Before we get into our analysis let’s first look at a list of the spring summer seasons hits and flops.
Spring Summer 2026 Box Office
Hits
Super Mario Galaxy
Undertone
The Drama
The Mummy
Ready Or Not 2
Project Hail Mary
Backrooms
Michael
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Obsession
Scary Movie
Toy Story 5
Evil Dead Burn
Minions and Monsters
Jackass Best and Last
The Odyssey
Spider-Man Brand New Day
The Invite
Insidious 6
Paw Patrol
Could go either way
Coyote Vs Acme
Flops
The Ice Cream Man
The Dog Stars
Super Troopers 3
The End of Oak Street
Spa Weekend
Mutiny
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
By Any Means
Onslaught
He-Man
One Night Only
Disclosure Day
The Mandalorian and Grogu
Normal
Mother Mary
They Will Kill You
You Me and Tuscany
The Sheep Detectives
Splitizville
Hit Me Hard And Soft
Turner
Passenger
Supergirl
Mortal Kombat 2
Moana
Kiss of the the Spider Woman
This is not every single film that came out in the period, but it is most of them and it shows a number of trends for us to analyse.
Firstly, that lower budgets are key. Films that are coming out with low budgets are often amongst the hits column, as they need to make smaller amounts in order to hit a break even point. This is also true or large 200+ million blockbusters with a lot of these films with inflated budget failing to make their money back, whilst some films still can, having a 200+ million dollar budget is becoming risky. This will likely lead to the use of AI to lower films budgets going forward, this will be incredibly unpopular but is the way Hollywood is trending.
Secondly, is that superhero fatigue and nostalgia are becoming more and more unstable battlegrounds, some films such as the Devil Wears Prada 2 are able to capitalise on nostalgia whereas other films like He-Man simply can’t. There is an idea here about how films are being marketed and the need to market it just right to hit into that nostalgia. Increasingly, legacy sequels and remakes are falling flat and there needs to be much tighter pitches for why they should exist, something can no longer just exist because it was once a popular IP, broader fan communication will most likely be sought to see what markets want. As for superhero fatigue it does seem to be alive and well, Supergirl flopped, however certain films may be immune to it with Brand New Day being the most successful film of the summer. In a sense it seems like characters such as the Avengers, Spider-Man and Bat-Man who are evergreen are able to weather this growing fatigue. There is a real question to ask about whether it is superhero fatigue or bad film fatigue, however, it does appear that Marvel and likely DC will be centring future releases around more tested characters reducing the likelihood of an Animal Man film in the next 3 years.
Thirdly, is the idea that cinema is increasingly being built around events. As going to the cinema becomes more and more expensive people are only going out for spectacle. This can be a low budget horror film that blows up on social media, ala Obsession or it can be a massive event film like the Odyssey or Project Hail Mary. From this you can expect more films that seek out IMAX formatting to give them the spectacle edge.
Fourthly, the family market appears to be becoming unstable with some franchises able to stay relevant mainly through animation, but with Disney’s trend of live action remakes ending badly. There will be pressure within Disney to change course on the live action remakes in favour of focusing more tightly into newer animated or live action films. Expect some disruption later this year where there are several major animated films coming out.
Fifthly and finally is the fact that late August is increasingly becoming a dumping half month where a lot of films are being sent out to die. Last year at least there was Weapons but now it seems like a lot of studios use up their A and B material in June and July and then come August things start to rapidly decline
If you enjoyed this box office analyse article , then please head over to Patreon to support the blog. All film reviews, coverage and news are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below
patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer
Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below
Another Millennial Reviewer 