Two years ago, I spent the summer working at a movie theater. While it was not glamorous work, it was a unique experience, one that also afforded me a front row seat to the exciting summer movie season.
Since I had firsthand experience with the moviegoing crowds, I subsequently published a retrospective article examining ten lessons we could learn from the preceding summer season of blockbusters.
Sadly, I no longer work at a movie theater, but I do still have a strong grasp of how cinema fared this summer. In addition, I followed the box office results to some shocking twists and inspiring turns. Thus, I thought it'd be fun to digest this summer's films and see what we've really learned about cinema's current state.
Like last time, many of these entries won't be too surprising, especially if you've been keeping up with cinema's hottest films. However, these 10 lessons from the blockbuster season not only show how audiences had fun this year, but why they'll continue to choose the cinema as their premiere form of summer joy.
1. Nolan's Winning Streak Continues
For a while, it seemed that Sir Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey might be destined for box office disappointment. Coming off of the Oscar winning and money raking Oppenheimer (2023), it seemed unlikely that Nolan would be able to exactly match that success. Throw in a reasonably epic budget and unreasonably ridiculous backlash online, and it seemed possible that Nolan's new film might fail to deliver the results we're used to seeing.
However, those worries were erased in less than a weekend, as the film sailed to immediate success. With the aid of some IMAX cameras, Nolan's grand retelling of Homer's epic poem proved to be a must see event. It's hype only grew after its release, as fans clamored back for repeat IMAX and 4DX showings, which eventually earned a 1.69 billion box office haul, a record for the R-rating.
From a critical perspective, The Odyssey also earned rave reviews. Though some detractors naturally hated it, the consensus opinion praised the film's performances and undeniable scale. Nolan's adaptation not only felt perfectly tuned to the gritty vastness of the Greek mythology, but included some surprising changes that amplified the story for modern audiences.
While not everyone enjoyed Nolan's version, it was easily one of the most talked about and viewed films of the summer. From its runtime to its production to its screen sizes, Nolan's film embodies what it means to be epic. Whether he nets himself a few more Oscars or not is to be determined, but for now, Sir Christopher Nolan remains the most undeniable man alive in Hollywood.
2. But Marvel Returns as the King of Cinema
Still, as grand as The Odyssey was, even Christopher Nolan gets surpassed sometimes. This year, Nolan's outdoer proved to be none othen than your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Truthfully, Spider-Man: Brand New Day proved to be the exact hero Marvel needed after last year's disappointing trio of releases. After both The Thunderbolts* (2025) and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) failed to generate box office results, many doubted the MCU's staying power, especially as rumors swirled from Avengers: Doomsday's production.
Then, Tom Holland swung back into the role and changed everything. With a more grounded approach than the MCU's recent multiversal shenanigans, Spider-Man: Brand New Day captivated audiences with great action, resonating character development, and a tense, surprising story. In fact, no prior Spider-Man film has captured the character quite as well from his incessant loneliness to his constant heroics that stretch Peter Parker across Marvel's wide comic toybox.
Now, it was apparent early on that Spider-Man would be a hit, yet few realized just how gargantuan its run would be. As of now, the film has become the third highest grossing movie ever made, surpassing the likes of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and Titanic (1997). Domestically, the film recently surpassed Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), proving that Americans love Spidey as much as any other hero.
While one could cynically suggest that any movie starring Spider-Man would make a billion easy, that wasn't the case for prior films like Homecoming (2017), Into the Spider-Verse (2018), or the Amazing Spider-Man films. Instead, Marvel deserves credit for delivering a well-written, character driven story that people wanted instead of a cameo driven CGI slugfest. Though opinion on Marvel remains split, their rule has been reestablished and you can expect it to be extended further this December.
3. The Horror Genre is Thriving
The horror genre has done well for itself pretty much since cinema's inception, evolving when needed and adapting to trends more easily than other genres thanks to its smaller budgets. But the 2010's were a bit of a mixed horror bag, as remakes and uninspired copycats plagued cinemas. There were some gems here and there, but for the most part, the decade was notably unhorrific.
However, the genre has been thriving this decade and nowhere is that clearer than in 2026. This year has seen a number of notable horror successes that not only took cinemas by storm but made their budgets back several times over. Some of these releases are more original than others, but they all resonated with audiences' need for compelling tales of terror.
