An earlier version of this report incorrectly cited grosses for June instead of July. It has been corrected.
U.S. box office revenues hit a record $3.3 billion in the second quarter, thanks to a strong run of blockbuster sequels and family-friendly films.
Box office revenues from April to June are up 22.9% since the same time span last year, making the second quarter the largest quarter in cinema history. Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” and Universal’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” were big contributors, bringing in domestic grosses of $439.7 million and $264.8 million as of July 1. In April and May, Marvel’s “Avenger’s: Infinity War” and Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” contributed $672.5 million and $187.2 million. Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Entertainment are subsidiaries of the Walt Disney Co. DIS, +0.73% and Universal Pictures is a subsidiary of Comcast Corp. CMCSA, +0.15% Paramount Pictures is a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. VIAB, +1.33%
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The previous record for a quarter was $3.1 billion in the second quarter of 2015.
Analysts are also looking to a rosy third quarter. MKM Partners’ Eric Handler is expecting the third-quarter box office to grow 4% compared to last year, thanks to releases in July such as Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” Sony/Columbia’s SNE, +3.63% “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” and Universal’s “Skyscraper” and “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
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August is expected to be a big month, with Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” opening on July 27. Disney’s “Christopher Robin” and Lionsgate’s LGF.A, +1.67% “The Spy Who Dumped Me” will open August 3, and the highly-anticipated romantic comedy, “Crazy Rich Asians,” distributed by Warner Bros., has a release date of August 27. Warner Bros. is a subsidiary of WarnerMedia, which was recently acquired by AT&T T, +0.44%
“There can be no doubt now that when Hollywood makes appealing movies, Americans flock to movie theatres in huge numbers,” said CEO and president of AMC Theatres AMC, -0.87% Adam Aron in a statement.
Last year’s third-quarter domestic box office was down 14% from the year before, with August 2017 revenue the lowest it had been since 1997.
Disney shares were down 0.5% in Monday trade, and are down 3% in 2018. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.24% , which counts Disney as a member, is down 2.3%, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.76% has gained 1.3%.
