LISTEN: 'Weapons' Impresses as Summer Box Office Haul Stays Flat; Why Telluride is the Ulimate Movie Lover's Binge Cynthia LittletonSeptember 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM Chris Willman/Variety Flat is not the new up when it comes to the summer box office.
- - LISTEN: 'Weapons' Impresses as Summer Box Office Haul Stays Flat; Why Telluride is the Ulimate Movie Lover's Binge
Cynthia LittletonSeptember 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Chris Willman/Variety
Flat is not the new up when it comes to the summer box office.
This year's tally for the crucial May to September moviegoing frame came in at $3.67 million, as Brent Lang, Variety executive editor and longtime chronicler of the B.O., details on the latest episode of "Daily Variety" podcast. That's about on par with summer 2024, and that's not a good thing because this year's slate of summer films was much more robust.
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"It's pretty disappointing because going into the summer, there was an expectation that the slate was very strong, that there were a lot of returning franchises. You had two Marvel movies, you had 'Superman,' you had a 'Jurassic World' film, and there was a lot of hope that [summer B.O.] would actually be able to hit or even eclipse $4 billion," Lang explains. "The last time we did that was 2023, where you had Barbenheimer."
Hollywood studios need to pay attention to a shift in the wind and the tastes of regular moviegoers, Lang says.
"What's happening is that Hollywood has seen declining interest in some of its more venerable franchises. And that's a problem. You're seeing some tastes that are really shifting," he says. "Heading into this summer, the idea that 'Lilo & Stitch' would be the year's biggest hit or that 'Weapons' would be a big hit or, that 'Jurassic World' would end up outgrossing 'Superman' and 'Fantastic Four.' I don't think anybody would have predicted that."
Also in the episode, Peter Debruge, chief film critic for Variety, gives a rundown of the mood, the vibes and the Bruce of it all at the Telluride Film Festival, which just wrapped its traditional four-day Labor Day weekend run. There was big rock 'n' roll energy at the high-altitude gathering this year as director Scott Cooper, star Jeremy Allen White and subject Bruce Springsteen gathered to launch the 20th Century Studios biopic "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere." In Debruge's view, White nailed the assignment.
"He's really terrific. it's tricky because, Springsteen doesn't seem like such a hard person to capture. He's so All-American. You feel like there are probably 20 actors who could play him, but is there a single one besides Jeremy Allen White who could sing the songs where I thought I was listening to Springsteen?" Debruge enthuses.
Debruge was also mightily impressed by "Hamnet," the latest from helmer Chloé Zhao. The Focus Features film revolves around the fallout on William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes from the death of their son, who was named Hamnet. Zhao "reached into the deepest part of her soul and pulled out this movie," Debruge says. "The movie is about the loss of Shakespeare's son and the impact that has on the parents. Jessie Buckley is just astonishing. It really is a cathartic experience for the audience to watch. I'm giving myself goosebumps remembering what it felt like to be in that room."
(Pictured: Jeremy Allen White at Telluride)
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