It’s time for my annual look at the summer 2026 movie box office.
Criteria
Information below is taken from Box Office Mojo, Metacritic, and Wikipedia; figures are as of August 30, 2026. “Summer” is defined as from the first weekend of May through the end of August (Labor Day runs late this year, and likely won’t change things much at this point).
The top 10 films (domestic)
Figures are taken from Box Office Mojo. Metacritic scores are in parentheses (green = “recommended,” orange = “mixed reviews,” red = “avoid”).
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony), $891,507,928 (66)
- The Odyssey (Universal), $563,821,605 (88)
- Toy Story 5 (Disney/Pixar), $478,805,859 (73)
- Obsession (Focus Features), $263,451,715 (77)
- Michael (Lionsgate), $242,499,556 (39)
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney), $220,556,651 (63)
- Backrooms (A24), $197,523,513 (76)
- Minions & Monsters (Illumination), $182,778,010 (70)
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (Disney/Lucasfilm), $177,730,060 (53)
- Moana (2026) (Disney), $126,061,370 (42)
The top 10 films (global)
Figures are taken from Box Office Mojo.
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony), $2,332,507,928 (66)
- The Odyssey (Universal), $1,552,604,605 (88)
- Toy Story 5 (Disney/Pixar), $1,129,456,859 (73)
- Michael (Lionsgate), $1,021,945,850 (39)
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney), $692,677,651 (63)
- Minions & Monsters (Illumination), $513,407,010 (70)
- Obsession (Focus Features), $505,746,715 (77)
- Backrooms (A24), $394,122,453 (76)
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (Disney/Lucasfilm), $345,838,060 (53)
- Moana (2026) (Disney), $308,511,370 (42)
My thoughts
Unlike other summers, this one saw attention to a few films with original plots—i.e., films that aren’t reboots, remakes, sequels, or from an existing franchise. “Backroom” and “Obsession” drew attention for appealing to Gen Zers. However, I think a lot of people, regardless of their age demographics, want original films. Not just stories they already watched years ago, or films using older characters/franchises.
Still, the top grossing films this summer are from existing franchises, or in “The Odyssey”’s case, an ancient Greek epic. The new Spider-Man film “Brand New Day” broke records; as of this writing, it’s the highest grossing film of 2026, as well as the fourth-highest grossing film of all time (before adjusting for inflation).
For whatever reason, the latest “Minions” film didn’t churn out the billion-dollar or near-billion-dollar grosses of previous films. For Disney, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Moana” didn’t print money as expected; some online joked naming the former film “Baby Yoda” might have helped.
The rest of the world seemed to love the Michael Jackson documentary more than North America did. Also, “The Devil Wears Prada” clearly has enough fans to make it a popular sequel (and a sequel option that doesn’t involve superheroes, cartoons, or sci-fi).
Overall, this is one of the top-grossing summers in years, even compared to before the pandemic. However, NPR notes a few downsides: higher ticket prices, plus fewer films, screens, and customers.
Recommended summer blockbusters
Going by Metacritic’s scores, most of this summer’s blockbusters are deemed worth watching. The best films out of the top 10 include:
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- The Odyssey
- Toy Story 5
- The Devil Wears Prada 2
- Minions & Monsters
- Obsession
- Backrooms
Looking at the next ten top-earning films, the best options there include:
- Disclosure Day (74)
- The Sheep Detectives (72)
- The End of Oak Street (69)
Out of the few films I saw this summer, the one I enjoyed the most is “Coyote vs. Acme” (77), which finally saw a release after its tortured treatment. Meanwhile, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” felt like a longer episode of the TV show, versus an event-level film like, well, “Star Wars.”
Image: Left to right: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (Sony/Marvel); “Minions & Monsters” (Illumination); “Toy Story 5” (Disney/Pixar)
