Box Office: Domestic Ticket Sales Up 20% From Last Year as Hollywood Awaits ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel, ‘Dune 3’ and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Nov 15, 2026 11:04am PT Box Office: Domestic Ticket Sales Up 20% From Last Year as Hollywood Awaits ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel, ‘Dune 3’ and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

By Rebecca Rubin

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Rebecca Rubin

Senior Film and Media Reporter

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It’s been a triumphant year for movie theater owners, who are basking in the long-awaited box office rebound. Domestic ticket sales are already 20% above the same point in 2025, and that’s before a “Hunger Games” prequel, a third “Dune” and another “Avengers” installment hit the big screen.

With revenues at $8.76 billion through Nov. 15, according to Rentrak, the industry is poised to exceed $10 billion in North America for the first time since the pandemic upended the theatrical business. Prior to COVID, yearly ticket sales were regularly nearing or surpassing the $11 million mark. In the past half-decade, though, revenues have stalled below $9 billion, with receipts tapping out at $8.87 billion in 2025 and $8.7 billion in 2024 and $8.91 billion in 2023. This year, returns eclipsed $8 billion by October, a milestone the industry didn’t reach until December last year.

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