The weekend of June 10-12 is a key moment for the domestic box office reset as Jurassic World Dominion achieved $145.1 million better than expected, while Top Gun: Maverick rose to $51.9 million in the third outing.
The biggest weekends of the pandemic so far have all been fueled by one headline, sparking fears that multi-movie days – especially during the summer – are a concept have ability to be extinct.
When Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: There’s no way home ushered in a whopping $260.1 million in December 2021, it accounted for 92.3 percent of total weekend sales of $281.8 million, according to Comscore.
And for the weekend of May 6-8 this year, total sales hit $223 million as Marvel and Disney Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness launched with $187.4 million, or 84 percent of the total.
Transitioning to Universal and Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominionaccounted for 67.4% of the weekend’s total, while Paramount and Skydance Top Gun 2 accounted for 24.1% – reflecting a more balanced market. On the other hand, there’s never been a weekend since COVID-19 when two major studio movies were both going strong.
And the weekend of June 10-12 was only the third time since the pandemic that gross domestic sales crossed the $200 million mark, according to Comscore.
There are still concerns that the box office has increased more, but at least there is a glimmer of hope.
“This is the first sign of the possibility of a healthier market where business is not loaded into a movie that appeals to an audience. Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, Chris Aronson, said. “And I think it will be further reinforced by what happens this weekend when Light year open. ”
Pixar and Disney’s Light year on track to open up to $70 million to $85 million over Father’s Day weekend, while Jurassic World Dominion could make $60 million or more in its sophomore outing.
And Top Gun: Maverick will remain a formidable opponent. On June 13, Tom Cruise’s photo crossed the $400 million domestic mark to rank as the No. 1 movie of 2022 so far after surpassing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($398.1 million), ending superhero dominance in the pandemic era. Marvel and DC titles skyrocketed because young men were the first demos to return to mass theaters. Now, the number of audiences coming to theaters is more and more diverse.
This month and July will continue to test the balance as studios continue to release event titles in earnest, including Warner Bros. ‘ Elvis (June 24), Illumination and Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru (July 1), and Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder by Disney (July 8).
“Instead of one superstar movie each month dominating the supporting cast, we’re ultimately in a theatrical market where multiple films eat,” said Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Guests can share the spotlight and that’s good news for theaters.”
As of the end of June 14, domestic revenue reached $3.22 billion, up 287 percent over the same period in 2021 ($832.1 million). However, it is still down 35.7% from 2019 ($5.28 billion).
After the June 10-12 weekend, AMC Theaters, the largest exhibiting company, noted that its admissions revenue was about 15% higher than the equivalent frame in 2019. “Having a lot of films. The blockbuster hit theaters helped AMC hit another major milestone, beating admissions revenue over the same weekend in 2019 by a wide margin,” said CEO Adam Aron.
And, another good news: June sales could hit $1 billion for the first time in recent memory.
Source: Comscore.
A version of this story first appeared in the June 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.
