 screens in North America have permanently closed since the end of 2019.
The trend toward "event" cinema suggests that theaters are becoming more reliant on a few massive hits rather than a broad volume of content. This shift creates a different day-to-day experience for moviegoers, who have 100 fewer film choices this summer than they did in 2019. Looking ahead, the industry will test the sustainability of this high-price, lower-volume model with a major release date on December 18, 2026, when "Dune: Part Three" and "Avengers: Doomsday" are scheduled to open simultaneously. Industry analysts expect this date to contribute to the best overall financial year for U.S. theaters since the mid-2010s.