The New York Times recently reported that the 2025 summer box office in the United States and Canada was the worst since 1981, marking the lowest point in 44 years. According to the Times, multiplexes had their worst summer after adjusting for inflation and excluding the Covid pandemic years.
This summer was expected to mark a strong recovery for the North American box office following the pandemic slump. In May, Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment, the largest theater operator on the continent, told analysts that the industry was seeing a “dramatic reawakening” and predicted that Hollywood’s summer movies would be very successful. The common saying in Hollywood had become “Survive till ’25,” as if the survival of the industry depended solely on enduring the moment, regardless of product appeal or quality.
The New York Times questioned whether Hollywood should accept that many moviegoers in North America may never return and if movie theaters have permanently lost 20 to 25 percent of their customers. As John Nolte of Breitbart points out, the answer is clear. It’s unrelated to the pandemic, streaming, or early home video releases. It’s appeal.
Nolte points out that if the pandemic and changes in viewing habits caused the worst summer box office in 44 years, then why did the summers of 2022, 2023, and 2024 manage to produce better results? The Times indirectly acknowledges part of the problem lies in the quality of movies, criticizing tired franchises such as Superman, Jurassic Park, and the various Marvel films for not delivering as they once did.
The reality is that movies today are not attracting enough interest. Nolte continues:
Let’s face it, though — movies suck today. So far, of all the movies released this year, I can only see myself bothering to watch F1: The Movie, Sinners, and Weapons again. What does that tell you?
Here are all the titles released in 1993 I own on Blu-ray: Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, The Firm, Sleepless in Seattle, Indecent proposal, In the Line of Fire, Cliffhanger, A Few Good Men, Groundhog Day, Dave, Cool Runnings, The Crying Game, Demolition Man, The Pelican Brief, Last Action Hero, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Good Son, Addams Family Values, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Falling Down, Son in Law, Hard Target, The Sandlot, The Age of Innocence, Point of No Return, A Perfect World, Menace II Society, Loaded Weapon, Striking Distance, Benny & Joon, Rudy, and I’m missing a few.
He also points out that at the time, audiences had access to the equivalent of streaming with over 100 cable channels, big-screen TVs, surround sound, video games, and personal movie collections. The poor performance at the box office is directly linked to the decline in quality. Pure and simple. Leadership in Hollywood has to change because it is dominated by a culture that hates the audience, which is why it alienates both its customers and the franchises it controls and eventually destroys.
Hollywood’s survival depends on making movies people want to see, not on making excuses about pandemic or streaming distractions. Do better, Hollywood.
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English (US) · 