2026 Box Office Report: The 5 Movies That Hit $1 Billion (And What Flopped)

It’s August 2026, and the box office year has been pretty stellar so far. We’ve gotten five movies that made over $1 billion worldwide at the box office and other movies that made a strong profit. At a time when there are concerns about how many people are really going to the theaters, this is a positive sign. It also says a lot about what kind of movies the general audience wants to see. First, let’s look at the five movies that made $1 billion worldwide so far:

The first movie to accomplish this in 2026 was The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Its predecessor in 2023 also made over $1 billion. Despite getting mixed to negative reviews from critics and making less than the previous Mario movie, fans who love Mario went out and saw this movie, having a great time with all the Mario references. Characters like Yoshi, Star Fox, Bowser Jr, and Rosalina were being introduced. It was a movie that appealed to everyone of all ages, from kids to adults who grew up playing the Mario video games. Its average CinemaScore was an A-, showing that those who went and saw it enjoyed it.

The second movie to gross over $1 billion was Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic. Similar to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it got mixed to negative reviews from critics. That didn’t stop a ton of Michael Jackson fans from going out and having a great time. 17 years after Michael Jackson’s death, his fans still love his music, and those who were either not born yet or too young to remember the legend saw this movie and became new fans. For a biopic, this is an amazing achievement. Michael also received an A- on CinemaScore.

The third movie was Toy Story 5, and this is an easy one to see make over $1 billion. Toy Story is one of the most popular franchises of all time. Everyone loves Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the big cast of characters. The last two Toy Story movies both made over $1 billion. Similar to its predecessors, the movie got great reviews and appeals to audiences of all ages, from young kids experiencing their first Toy Story movie in theaters to adults who remember watching the first Toy Story movie in theaters back in 1995. On CinemaScore, Toy Story 5 got an A.

Next up is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is the fastest movie to reach $1 billion this year and, as of now, the only movie in 2026 to make $2 billion, breaking several records. Tom Holland Spider-Man movies usually do well at the box office, as Spider-Man: Far From Home was the first Spider-Man movie to get to over $1 billion and Spider-Man: No Way Home broke several records despite coming out during the COVID-19 pandemic, so this was no surprise. If anything, it’s surprising how quickly it topped Spider-Man: No Way Home’s box office. Spider-Man alone is the most popular superhero worldwide, and his movies typically do well regardless of who plays him. Along with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being popular with general audiences, the movie got the best reviews in the MCU since Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s the last MCU movie before the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday, it was the long anticipated sequel to No Way Home where fans wanted to see what Spider-Man has been up to since Peter Parker was forgotten, and had characters like Punisher and Hulk appearing. Spider-Man: Brand New Day scored a high A on CinemaScore.

The fifth and last movie in the 2026 $1 billion club is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, based on Homer’s tale. Most of the time, Christopher Nolan movies do well at the box office. The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises both made over $1 billion, and Nolan’s last movie, Oppenheimer, nearly reached that goal in 2023. Despite some dumb backlash leading up to The Odyssey involving the casting choices Nolan made, the movie got great reviews. Audiences also loved it, as it received an A on CinemaScore. What’s remarkable is that The Odyssey is the third R-rated movie to make $1 billion worldwide after Joker and Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s possible that The Odyssey, by the end of its theatrical run, will be the highest-grossing R-rated movie worldwide. The Odyssey in the weeks after its second weekend held up well despite Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s release and success.

While these next movies didn’t make $1 billion worldwide, they still did amazing at the box office and made a profit. The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Project Hail Mary both made over $600 million worldwide and got good reviews, which is good for a movie that is a sequel to a movie from twenty years ago (The Devil Wears Prada 2) and a movie based on a novel that’s only 5 years old (Project Hail Mary). Obsession became one of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time and one of the most profitable movies of all time, making over $400 million worldwide while also getting great reviews. Backrooms also did well for a horror movie, making over $300 million worldwide and getting good reviews.

These movies did well because they were movies audiences wanted to see. Audiences nowadays want to see great movies that feel like events. Even if critics may not love the movies, like Michael and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, those movies still feel like events that were marketed well. Some movies like Toy Story 5, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and The Odyssey come from franchises and directors audiences have full trust in. They also want newer projects like Obsession and Project Hail Mary that will provide unique and fun theater experiences. With how expensive tickets are, fans who are picky with the movies they see in theaters want it to be worth it.

Now, not every movie has done well in 2026. The Mandalorian and Grogu and Supergirl were box office disappointments. Unlike the movies mentioned, though, they didn’t get great reviews. They got mixed to okay reviews at best. They weren’t marketed well, like some of the successful movies that didn’t get the best reviews. Fans don’t have the same trust in Star Wars anymore as they still do with Toy Story and Spider-Man. DC still has a lot of work to do before it has the same level of audience trust that Marvel has. The people who saw these movies felt they were generic and didn’t break any new ground. They didn’t feel like a movie worth watching on the big screen.

Overall, 2026 has been a big box-office year so far, and it's still not done. In December, fans still have Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three to see, and those are expected to be big box office hits. It’s clear, based on the results of the box office, that fans want movies worth going to theaters to see and not cookie-cutter okay movies.

What are your thoughts on the biggest movies of 2026? Let us know in the comments below.