Topline
Movie theaters are having a rough end-of-summer period with a lack of big blockbuster releases on the horizon, which is producing some of the lowest-grossing days at the theater in months as weeks-old movies like “Weapons” reign without serious competition.
“Weapons,” “Freakier Friday” and “Fantastic Four: The First Steps” are leading this week’s box office—but all of these movies are weeks old, as no new blockbuster releases have been able to breathe life into a struggling end-of-summer market.
Every weekend in August has grossed less than the corresponding weekend from August 2024, Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Forbes, as recent movies like Ethan Coen’s “Honey Don’t!” and the Bob Odenkirk-starring “Nobody 2” scored middling opening weekend debuts.
On Monday, the top 10 movies at domestic theaters grossed under $5 million, according to Box Office Mojo, marking one of the worst days at the theater since March, when the box office similarly struggled amid a lack of smash hits.
September and October may also be rough, Dergarabedian told Forbes, warning there may be a “few fallow weeks at the box office” as the “post-summer corridor is looking a bit bereft of standout blockbusters.”
The box office will “have to rely on the cumulative success of some expected mid-range performers,” like “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” which opens in theaters next week, and “Tron: Ares,” a sequel to the 2010 film “Tron: Legacy” that opens in October, Dergarabedian said.
Whether “The Conjuring: Last Rites” can revive the box office next weekend with a strong debut. Ticket seller Fandango said Thursday the movie has sold more pre-sale tickets than any other horror movies in 2025 so far, and its ticket pre-sales top all other movies in the “Conjuring” franchise. “The Conjuring” movies are typically box office hits, and the last installment, 2023’s “The Nun II,” grossed $270 million worldwide.
It seems so, but the race is much closer than analysts had expected. Earlier this summer, Dergarabedian said he would have expected the summer box office to surpass a milestone gross of $4 billion from early May through Labor Day, a figure that would’ve put 2025 on par with the “Barbenheimer”-powered summer of 2023. But this summer’s box office lost a significant early advantage it had built up after a strong performance in May, which was up 76% over May 2024, Dergarabedian said. Since mid-June, only one weekend at the box office has surpassed the corresponding weekend from summer 2024. The summer 2025 box office now stands just 0.2% above the summer 2024 gross from early May through Aug. 26, according to Dergarabedian, who now expects this summer to gross $3.7 billion in total, barely above last summer’s $3.68 billion. Though the early summer was buoyed by hits like “Lilo & Stitch,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and “Superman,” 2025 has lacked an end-of-summer blockbuster—unlike last year, when the $1.3-billion grossing “Deadpool & Wolverine” ruled August.
Dergarabedian told Forbes he expects November and December to be much better months for the box office. A bevy of sequels to successful films are due to open later this year, including “Wicked: For Good,” the second part of last year’s hit adaptation of the Broadway musical, and “Zootopia 2,” a sequel to Disney’s billion-dollar grossing animated hit from 2016. “Five Nights At Freddy’s 2” opens in December, a sequel to the surprise smash hit original film from 2023, which was based on the popular video game. Possibly the most surefire hit is “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which opens the weekend before Christmas. The movie is the third installment in James Cameron’s hit film franchise—“Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” are the first and third-highest-grossing movies of all time.
Last weekend’s box office was at least somewhat salvaged by “KPop Demon Hunters,” which Netflix released in theaters for a limited two-day run. The movie, which earlier this week became Netflix’s most-watched movie ever, grossed $18 million, winning the weekend over “Weapons.” Even with “KPop Demon Hunters,” last weekend was the worst at the box office since March, according to Box Office Mojo.
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Breaks Record As Netflix’s Most-Watched Movie Ever (Forbes)