Now that we’re more than halfway through 2026, it’s hard to deny the obvious— movie theaters are BACK! Box offices have recently revealed that during this summer season, American theaters racked in over 4 billion dollars— the first time this figure has been surpassed since 2019. What once seemed like an establishment about 2 streaming service hits away from bankruptcy is now rich and more alive than ever in recent memory. 

It’s not like this is solely because studios started making ‘good movies’ out of nowhere — but there’s a certain kind of excitement these current summer movies generate that somehow feels different from years prior.  If I had to guess why we’re all suddenly cramming into our local Regals, I’d say it’s both a mix of younger crowds longing for physical, communal outings that are still relatively (RELATIVELY) cheap, and this recent line of movies feeling like a well-needed departure from sloppy sequels and remakes. 

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Box office titans like The Odyssey feel grand in presentation, leaving audiences with a perfect balance of respect for the classics and the 21st-century urge to make silly little memes about a piece of literature older than most countries. Even as a superhero-agnostic individual, it’s hard to deny the heart of Spiderman: Brand New Day, a series finally cured of multiverse-itis and fully free to showcase how much of a lovable little loser Peter Parker really is. I’m honestly a little in awe of how good Minions vs. Monsters was, truthfully. Telling friends it’s a “love letter to classic Hollywood” always gets confused looks from those unindoctrinated, but it truly was such a fun time (don’t tell anyone, but I liked it a liiiiiittle bit more than Odyssey). Obsession and The Backrooms made a splash earlier in the summer, but still hold up strongly even amongst long-running series and fortified directors, proving that even the strangest of ideas can still get traction amidst sequels and reboots. Did you know that Kane Parsons was only 20 years old while making TheBackrooms?

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Frankly, this is all a little self-explanatory… if it weren’t for the fact that I’m historically TERRIBLE at movie-going. I’m definitely a performative Letterboxd user— not in the sense that I watch films no one’s ever heard of, but in the sense that I barely ever go to theaters and usually live under a rock when it comes to Oscar hits. If anything, I take the fact that I suddenly somehow saw fifteen movies this summer as a mark of progress for the movie theater industry. It really does seem like a case of momentum at this point: I go to one movie, enjoy my experience, hear about another incredible movie in the same day, and decide to put time aside for that one, too. Plus, the infectious joy from fellow moviegoers about this summer’s generational run of movies certainly motivates me to keep coming back. 

I think I’m getting the hang of this cinephile schtick! Maybe soon you’ll know me as Kennon Cummings, AMC A-lister, having fully memorized the theater’s national anthem and everything. Watch out, Kidman! 

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