Film friends old and new keep the summer season hot around the world in June. The month held the high levels of past months at the global box office grossing $2.81 billion. The International (excluding China) and Domestic markets-combined delivered the best June of the decade with $2.58 billion, ending just shy (-2%) of the pre-pandemic three-year average (2017-2019). The second Quarter in total is only -1% behind that benchmark. With $7.85 billion, Q2 was also the best quarter since 2019!
The Global year to date of $14 billion, excluding China, is clearly the best first half of a year since 2019 (-11%) too, up on all post-pandemic years (2025: +17%; 2024: +23%; 2023: +9%, 2022: +35%). Moreover, it’s the best half year at all this decade, +1% above the second half of last year.
Including the disappointing Chinese performance this year, the total global box office after the first half of 2026 is estimated at $16.6 billion. This is currently tracking slightly ahead of 2025 (+2%) and marginally below 2023 (-1%), but more clearly ahead (+11%) of 2024. The global box office is further -17% (or $3.5 billion) below the average of the last three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019) at current exchange rates.
Top Titles
As in May a wide variety of movies contributed to the great June result. Seven globally released movies grossed over $100 million. Four of them were new releases. Combined they grossed $1.74 billion, which represents 62% of the month’s global total.
The obvious highest grossing global release in June was Disney’s TOY STORY 5 with an impressive $630 million. Following the long running franchise entry, the second highest grossing movie in June was Universal and Focus Features’ OBSESSION. The original, surprise phenomenon added $230 million for a massive $378 million total. On the heels of OBSESSION, two more horror-related releases followed in the global June ranking. In a neck-and-neck race BACKROOMS and SCARY MOVE both grossed $218 million within the month. This increases A24’s BACKROOMS cume to an incredible $336 million at the end of June. The fifth highest grossing global release in June was DISCLOSURE DAY with $199 million.
At #6 in June, Lionsgate’s MICHAEL added another $133 million for a $979 million total. In its third month in release MICHAEL, which is internationally distributed by Universal, has now surpassed the huge heights of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY ($904m) and OPPENHEIMER ($976m) to become the highest grossing biopic of all time. MICHAEL will likely end slightly above $1 billion globally!
The seventh highest grossing global release in June was Amazon MGM’s MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, earning $111 million.
Domestic
June was the second $1 billion grossing month this year for the Domestic market, even improving on the previous month’s result by +3% to $1.08 billion. It’s the fifth highest grossing month of the decade. The +28% year-on-year growth makes it the highest grossing June since 2019 (-3%). It was also the fifth time this year that the individual month grossed more than the same month year-on-year in the Domestic market and the third time in double digits. The gap to the pre-pandemic benchmark is the second best in the past twelve months with -6%, and rank #9 for the decade.
This success was driven by a wide variety of films. For the second month in a row four movies were able to gross more than $100 million within a month. That is the first time this decade. TOY STORY 5 reigned with $319 million at #1, followed by OBSESSION, which added $131 million for a $237 million cume. At #3 SCARY MOVIE contributed $104 million, and BACKROOMS added $103 million for an $184 million cume at #4.
It was not only the highest grossing movies that made the difference it was the broadness of titles performing on multiple significant levels. Nine releases grossed more than $30 million in June. This marked an upwards development being achieved for the second month in a row and the fourth time in the past twelve months, but it had only previously happened twice since 2019. On top of that, 14 movies in total achieved more than $10 million in June. That is the highest number since January this year (14).
June closed the highest grossing Domestic quarter this decade. Its $2.99 billion is +10% above Q3 in 2024 ($2.72bn), the previous best. As historically the most prosperous Domestic quarter of the year, the gap to the three-year average is the third best, only being -3% below. That is marginally behind Q3 2024 (0%) and Q3 2023 (-1%).
At the end of the first half of 2026, the Domestic cume for the running year is at $4.8 billion. It’s the second best half-year since 2019. Only behind the second half of 2024 (-7%). Due to the excellent Q2 result the gap to the three-year average has narrowed to -18% down from -35% at the beginning of the quarter. The cume runs +15% ahead of last year at the same time and +7% above the period in 2023, the prior peak of this decade.
International box office (excluding China)
The International box office (excluding China) recorded the second month in a row performing above the pre-pandemic benchmark. It is only for the fourth time this decade it has happened. It’s +2% is the third best, only behind this May (+12%) and July 2023 (+7%). This is as well the highest June since 2019 (-12%), up marginally on June 2024 (+1%). It’s the seventh month in a row that records a year-on-year growth. Further, nine of the past 10 months have performed better than the same month in the prior year!
Finishing up an outstanding quarter. It’s the highest grossing one this decade with $4.86 billion. Marginally +1% ahead of Q3 2023. This Q1 is as well +1% above the pre-pandemic benchmark. The first quarter to cross the benchmark. Q3 2023 also was the best so far, being -3% below.
The first half ends as best half year of the decade for the International box office (excluding China). Grossing $9.26 billion, which is +3% above the second half of 2025, the prior best. The gap to the three-year average is single digit for the first time with only -7%!
China
In a very challenging year for China, the decent May results was an exception. June came in as second lowest grossing month in the past 12 with just $238 million. For the fourth time this year the month was below the same month last year, all in double digits. In this case June was not only down -14% year-on-year, it was the lowest performing June this decade (2024: -27%; 2023: -61%; 2022%: -16; 2021: -21%). The gap to the three-year average was -57% in June.
No title was able to cross $100 million in June. The clear number one remained surprise hit DEAR YOU, adding $75 million to a $281 million total. TOY STORY 5 came in at #2 with $32 million, which is a very good result for a US production in China in recent times. At #3, Hong Kong action highlight THE FURIOUS grossed $29 million. These three titles had a combined market share of 57% in June.
This soft month closes a weak quarter in China. Of the 24 quarters since re-opening, this Q2 is the fourth lowest in China, a disastrous -55% below the pre-pandemic average. The half-year is just a tad better, although the trend is getting more severe. The total of $2.6 billion is the lowest of the decade with the exceptions of the main cinema shut down years 2020 and 2022 (+1%). It’s down in double digits on the other years at the same point in time (2025: -40%; 2024: -28%; 2023: -33%, 2021: -36%). The gap to the pre-pandemic benchmark is -40%.
Outlook
For the first time since 2019, the global box office has reached a level of consistency. No single break out months, no dependency on single titles, single genres, a single distributor, or single territory. The year so far has been characterized by constant growth, multiples hits for a wide variety of target groups by an broad range of distributors around the world.
The first quarter was lifted by original movies. The second quarter continued that with MICHAEL, DISCLOSURE DAY and especially OBSESSION and BACKROOMS, two horror originals by young first-time filmmakers emerging from a digital ecosystem. Additionally big franchises gave a major push. First time sequels, old (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2) and new (THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE), plus newest instalments of multiple decade old franchises that haven’t been in cinemas for a while like TOY STORY 5, STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU and SCARY MOVIE.
It’s the mix, it’s the variety, it’s the consistency that created the successful first half of 2026.
In July, one of the most prosperous periods of the year and one of the few consistent months over this decade, the bar should stay high. With new instalments of two of the biggest franchises (MINIONS & MONSTERS, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY), MOANA 2 and Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY, nearly every week has a blockbuster.