Obviously, there was Obsession, a film that made half a billion dollars off a budget of under one million. The film's plot of a wish gone wrong not only appealed to millions, but proved ripe for some atmospherically brilliant thrills. From the online memes to its eye catching marketing, the film became a phenomenon of its own, breaking records and bringing crowds well after it had released.
Then there was Backrooms, a psychological thriller inspired by the internet creepypasta. Though it didn't quite have an Obsession level run, its dedication to its fans became a craze of its own. The film eventually pulled in nearly 400 million off an under 10 million budget, an incredible success in its own right for a film based on an online urban legend.
The summer saw some other horrific successes, such as Scary Movie's quietly impressive run and The End of Oak Street's family thrill ride. However, it was Obsession and Backrooms' releases (which both came in May) that showcased the control horror can have over the market when done right. While I can't say that studios will learn the right lessons from these films, their ingenuity and sheer storytelling prowess prove that the horror genre is thriving as much as ever.
4. Summer MVP: Anne Hathaway
As far as Hollywood goes, this was a summer of stars. Legends of cinema like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks continued to impress viewers, while newcomers such as Inde Navarette and Jaafar Jackson proved they are talented and hungry enough to entertain the next generation. Some actors even starred in multiple projects, as Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, and Robert Pattinson took on a number of impressive roles this year.
With that being said, nobody on this planet had a better summer than Anne Hathaway. Over twenty years into her illustrious, Oscar winning career, Hathaway starred in a whopping five films this year, with three coming this summer.
In fact, Hathaway kicked off the summer with her long awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2. The film was not only fairly well received, but resonated with audiences who were clearly still interested in the original's characters and fashion world. The film was summer's first big hit and currently sits as the sixth highest grossing movie of the year.
Then, Hathaway joined Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey. I already praised Nolan's success earlier, but it'd hard deny how instrumental Hathaway is to the film's emotional capability. While Matt Damon delivers an aging warrior grappling with trauma, Hathaway gives him a reason to keep fighting. It's Hathaway's vulnerable performance as a queen riddled with grief and doubt that elevates Nolan's film above a basic survival thriller. Hathaway doesn't get a ton of screen time, but she dominates every scene she's in, ensuring that her name will reappear on next year's awards circuit.
Lastly, Hathaway appeared in the pulpy, fun dinosaur thriller, The End of Oak Street. While this one probably won't be in the Oscar conversation, Hathaway proves her acting capability by portraying one half of failing marriage. Alongside Ewan McGregor, Hathaway struggles with her identity all while running from dinosaurs and stabbing giant snakes in the back. Again, Hathaway makes the most of her screen time, playing into the emotional crisis one might have if transported to the Mesozoic era.
Actors have had great years before, but I'm not sure anyone in Hollywood has been quite as prolifically affective as Hathaway was this summer. The actress also recently announced she would be joining Tom Cruise for Days of Thunder 2 (2028), so there's really no end to Hathaway's career in sight.
5. Familiar Faces Fall
Of course, not everyone can have an Anne Hathaway summer. As with every blockbuster season, some films are dead on arrival, failing to connect with audiences before being shoveled towards the streaming entertainment heap. While some duds like Eli Roth's Ice Cream Man were easy to see coming, some familiar brands and faces really struggled to prove their cinematic worth.
First off, there was Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day. After an exciting trailer full of suspense and wonder, it seemed like we were due for a sci-fi Spielberg classic. But after some divisive reviews, audiences didn't really seem interested and flocked elsewhere for their family entertainment. While the film was a moderate success, it barely doubled its production budget, indicating that it'll go down as a loss for the iconic director.
Then, there was the new Star Wars film. Now, Disney's handling of the brand has been contentious, but they've never really struggled to make money with even some undeniably poor entries. Alas, The Mandalorian and Grogu came and went with a fraction of the fanfare the franchise seemed to have six years ago. The film still managed to bring in 345 million, but that sum lands it as the least successful Star Wars film ever made.
But Star Wars wasn't the biggest failure of the summer. Instead, that honor goes to James Gunn's newly rebranded DC universe, who released the incredibly disappointing Supergirl. Failing to capitalize off their successful start last year, DC's latest film bombed with critics before completely bombing at the box office. While it may not be the worst superhero film ever released, it's box office certainly suggests so, coming in even behind Sony's much maligned Morbius (2022).
