Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team up in the highly anticipated Marvel movie, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which has been a major hit at the summer box office. The summer movie season of 2022 has seen a resurgence in ticket sales, thanks to a mix of exciting new releases and beloved franchises making a return to the big screen.
Box office analysts and cinema owners were initially concerned about the 2022 summer movie season, fearing it could be the worst showing in a decade. However, the domestic box office managed to pull in $3.6 billion in ticket sales, a 10% drop from the previous year but a better outcome than expected.
Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, explained, “In the wake of the $4 billion ‘Barbenheimer’-powered summer of 2023, expectations heading into May were tempered as the industry braced for what would certainly be a more modest summer revenue result for 2024.”
Summer Box Office Tally:
– 2024 — $3.6 billion
– 2023 — $4 billion
– 2022 — $3.4 billion
– 2021 — $1.7 billion
– 2020 — $176.2 million
– 2019 — $4.3 billion
– 2018 — $4.4 billion
– 2017 — $3.8 billion
– 2016 — $4.4 billion
– 2015 — $4.4 billion
– 2014 — $4 billion
– 2013 — $4.7 billion*
– 2012 — $4.2 billion*
Source: Comscore
The summer movie season typically kicks off in early May and runs through Labor Day, but in 2022, the box office was down 22% from the previous year. The absence of a blockbuster superhero film to start the season, a tradition usually upheld by Disney and Marvel Studios, was a noticeable gap in the lineup.
The first weekend of summer saw the release of Universal’s “The Fall Guy,” which despite strong marketing efforts, failed to draw in audiences, earning less than $28 million in its domestic debut. Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” also underperformed, bringing in only $67 million during its domestic run.
However, Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” exceeded expectations, grossing $171 million during its run. It wasn’t until mid-June that the box office saw a significant uptick in viewership with the release of Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” which set new records and revitalized the animation studio.
“Inside Out 2” became the highest-grossing summer movie, raking in $650 million in box office receipts by Labor Day. The film’s success marked a turning point for the summer movie season, leading to a string of box office hits that carried through August.
Another major contributor to the summer box office success was “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the third installment in the Deadpool franchise and the first under Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film shattered records for an R-rated film, surpassing $600 million domestically by the holiday weekend.
In addition to these blockbusters, films like Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4,” Universal’s “Twisters,” and Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” made significant contributions to the summer box office. Breakout hits such as Disney’s “Alien Romulus,” Sony’s “It Ends With Us,” and Paramount’s “A Quiet Place: Day One” also added to the overall success.
The 15th anniversary re-release of “Coraline” by Fathom brought in an additional $31 million in ticket sales. August alone saw over $900 million in ticket sales, the highest since 2016, indicating a strong finish to the summer movie season.
Looking ahead, box office analysts predict that the momentum from the summer will carry over into the fall, bolstering overall third-quarter box office results. A solid September lineup of releases, including “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Speak No Evil,” “Transformers One,” and “The Wild Robot,” is expected to drive continued success at the box office.
Although it remains uncertain if the full-year box office will reach 2023 levels, due in part to labor strikes disrupting production, there are many appealing titles set to hit theaters in the coming months. Sequels from popular franchises like Beetlejuice, Transformers, Joker, Smile, and Venom offer promise for continued success in the box office.
Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, shared, “There may not be a pound-for-pound juggernaut on the scale of ‘Inside Out 2’ or ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ but the aggregate of sequels from appealing franchises like Beetlejuice, Transformers, Joker, Smile, and Venom offer plenty of reason for moviegoers, theaters, and studios to be excited about the next two months.”
Overall, the 2022 summer movie season has been a mix of surprises, record-breaking hits, and beloved franchises making a triumphant return to the big screen. With a strong lineup of upcoming releases and the momentum from the summer carrying into the fall, the box office is poised for continued success in the months ahead.
