First, Masters Of The Universe failed to find its audience. Then, Supergirl left a crater that could be seen from space. The Mandalorian & Grogu performed with forgettable results. When Moana flopped, it felt like the writing was on the wall for the 2026 summer season. Cracks so big even Toy Story 5 couldn’t paper over them.
Movies like Obsession and Backrooms even led to speculation about the death of the big-budget summer blockbuster. Speculation we were only too happy to indulge in.
Now, a couple of summer blockbuster powerhouses have turned the wails of anguish echoing around Hollywood into squeals of cocaine-fuelled delight. The numbers are in, and the summer is saved… as long as your studio is one of the lucky ones.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently tracking for Avengers: Endgame numbers, with a further $145 million on the board in week two of release. A staggering amount. The first week numbers were so big that a 60% drop barely dents the financial enthusiasm. That drop is less than No Way Home and takes the total to $655 million domestic. Yes, that is just domestic! After ten days! Add in an overseas figure that is already north of $1 billion, and it is closing in on $1.7 billion so far.
At the more grown-up end of the box office is Nolan’s The Odyssey, with a fourth weekend haul of $110.7 million globally. It’s now up to a total of $1.1 billion and becomes the second biggest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, behind Deadpool & Wolverine.
It has also overtaken his third Batman movie to become the highest-grosser of Nolan’s career. Nolan will continue to be able able to basically cherry-pick his projects and do whatever he wants with them.
For every great success, there must be a failure. One Night Only spluttered to just $5.7 million on opening. Super Troopers 3 ($4 million) and Ice Cream Man ($2 million) also underwhelmed.
It is likely that all are being crushed under the juggernauts at the top of the box office.