While Spielberg, Star Wars, and DC have been staples of cinema since the 70's, all failed to prove their relevancy this year. They weren't alone, as Disney's pointless Moana remake and Illumination's seventh entry into their Despicable Me franchise both disappointed. As such, there was no shortage of familiar brands that lost a bit of grip this year, showcasing the everchanging landscape of popular cinema.
6. Originality is Not Completely Back, But We're Getting There
While many familiar franchises struggled to maintain their traction, a sizable gap emerged for something Hollywood has lacked for decades: originality. Yes, for many, this will be the year that originality struck back against the franchise's stranglehold on cinemaplexes everywhere.
Okay, perhaps I'm being hyperbolic. Afterall, of the five billion dollar films this year, three are sequels, one is a remake of an Ancient poem, and the other a biopic of one of the most famous men who has ever lived.
Still, originality is clawing its way back even if it hasn't completely taken over.
For example, many of the summer's successes were original films. There's obviously Obsession, a frightening horror film that combines a bit of magic with severe relationship abuse and bloodshed. I've already expounded upon this film enough, but its success shows that audiences are craving original stories with biting entertainment.
In addition, we also got Backrooms, The End of Oak Street, The Invite, and the surprisingly fresh The Sheep Detectives. While none of these films were exactly groundbreaking, they all exhibit sharp writing and creative storytelling that made audiences excited to see something new.
Plus, once you factor in 2026's earlier successes such as Project Hail Mary, Hoppers, GOAT, The Drama, and Send Help, and it's clear that Hollywood's original output is getting stronger. We still have a long way to go before these films can contest with Spider-Man and Matt Damon, but I've never been more excited about what creative films I'll see next.
7. There's No Easy Money
As my previous two points attest to, Hollywood's landscape is rapidly changing. The familiar franchises that have garnered hits for decades faltered this summer, while original ideas with smaller budgets took big bites out of the box office. Sure, some franchises still took a victory lap or two, but not without sincere effort. As such, there's no easy money anymore for Hollywood, and studios must work for their receipts.
For example, let's look at the summer's two biggest hits, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The former required an immense amount of technical effort and epic on set production that Hollywood rarely commits to today. With Nolan prioritizing practicality over CGI, his epic fantasy flick would always entail a larger budget than most blockbusters. Of course, Nolan delivered a spectacle worth seeing and the box office dividends have yet to cease.
Then there's Spider-Man, whose aforementioned success has seemingly saved Marvel Studios. To some, this film is the definition of easy money, as Spider-Man remains arguably the most popular superhero of all time.
However, Marvel's brand had been dimming for a while before this summer, especially as they've struggled to properly do their multiverse storylines justice. While Marvel could have given us another bonkers story full of cameos and other Spider-Men (which is reportedly what Sony wanted), they delivered a thoughtful story that pushes Parker's character arc further. Sure, it's still a Spider-Man film, but one that takes every opportunity to prioritize storytelling over spectacle.
What these two films exhibit most is that audiences are demanding higher efforts of storytelling. The artificial blockbusters of the past that have been serviceably entertaining simply aren't connecting with audiences anymore. Films like Supergirl and Moana might have been surefire hits a decade ago, but failed to differentiate themselves in the current landscape. Truly, there are no easy money grabs anymore and studios will have to work for record breaking results.
8. Streaming Takes A Step (Or Two) Back
Though most of the summer movie season takes place at the cinemas, there are also a great many films that make their debut on the little screen. For those who don't feel like going out, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple, and others offer a well curated array of films that are intended to be just as good as what the theaters have.
Except, that didn't really happen this year. Instead of streaming taking further undercutting the movie theater industry, most of the direct to streaming films fizzled on arrival. Some of the summer's more disappointing streaming releases include the middling trilogy capper Enola Holmes 3, the uninspired survival thriller Apex, the dully named mystery The Whisper Man, the decade too late sequel Camp Rock 3, and the awfully maligned Gal Gadot vehicle The Runner.
Now, too be fair, not every streaming movie was a dud. Remarkably Bright Creatures proved to be an inventive, crowd pleasing flick. However, for me at least, most of the worst movies I've seen this year were Netflix originals. While Hollywood has produced their fair share of soulless cash grabs, Netflix's drab output always feels worse to me.
