Designer: Carter Shilling
The outbreak of Coronavirus in 2019 was nothing short of a disaster for countless industries. The stock market crashed, local mom-and-pop shops had to close their doors, restaurants had to shut down their kitchens and movie theaters could no longer operate.
But soon things reopened, and before long, people were back to shopping at their local stores, dining at their favorite restaurants and being back in the real world again. But one place that few people seemed to want to return to was the cinema. According to IMDb, domestic box office revenue in 2020 plummeted to $2.28 billion, an 80 percent drop from 2019.
After months of consuming media from the comfort of home without having to spend a dime, many came to the conclusion that movie theaters just weren’t practical anymore.
Jackson Clark is both a senior and an avid movie watcher, who witnessed this culture shift unfold.
“People stopped going to movies because it’s cheaper to watch them at home on streaming services,” Clark said. “People just didn’t feel the desire to go out of their way to see a movie in the theater anymore.”
Despite significant box office victories such as “Avatar: Way of Water” in 2022 and the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon in 2023, movie theaters still struggled to draw in crowds reminiscent of those before the pandemic, according to Box Office Mojo.
But after the uncertainty and failure of the post-COVID culture, came summer 2026, and a new day dawned for the box office.
“I know a lot of people who went to the movie theater more times this summer than they had in the last few years combined,” Clark said. “There was something about the films released that really seemed to change people’s perspectives on movie-going.”
Monumental and highly awaited films accompanied by the release of exciting new movies created the perfect cultural atmosphere to bring the masses back to the theaters.
According to Box Office Mojo, the summer box office, which spans from the first Friday in May through Labor Day weekend, grossed over $4.5 billion domestically, a record high since as early as 2013.
Riley Morrison is a junior who works at Marcus Theaters and experienced the busyness that this summer brought to cinemas.
“Movie theaters are very different from any other business. They’re really only busy when there are popular movies,” Morrison said. “There were quite a few blockbusters this year, but I would say the highlights include ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, ‘The Odyssey’, ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’. They brought in a lot of business.”
But what was it about these movies that brought so many people back to theaters?
For starters, “Obsession” and “Backrooms” had a cultural moment of their own on social media, and discourse about the eerie movies flooded the internet. They even had their own respective trends on apps like TikTok.
Additionally, the release of the film adaptation of Homer’s legendary epic, “The Odyssey”, was long awaited due to its star-studded cast and cutting-edge filming technology.
Most notably, the release of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” brought in droves of watchers excited to see their favorite super-hero back on screen after almost five years since the last Spider-Man movie.
While these movies objectively have nothing in common, what made them so appealing was their mix of novelty and familiarity.
“I think the originality of many of the movies released this summer made them feel really fresh and exciting,” Clark said. “There have been a lot of remakes and sequels too, and I think the familiarity of these titles gives people a sense of assurance that they’re going to see a film that they will enjoy.”
Aside from the films themselves, people are once again recognizing the simple joy of going to see a movie at the theater instead of just at home.
“I believe the number of moviegoers will only increase with the number of creative and original films released, alongside the nostalgic and thrilling feeling of being in a movie theater.” Morrison said.
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