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Prepared in the supplied September 2026 research pack. No site publication date. Claims and outcomes below remain the original draft’s wording.
Six years ago, movie theaters went dark and the domestic box office fell to levels not seen in decades. In 2026, Hollywood is posting record numbers again. Here's how each year went: the total, the films that carried it, and the releases that stumbled. All figures come from trade and business reporting.
One benchmark to keep in mind: 2019 brought in about $11.4 billion domestically, according to Deadline. Attendance fell 4.6 percent that year, The Hollywood Reporter noted, but 2019 is still the pre-pandemic yardstick every later year gets measured against.
Domestic total: about $2.3 billion, down 80 percent from 2019, per The Hollywood Reporter. It was the lowest total in more than 40 years, and THR reported that China's $2.7 billion box office passed North America's that year.
Winners: Films released before the March shutdowns led the year. Bad Boys for Life finished as 2020's highest-grossing domestic release, with Sonic the Hedgehog also near the top, according to year-end roundups from the Deseret News and Boxoffice Pro. Variety put the global drop at 71 percent.
Disappointments: In a year when most theaters were closed, "flop" doesn't really apply. The pandemic sank the whole release calendar, not individual films.
Status: The 2020 numbers are an outlier caused by the pandemic, not a verdict on any one movie.
Domestic total: about $4.5 billion, still 60 percent below 2019, per The Hollywood Reporter and Forbes.
Winners: Spider-Man: No Way Home opened in December to about $260 million domestically. Deadline reported that was the second-biggest domestic opening ever at the time, ahead of Avengers: Infinity War. The film gave the year a big late boost.
Disappointments: Theaters were still recovering, and many studios released films in theaters and on streaming at the same time. That makes flop-versus-hit comparisons shakier than usual for 2021.
Status: Recovery was underway but far from complete.
Domestic total: S&P Global Market Intelligence's year-end recap said the domestic box office was back to late-1990s levels. Deadline's postmortem called it a year of "continued repair from pandemic," with Disney as the market-share leader.
Winners: Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing movie of the year in the U.S., Variety reported. It passed $1 billion worldwide and moved past Titanic on the all-time domestic chart. Late in the year, Avatar: The Way of Water crossed $1 billion worldwide in 14 days, according to CNBC, and overtook Black Panther: Wakanda Forever over the New Year's weekend.
Disappointments: Year-end roundups singled out Black Adam and Disney's animated Strange World as fizzles.
Status: CNBC summed up 2022 as an "otherwise soft" year with a handful of huge hits.
Domestic total: more than $9 billion, the first time since the pandemic, per The Hollywood Reporter, CNN and Deadline. THR estimated global revenue at $33.9 billion, up 31 percent from 2022.
Winners: Barbie became the top-grossing domestic release of 2023, passing The Super Mario Bros. Movie, THR reported. The "Barbenheimer" weekend, with Barbie and Oppenheimer opening on the same day, brought in a combined $235 million, Al Jazeera reported. Wonka led New Year's weekend with $30 million.
Disappointments: Reporting on 2024 described theaters as still recovering from the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes, so 2023's gains didn't carry into the next year.
Status: 2023 is still the high point of the post-pandemic recovery through 2025.
Domestic total: about $8.7 billion, per Deadline's year-end studio breakdown. Forbes put it at $8.56 billion. Trade tallies can differ depending on cutoff dates and estimates. Reports described theaters as still recovering from the 2023 strikes.
Winners: Wicked and Inside Out 2 were among the year's clear box office winners, according to year-end winners-and-losers lists. Collider reported that Disney led all studios in domestic grosses, and reported separately that Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine drove global results.
Disappointments: Sony's Kraven the Hunter opened to about $11 million, a result The Hollywood Reporter called a bomb.
Status: The total came in below 2023's, but a few very large hits kept it well ahead of 2021 and 2022.