Of course, streaming usually relies far more on tv shows than films. However, that felts oddly absent this summer as well. While you can't expect a Stranger Things level hit every year, no summer tv show really left an impact like Hollywood's best blockbusters did.
As a whole, streaming felt like an afterthought this summer, a place to revisit every so often to see if you had missed any films at the theater. While streaming's output will likely get better as the year goes on, they did not come within sniffing distance of the cinema's best films this year, a fact that'll likely anger Netflix's CEO.
9. But Movie Theaters are BACK
Despite the failures of some familiar franchises, movie theaters themselves have had an incredible year. In fact, the domestic box office haul is the highest its been since 2019, a legendary year that gave us Avengers: Endgame, Knives Out, and Parasite.
While having solid, exciting movies to see has been a great help, theaters themselves made a considerable contribution to the summer's overall success. For instance, breakout success Obsession obviously made a large impact. However, it was that theater experience, that complete immersion in the dark, twisted romance that propelled it into a phenomenon. The film reportedly even had to delay its streaming debut because audiences were still selling out theaters well into its run, proving the theater to be integral to the film's experience.
Then, of course, there was The Odyssey. Nolan's film was not only epic, but made with maximum scale in mind as it was shot entirely on IMAX cameras. Though it ended up playing everywhere, 70mm IMAX tickets were immediately hot commodities, with fans scrounging to see it as early and often as possible. This led the film to take over IMAX showings for months, and eventually became the most successful IMAX release of all time.
Of course, the box office as a whole only reinforces how much of an appetite audiences still have to see stories sprawl over the big screen. That's exactly why Obsession has become the most profitable film of all time, The Odyssey has become the highest grossing R-rated film of all time, and Spider-Man has become the highest grossing film domestically.
When stories are worth seeing, audiences will flock to theaters repeatedly. Many have doubted the long term sustainability of the theater system (myself included), but this summer might just be the shift in the tide that reminds studios what a great story can do when shared with the world.
10. This Might Be the Best Year for Cinema this Decade
Let's wrap things up with a hyperbolic, but still cautiously optimistic question. Is this the best year for cinema since 2019?
Make no mistake, this decade has offered a lot of great cinematic moments. Since 2020, we've seen Tom Cruise fly in to save cinemas, some nostalgia laced MCU thrill rides, a few of the weirdest Best Picture winners ever, and the unmissable Barbenheimer phenomenon.
Still, the summer of 2026 has shown that this year might just top them all. The creative zest for telling new stories, regardless of budget, has resulted in a high number of intriguing, brilliant films. The big budget tentpoles like Spider-Man and The Odyssey took creative risks that paid off, while smaller horror films dug their teeth into audiences in with great cinematography and editing. Even less adventurous sequels like Toy Story 5 and The Devil Wears Prada 2 felt far more worthwhile than expected, offering heartfelt stories that justified their existence and augmented previous films.
As the prior entry shows, the box office reflected this creative explosion, as audiences gladly contributed to record breaking films that earned their price of admission.
However, this summer also felt different. I remarked 2 years ago in my 2024 edition of my summer in review that the barrier between summer blockbuster and prestige film had never felt wider. While that summer featured a number of excellent blockbusters, none proved to be critical hits. The same could be argued for 2025 as well.
I don't think that's the case for 2026. Regardless of how the next few months shake out before awards season officially begins, I think many of this summer's biggest names will be around Oscar night. Nolan's The Odyssey is the obvious candidate, but there's also buzz surrounding Obsession, Michael, and the pre summer hit Project Hail Mary. While I don't think anything like Spider-Man or Mario will win an Oscar, that there are still four blockbusters generating Oscars buzz this far out means that cinema is truly thriving.
Undeniably, this summer has proven itself to be an all timer for film. From the productions prioritizing practical filmmaking to the blockbusters that are utilizing actual storytelling again, these past four months or so have shown that brilliant filmmakers are waiting to take up the mantle for the next generation.
Perhaps more importantly than being the banner year of the 2020's thus far, 2026 stands as the first year where it feels like we can be genuinely excited about the future of cinema. Yes, stalwarts like Marvel and Nolan aren't going anywhere, and the same goes for franchises and sequels as a whole. But original, creatively shot films are on the rise, pointing their camera in beautiful directions to give audiences stories and experiences they'll never stop coming to the theater to experience.