Long Live the Summer Blockbuster

It’s been an incredible year for movies. The 2026 summer movie season kicked off with Blumhouse’s Obsession, which had unusual staying power for a horror film, followed closely by Backrooms, an indie horror film that gave A24 its best opening weekend ever. These early releases were, however, mere harbingers for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which rapidly surpassed $1 billion in gross revenue and will likely become the acclaimed director’s crowning achievement thus far.

None of this is particularly shocking. Obsession and Backrooms cater to Gen Z, with tales reminiscent of a paranormal activity episode. Nolan films always launch to great fanfare, and The Odyssey has been teased for the better part of a year. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day, however, is something different. Marvel’s latest movie nearly broke the opening-weekend box office record held by pre-pandemic Avengers: Endgame. Thanks to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Matt Damon’s Odysseus, the weekend of July 31st through August 2nd was the biggest collective weekend in box office history.