“Zootopia 2”, “Wicked: For Good” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash”.
With the kind authorization of: Disney Enterprises, Inc. | Universal images
The box office is about to warm up.
After a scorching summer filled with action -ratings full of action, the theatrical momentum stopped in the fall. But winter programming is about to generate a constant spark of ticket sales, pushing the interior transport of 2025 above $ 9 billion and to a post-pandemic summit, according to the latest estimates.
“The national box office since the start of the year is ahead of around 4 % compared to last year and, if we manage to extend this advance, we could attend the biggest post-pandemic year for films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, manager of market trends at Comscore.
As the fourth quarter approaches, the national box office recorded $ 6.5 billion in ticket sales this year, compared to $ 6.3 billion a year earlier, according to Comscore data. The annual record that the box office seeks to exceed is $ 9.05 billion, recorded in 2023.
Macquarie analysts provide Disney “Tron: ARES” is the first domino to die for, creating momentum throughout the year. Then comes Universal “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” of Disney, for which Macquarie expects the sales of tickets to the country to exceed $ 250 million. The year ends with “avatar: fire and ash”.
“Autumn generally knows ups and downs, but the trio formed by ‘Wicked: For Good’, ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ during the holiday season cannot be overestimated in its importance,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analyzes at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. “Many other films will contribute to global figures as crucial counter-programmers and mid-range pillars.”
These other versions include “Black Phone 2” by Universal, “Predator: Badlands” by Disney and 20th Studio. Paramount “The Running Man” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” by Universal.
Eric Handler of Roth Capital Partners plans that the fourth quarter box office will reach $ 2.5 billion, which would represent a jump of 7 % from one year to the next. This would bring turnover for the whole year to almost $ 9.1 billion, 5 % more than 2024.
Macquarie expectations are even higher, the financial group estimating $ 2.7 billion for the quarter and $ 9.2 billion for the year.
“And we expect the box office to continue to grow in 2026, thanks to the benefits of” Avatar: Fire and Ash “and a series of popular superproductions and licenses such as” The Super Mario Galaxy Movie “,” The Mandalorian and Grogu “,” Toy Story 5 “,” Minions 3 “,” Moana “,” Spider-Man: “,” Avengers: Doomsday “and” Dune: third part “The Macquarie team wrote.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of Fandango and Nbcuniversal, owner of CNBC. Square would become the new parent company of Fandango and CNBC during the planned spin-off of a slope by Comcast.
