The 2026 box office is off to its strongest start of the post-pandemic era, with Q1 domestic revenue reaching $1.77 billion and the year on track for an 11 percent increase over 2025, according to industry trackers. The mix has surprised analysts. Project Hail Mary, the Ryan Gosling sci-fi adaptation released in March, became the biggest original non-franchise opening since Oppenheimer, pulling in over $163 million domestically. The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened in early May to $77 million, nearly triple the original film's debut.
Sequels and reboots have done their usual heavy lifting, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie pushing the franchise past $2 billion in lifetime grosses and Scream 7 turning the slasher series into a billion-dollar franchise. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael set a new record for biopic openings at $217 million globally.
Streaming has not killed the theatrical release. It has just thinned out what reaches the big screen.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Variety, Screendollars.
The 2026 box office is off to its strongest start of the post-pandemic era, with Q1 domestic revenue reaching $1.77 billion and the year on track for an 11 percent increase over 2025, according to industry trackers. The mix has surprised analysts. Project Hail Mary, the Ryan Gosling sci-fi adaptation released in March, became the biggest original non-franchise opening since Oppenheimer, pulling in over $163 million domestically. The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened in early May to $77 million, nearly triple the original film's debut.
Sequels and reboots have done their usual heavy lifting, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie pushing the franchise past $2 billion in lifetime grosses and Scream 7 turning the slasher series into a billion-dollar franchise. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael set a new record for biopic openings at $217 million globally.
Streaming has not killed the theatrical release. It has just thinned out what reaches the big screen.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Variety, Screendollars.