Domestic total: about $8.87 billion, up 1.5 percent from 2024, per Screen International. Deadline noted it was only the third year since the pandemic to pass $8 billion. Forbes reported that the year missed a widely forecast $9 billion despite a late boost from Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Winners: Zootopia 2 finished at about $424.2 million domestically. That narrowly edged out A Minecraft Movie as the highest-grossing 2025 domestic release, Deadline and Variety reported in February 2026.
Disappointments: Adult-oriented dramas struggled in the fall. Deadline pointed to Springsteen and The Smashing Machine. Variety's studio report card said Marvel struggled and that "Tom Cruise can't save Paramount."
Status: Axios called 2025 "the box office comeback that wasn't."
Domestic total so far: The domestic box office passed $7 billion in August, running about 20 percent ahead of 2025's pace, according to Deadline. That followed the best first quarter since the pandemic, at $1.77 billion, per TheWrap. Summer 2026 set an all-time domestic record of $4.76 billion, Deadline reported.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day was the fastest film ever to $800 million and then $900 million domestically. In September it passed Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing movie of all time at the U.S. box office, per Variety and Deadline.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie became the first 2026 release to pass $1 billion worldwide, Deadline reported in June.
Toy Story 5, Michael and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey were also major 2026 draws. Toy Story 5 passed $1 billion worldwide, and rankings among the year's biggest films were still shifting as of September.
Supergirl: Deadline reported in June that the DC film bombed and would lose an estimated $125 million.
Moana (live-action): Deadline estimated in July that Disney's remake could lose $100 million to $125 million.
The Bride!: It opened to $7.3 million in March, the same weekend Pixar's Hoppers debuted to $46 million.
Status: 2026 is still in progress. Final totals will depend on the fall and holiday slate.
No year since the pandemic has matched 2019's roughly $11.4 billion. 2023 came closest, and 2026 is on pace to challenge it.
Every strong year was driven by a few giant hits: Spider-Man, Top Gun, Barbie and now Brand New Day.
Costly misses have continued in good years too. 2026 has two projected nine-figure losses despite its record summer.
Box Office 2019: What Went Right & Wrong In An $11.4 Billion Year & How 2020 Is Shaping Up — Deadline, December 2019
Domestic Box Office Attendance Falls 4.6 Percent in 2019 — The Hollywood Reporter, January 2020
It's Official: 2020 Domestic Box Office Fell 80 Percent to $2.3B Behind China's $2.7B — The Hollywood Reporter, January 2021
2020 Box Office: Domestic Revenue Falls to 40-Year Low — The Hollywood Reporter, December 2020
U.S. Box Office Plummets 80%, Global Revenue Drops 71% in 2020 Amid Pandemic — Variety, 2021
'Bad Boys' and 'Sonic the Hedgehog' are at the top of the box office. Thanks, 2020 — Deseret News, October 20, 2020
The Top 10 Movies of 2020 at the Domestic Box Office — Boxoffice Pro
Box Office Ends Year 60 Percent Behind 2019 With $4.5B Domestically — The Hollywood Reporter, January 2022
U.S. Box Office Hits $4.5 Billion in 2021, 60 Percent Behind 2019 — Forbes, January 3, 2022
'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Defeats 'Infinity War' & Notches 2nd Highest Domestic Opening At The Box Office With $260M — Deadline, December 2021
2022 Domestic Box Office Postmortem: Disney Leads In A Year Of Continued Repair From Pandemic — Deadline, December 2022
2022 box office recap: Domestic box office back to late-90s levels — S&P Global Market Intelligence
'Top Gun: Maverick' Is Highest-Grossing Movie of the Year in the U.S. — Variety, 2022
'Top Gun: Maverick' Surpasses 'Titanic' for Domestic Box Office Record — Variety, 2022
