This summer saw the revival of Marvel and Pixar, but the real surprise was an exhumation. We welcome the return of a trend we feared to be dead: The strong box-office hold. “ Inside Out 2 ” opened to $150 million and “Deadpool & Wolverine” to $220 million; each are headed for domestic totals of over $600 million.
“Despicable Me 4” opened to $70 million in five days over July 4; it will be around $370 million. Industry shorthand for assessing audience reaction is the letter grade of a Cinemascore, but far more acute is a film ‘s multiple, aka the relationship between a release’s total domestic gross versus its opening weekend. However, the rise of home viewing — and a real decline in attendance — would seem to undercut that metric.
Instead, this summer’s top-grossing films reflect some of the best the multiples we’ve seen in years. Logic might suggest that multiples would wither with the dramatic decline in theatrical windows. Before 2019, films weren’t available for PVOD rental at least 70 days after release.
Currently, the average is 40 days or less. Instead, the inverse has happened: Top films are sustaining longer runs. This is one reason that summer 2024 became an unexpected box-office hero.
In June, it appeared that the summer would struggle to reach even $3 billion, rather than the $4 billion of 2023. Instead, we’re heading for $3.5 billion-$3.
6 billion — still down, but only by about 10 percent rather than 25 percent or more. Nothing is as.