U.S. box office heads for best post-pandemic year despite lower attendance
Domestic ticket sales were on pace for about $6.2 billion, but attendance was still 27% below 2019 even as average tickets hit $13.29.
Domestic box-office revenue was on track to reach about $6.2 billion, the strongest post-pandemic year so far, even as theater attendance stayed well below its old baseline. Through July, U.S. moviegoing was up 8.1% from 2025 but still 27% below 2019 levels, showing how much of the recovery has come from pricier tickets and bigger event titles rather than a full return of frequent visits.
That pattern was already visible in 2025, when domestic box office reached about $8.87 billion while attendance came to roughly 780 million moviegoers, down about 5% from 2024. The year’s revenue was carried by blockbuster franchises and a smaller group of original films, including Obsession, leaving the market less dependent on any one genre but more reliant on movies that could break through as theater-worthy events.
Ticket pricing did much of the rest of the work. A 2025 ticket-price analysis put the average U.S. ticket at $13.29, up 5.7% from the prior year, while premium large-format tickets averaged $17.69, up 4.9%. That gap matters because it turns each strong opening weekend into more revenue per patron, even when the number of patrons is not growing as quickly.
Cinema United, which represents the largest circuits in North America as well as hundreds of independents and international members, said in its December 2025 update to the Strength of Theatrical Exhibition report that Gen Z was the most frequent moviegoing cohort, with 41% of Gen Z attendees going to theaters at least six times that year. Younger audiences helped steady the recovery, but the overall pattern still pointed to a narrower, more expensive outing for consumers.
For studios, that makes release calendars and marketing strategies more dependent on a handful of tentpoles and sharp openings. For theaters, the revenue rebound has been welcome, but lighter foot traffic still leaves concessions, occupancy and expansion plans exposed. The box office has healed faster than the habit of going to the movies.
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