Hollywood reeling as 2025 summer box office branded a ‘flop’ after weak Labor Day finish

by

Superman may turn out to be the hero of the summer box office. 

The movie, featuring David Corenswet, frequently labeled as overly “progressive,” has garnered over $611 million globally and marked the strongest finish at the box office for the summer season.

Starting from June 13th, there’s only been one weekend when the box office increased, and that happened during July 11-13, coinciding with the release of Superman, as reported by Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s chief box office analyst, to The Hollywood Reporter.

Since July 18, there’s been a decrease in the domestic box office each weekend for six consecutive weekends.

On a rather dull weekend preceding the U.S. Labor Day holiday, weapons took the front seat in terms of box office earnings on Sunday.

In its fourth week in cinemas, the chilling supernatural movie featuring a school full of children mysteriously disappearing at night, with Josh Brolin and Julia Garner as main actors, continued to be the box office champion by grossing $10.2 million over the weekend.

It’s expected to make another $3 million or so as folks try to beat the heat on Monday. 

The thrilling movie launched during the first week of the month, raking in over $43 million domestically, and has terrorized audiences globally, earning an additional $234 million.

The weak sales of weapons each week and disappointing box office earnings from other productions suggest, according to analysts, that this summer may be a flop for movies.

In other words, during the past weekend, the second highest grossing movie was a special 50th anniversary rerelease of Jaws, taking in approximately $8.1 million.

The horror movie directed by Steven Spielberg, which has been deterring people from venturing into the water ever since it was released in 1975, garnered an additional 1.7 million dollars in international earnings.

In the end, Jaws outperformed the fresh teams Caught Stealing and The Roses, with Caught Stealing taking third place and The Roses placing fifth.

Final numbers from this weekend’s box office were expected on Monday.  

Despite a rather lackluster conclusion to the summer season, the earnings from May to August 2025 matched those of 2024.

Although the final part of the summer in 2025 didn’t perform exceptionally well, the earnings for May through August were equal to what we saw in 2024.

During that particular time, some eagerly awaited movies like The Fantastic Four and The Naked Gun amassed a grand total of $3.76 billion at the box office.

The latest earnings, as per ComScore and Deadline, were approximately 98% of last year’s $3.766 billion – a difference of just 0.02%. However, they failed to reach the anticipated $4 billion in summer box office receipts.

In contrast, the earnings from both 2024 and 2025 summer seasons fell significantly short of the $4.09 billion earned during summer 2023. This decrease can partially be attributed to the enormous popularity of Barbie.

The movie starring Margot Robbie, which both wrote and directed by Greta Gerwig, has been an immense success at the box office and has amassed a total of $1,447,038,421 so far.

The top studio executive expressed concern to THR about the future, saying, “I’m extremely anxious” or “I’m feeling quite uneasy.” They further elaborated that with numerous film studios and production companies releasing movies, they believe there may be a limited audience to support all these productions.

Increased movie ticket prices, a result of tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump on imported goods, could potentially impact consumers’ capacity to buy cinema tickets. As reported by the Labor Department in July, consumer prices rose by 2.7% in June compared to the same time last year.

The typical price for a movie ticket in the United States is approximately $16, with the exact figure differing by state.

Still, year-to-date, the 2025 box office is up by four-percent, according to Deadline. 

Multiple eagerly awaited movies slated for release within the coming months might boost profits significantly.

Wicked: For Good, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo was scheduled to open on November 21. 

The movie “Wicked”, released in November, has grossed over $756 million globally, and it’s anticipated that its sequel will perform equally well or even surpass these earnings.

Anticipated blockbuster movies featuring in the box office include:

1. “The Smashing Machine,” headlined by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
2. “Kiss of The Spider Woman” with Jennifer Lopez.
3. “Marty Supreme” starring Timothée Chalamet.
4. “One Battle After Another,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Read More

2025-09-01 03:05