Box Office Hits Key Milestone Without Marvel For First Time In History
The box office has hit a key milestone without Marvel for the first time in history. This year has seen several non-franchise films finding success at the box office, with Michael ($857M), Project Hail Mary ($677M), Hoppers ($434M), and Wuthering Heights (246M) ranking among the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2026. Meanwhile, Obsession ($148M) is on track to become one of the most profitable movies ever made, while Backrooms ($117M) has become A24's biggest opening ever. Now, according to The Wrap, the domestic box office has hit $1 billion in the month of May without a Marvel movie for the first time in history. After years of underwhelming results, the box office is showing signs of a full recovery, as domestic ticket sales topped $1 billion in May for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, and only the ninth time in history.
What makes the achievement even more notable is that, unlike the previous eight occasions, this year's milestone was reached without a Marvel movie, whether part of the MCU or not, driving ticket sales. While final figures are still being tallied, Box Office Mojo currently estimates that theaters in the U.S. and Canada generated approximately $1.06 billion in revenue during the month. The first May to surpass $1 billion at the domestic box office was in 2009, led in part by the non-MCU movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Other billion-dollar Mays followed in 2011 with Thor, 2013 with Iron Man 3, and 2014 with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past. The milestone was also reached during each of the four years an Avengers movie was released in theaters: 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2019. For a time, it appeared that another Marvel-driven billion-dollar May was all but certain, as Avengers: Doomsday was originally slated for the familiar late April/early May release window that helped propel several of its predecessors to box office success. However, after Disney shifted the movie to December, Lionsgate stepped in with Michael, which ultimately became the month's biggest earner with $210 million domestically.
However, Disney still maintained a strong presence in the early summer lineup with 20th Century's The Devil Wears Prada 2, generating $209 million at the domestic box office during May. The sequel's strong performance helped offset the disappointing Mandalorian and Grogu, which still contributed a respectable $137 million domestically, but suffered the largest second-weekend drop ever for a movie that debuted over Memorial Day weekend.
The movies that ultimately pushed May past the $1 billion threshold were the unexpected breakout hits that have reshaped industry expectations. Obsession and A24's Backrooms emerged as the month's biggest surprises. Through Sunday, Obsession had transformed its $17.1 million opening weekend into a domestic total of $104.7 million, propelled by intense word-of-mouth and post-release buzz that turned it into a must-see event. Meanwhile, Backrooms delivered a massive debut this past weekend, opening to $81 million domestically. The launch shattered A24's previous opening-weekend record by more than threefold and ranks as the fourth-largest opening ever for a horror film at the box office.
