REGINA, Sask. – Well, folks, the summer box office is over and I had planned to update you on what came of it a while ago — right after Labour Day, in fact, when the summer movie season usually ends.
But unfortunately I got tied up covering other news, thanks mainly to a certain individual in Washington D.C. who likes to make comments about Canada and put tariffs on other countries.
So this column got delayed, and delayed, and delayed — and a good thing, too, because it means we now have major news to report about the big developments this week regarding the winner of the summer box office in 2026.
You may already know based on my last column that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been absolutely dominant at the box office this summer, and was within sights of toppling Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the all time domestic box office record in North America of $936.7 million.
Well, folks, they did it. On Sept. 16, it was widely reported that Spider-Man: Brand New Day passed this total to claim the all time record.
This is a humongous, momentous accomplishment. To be able to top the likes of the Star Wars franchise, the Avengers, Avatar, Titanic and the rest of them, and claim first place of all time in the home market of the movie industry — North America — is a massively big deal. Among other things, this movie likely has the box office title for the whole year all wrapped up, and it’s still only mid-September.
Congratulations to Spidey, and everyone associated with it.
As I have said before, Spidey led the way for what has been a terrific and bountiful box office this summer — the best in years, actually, topping $4.765 billion at the domestic gate. So far for the year it is at $7.44 billion and counting according to Box Office Mojo, or about 20 per cent ahead of last year.
In the top five domestic box office numbers for summer 2026 releases , we have Spider-Man: Brand New Day now at $938 million to clinch the all time record, The Odyssey from director Christopher Nolan running second at $604.8 million (and in prime position to clean up during the awards season), Toy Story 5 at $480 million, Obsession at $263.4 million, and The Devil Wears Prada 2 at $220 million.
Five other movies made over $100 million this summer as well, and we also had strong performances through the summer months from two April releases: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Mowat $429.8 million, and Michael, the docu-flick on Michael Jackson, at $372.3 million.
As for the global worldwide box office, Spider-Man: Brand New Day sits at $2.45 billion, putting it behind Avengers: Endgame at 2.799 billion and the world champ Avatar at $2.923 billion in the all time box office rankings. Reports are that the summer box office worldwide stood at $1.62 billion dollars.
Well, folks. What a great summer for the cinemas, and for movie fans. Even some of the non-blockbuster offerings did well — I’m talking about Coyote vs. Acme, which has now made all its money back for Ketchup Entertainment after sitting on the Warner Bros. shelf for years as a tax write off. It’s now up to $82 million worldwide.
This movie just keeps on bringing in the audiences, day after day, thanks to strong word of mouth and social media buzz. Some movies simply deserve to be seen, and some characters like Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are just too good to stay sitting on a shelf gathering dust.
I’d like to think this summer has been a respite from the doom and gloom we keep hearing about Hollywood, and the motion picture industry in Southern California in general. But based on the latest reports, their days are numbered. We literally could be looking at the end of Hollywood as we know it.
As you know by now, Paramount ultimately managed to wrest away Warner Bros. from the clutches of Netflix in their takeover battle. Netflix thought they had a deal only for it to fall apart and for Paramount to swoop in.
Now, it looks like Paramount’s deal could fall apart, too. They are running into a heap of anti-trust red tape and roadblocks from leaders in California, and all kinds of opposition to the takeover including from within the entertainment industry itself. So this week we are learning that Paramount is seriously considering what can only be described as the nuclear option.
Multiple reports are all over social media about how Paramount is going to leave Hollywood and leave California and that the deal is basically done. Word is that Paramount is sniffing around for office space in the Nashville area.
Now, this could all be a pressure tactic to try and convince California officials to come to their senses. In fact, as I write this, there are reports they are now deep into talks to settle their dispute over the antitrust stuff to clear the way for the takeover.
But still, it makes for nervous times for the industry. If Paramount moves to another state, the entire entertainment industry in Southern California is going to be decimated – dare I say it — AGAIN. Adding more insult to injury is word this past week that the TV show American Idol is deserting Hollywood for Georgia.
It really is a strange time, isn’t it? Here is Hollywood finally having the best summer box office in a long, long time, with numbers through the roof for not only the number one movie but also the whole box office in general, and yet a mood of uncertainty still hangs over this whole enterprise.
It truly is a strange time to be alive. See you next time.
