Part 4/13:
The recent release slate underscores the decline: movies like Tron Aries with $65 million, or Gabby’s Dollhouse, which grossed only $16 million, symbolize a shrinking market where even modest successes are rare. Horror films and animated features, typically cheap to produce, are outperforming major blockbusters, yet their budgets are minimal, and their profitability remains questionable.
Comparative analysis of recent years reveals the stark trend: in 2024, top movies earned hundreds of millions globally (e.g., Black Adam, Venom, Joker), but 2025's offerings have fallen off a cliff. Notably, Venom and Joker numbers these days are comparable or lower than what blockbuster movies used to gross domestically in a single weekend just two years ago.