Back waaaay before the pandemic, we used to look at the weekend box office numbers and ruminate with Monday morning cocktails to dissect what people went to see and how the industry is doing in general. Well, we’re bringing it back. Here’s your brand new Monday Morning Hangover Report.

🗞️ Weekend Notes & Industry Highlights

After opening at over $125 million, this weekend Superman fell to Earth a bit, but continues strong at the time and cementing its flagpole status in James Gunn’s new DCU. Jurassic World and F1 showing robust staying power. Meanwhile, the march of studio risk aversion in the form of modestly performing reboots signals that franchise fatigue and rebooting old ideas is getting stale (and before you think studios are going to go OUTSIDE this lane, Basic Instinct is rumored to be rebooted…) Outside the US, Lilo & Stitch‘s $1 billion triumph and the upcoming Fantastic Four hype point to a month ahead that belongs to the globally scaled universe sagas.

🍿 Top 5 Domestic Films — July 18–20, 2025

Box office numbers (numbers via Boxoffice Mojo)

1. Superman

  • Weekend gross: $57.25 million

  • Domestic total: $235 million

  • On it’s second weekend, the film earned robustly despite a 54% decline from its debut, dropping only about 24% from Friday to Sunday – an impressive rebound fueled by strong word‑of‑mouth. With a global box office of $406.8 million against a $225 million budget, it’s now ahead of Superman Returns and Man of Steel but remains shy of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight numbers.

2. Jurassic World: Rebirth

  • Weekend gross: $23.4 million

  • Global total: $648 million

  • Holding in second place, it maintained consistent audience appeal, crossing into the global $600 million club this weekend. While showing a 42% drop from its previous weekend, the film continues a strong international run.

3. I Know What You Did Last Summer

  • Weekend gross: $13 million (debut)

  • Domestic total: $13 million

  • A moderate reboot, launching in third place with middling reviews. Its opening aligns with expectations for this franchise relaunch.

4. Smurfs

  • Weekend gross: $11 million (debut)

  • Domestic total: $11 million

  • The animated relaunch landed in fourth, mirroring the performance of its brother reboot I Know What You Did Last Summer, earning on par over the weekend.

5. F1: The Movie

  • Weekend gross: $9.615 million

  • Domestic total: $153.6 million, global total: $460.8 million

  • In its fourth weekend, the Brad Pitt–led racing drama took fifth place, holding well with a modest 26% weekend decline.

Sippin’ and Thinkin’ This Monday Morning

1. Blockbuster Rigidity & Box Office Trends

Superman continues to defy typical summer drop patterns. 54% second‑weekend dip is historical industry standard, its weekend-to-weekend retention show strong DCU audience loyalty and healthy outlook for DC’s revamped franchise.

Hollywood is currently enjoying a 16% increase in domestic summer box office compared to last year, approaching $2.6 billion total so far. This weekend reinforces the resilience of tentpole fantasies and comic‑book IPs. And with some really interesting films, including this coming weekend’s Fantastic Four, the box office outlook continues to look good.

2. International Titans & Global Tallies

Unsurprisingly, Lilo & Stitch is crowned the first Hollywood film of 2025 to hit $1 billion globally – a significant win for Disney and the hybrid live-action/animation model. It now ranks as 2025’s second-highest grossing title behind China’s Ne Zha 2, and the top live-action/animation hybrid ever.

Meanwhile, Jurassic World: Rebirth edges closer to $650 million worldwide, underpinning Universal’s summer stability.

3. Reboots & Franchise Weaknesses

Both I Know What You Did Last Summer and Smurfs reboot efforts opened modestly in the low teens – only average for this competitive summer season. Horror remakes, especially, are delivering underwhelming returns. Eddington (an indie A24 entry) launched quietly with $4.2 million domestically – a decent result given fewer screens.

4. F1 Film Scam Alert

The theatrical success of F1: The Movie didn’t come without complications. A sharp increase in cybercrime has been reported, with scammers impersonating film promotions – fake streaming sites and “toy giveaway” phishing schemes targeting the enthusiasm around the movie. Audiences should remain vigilant.

5. Coming Attractions

Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, set to release July 25 (US), sees impressive presales ($13 million) but is projected slightly behind Superman’s opening pace domestically. International markets, however, may tip the scales in the MCU’s favor.

🔎 Final Takeaway

It’s good to be back with The Monday Morning Hangover Report, with a strong Bloody Mary and feeling good about the box office in 2025 and beyond. See you next week!

Monday Morning Hangover Report