'Avatar: The Way of Water' crosses $1B in ticket sales in just 14 days — CNBC, December 28, 2022
'Avatar: The Way of Water' Overtaking 'Black Panther 2' at Box Office — Variety, January 2023
'Top Gun: Maverick' and Disney were the box office leaders in an otherwise soft 2022 — CNBC, January 10, 2023
2022 box-office winners and losers: 'Top Gun,' 'Black Panther' sizzle, 'Black Adam,' 'Strange World' fizzle — Yahoo Entertainment/Gold Derby, December 2022
2023 Box Office: Domestic Revenue Clears $9B in Post-Pandemic First (Thanks, Barbenheimer) — The Hollywood Reporter, December 2023
US box office in 2023 passed $9 billion – the best total since before the pandemic — CNN, January 2, 2024
2023 U.S. Box Office Crosses $9 Billion, Led By Universal; 'Wonka' Tops New Year's Weekend With $30M — Deadline, January 2024
2023 Box Office: Global Revenue Clears Estimated $33.9B in 31 Percent Gain Over Prior Year — The Hollywood Reporter, January 2024
'Barbie' Becomes Top-Grossing Movie of 2023 at Domestic Box Office — The Hollywood Reporter, August 2023
'Barbenheimer' conquers box office with $235m opening — Al Jazeera, July 24, 2023
2024 U.S. Box Office Finals At $8.7 Billion: How The Studios Stand — Deadline, January 2025
Led By Sequels, Domestic Box Office Grossed $8.56 Billion In 2024 — Forbes, January 5, 2025
The 2024 Domestic Box Office Lands at $8.7 Billion With Disney Leading All Studios — Collider, January 2025
The 2024 Global Box Office Touches Tremendous Heights Thanks to 'Inside Out 2', 'Deadpool & Wolverine' — Collider, 2025
2024 box-office winners and losers: 'Wicked,' 'Inside Out 2' bring the green, 'Kraven' shoots blanks — Gold Derby, 2024
Box Office: 'Kraven the Hunter' Bombs With $11M Opening — The Hollywood Reporter, December 2024
North American box office hits $8.87bn for 2025, up 1.5% on disappointing 2024 — Screen International, January 2026
Domestic Box Office Crosses $8 Billion For 2025, Third Time Since Covid — Deadline, December 2025
Box Office Misses $9 Billion Projection Despite End-Of-Year Boost From 'Avatar' — Forbes, January 1, 2026
The 2025 box office comeback that wasn't — Axios, January 2, 2026
'Zootopia 2' At $424.2M Bests 'A Minecraft Movie' As Highest Grossing 2025 Domestic Release — Deadline, February 2026
Box Office Bombs: Adult Movies Like 'Springsteen', 'Smashing Machine' Struggle — Deadline, October 2025
Box Office Studio Report Card: Warners' Bets Pay Off, Disney Scores but Marvel Struggles, Tom Cruise Can't Save Paramount — Variety, 2025
US Box Office Posts Best First Quarter Since Pandemic With $1.77 Billion — TheWrap, 2026
2026 Domestic Box Office Soars Past $7 Billion, +20% — Deadline, August 2026
Box Office: How Summer 2026 Hit a Record $4.76 Billion in U.S. — Deadline, September 2026
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Becomes Fastest Movie to Hit $800M at Domestic Box Office — The Hollywood Reporter, 2026
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Is Fastest Film to Cross $900 Million at Domestic Box Office — Variety, 2026
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Overtakes 'Star Wars: Force Awakens' as Highest-Grossing Movie of All Time at Domestic Box Office — Variety, September 2026
Box Office: 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Becomes Top-Grossing Movie Ever In U.S. — Deadline, September 2026
Box Office: Super Mario Galaxy Movie Passes $1B, First Film of 2026 — Deadline, June 2026
'Supergirl' Bombs At Box Office, Will Lose $125 Million — Deadline, June 2026
'Moana' Bombs At Box Office, Could Lose $100 Million-$125 Million — Deadline, July 2026
Box Office: 'Hoppers' Opens To $46M, 'Bride' Bombs with $7.3M — Deadline, March 2026
Toy Story 5 Worldwide Box Office: Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide — Koimoi, 2026
Spider-Man and The Odyssey lead summer movie winners and losers — Gold Derby, 2026
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