Movie theaters just delivered a record-breaking summer.

The 2026 summer movie season officially finished with an estimated $4.76 billion at the domestic box office, setting a new all-time record for the industry and narrowly surpassing the previous mark set in 2013.

According to Rentrak figures reported by Deadline, the previous record stood at approximately $4.756 billion. A strong Labor Day weekend was enough to push 2026 across the finish line and into the top spot.

Matt Damon, The Odyssey [universal pictures]

A pair of massive blockbusters played a major role in getting there.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day dominated the latter half of the summer, spending six consecutive weekends at No. 1. The Tom Holland-led Marvel film has now earned more than $923 million domestically and over $2.4 billion worldwide.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey was another major contributor. The Universal epic has earned approximately $589 million domestically and more than $1.6 billion worldwide.

Universal ultimately finished as the summer’s top studio with approximately $1.23 billion domestically, with The Odyssey accounting for nearly half of that total. Disney finished second with $1.03 billion, while Sony also crossed the $1 billion mark thanks largely to the enormous success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

But the summer wasn’t powered entirely by established franchises.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day [marvel studios]

Movies including Backrooms, Obsession, Michael and Disclosure Day helped demonstrate that audiences were also willing to show up for original films. Horror in particular proved successful with younger moviegoers, while releases across several genres helped bring a wider range of audiences back to theaters.

The numbers represent another major step forward for an industry that has spent years recovering from the effects of the pandemic, production shutdowns and the rise of streaming.

There is an important caveat to the record. The $4.76 billion figure is not adjusted for inflation, and today’s higher ticket prices, including premium IMAX and other large-format screenings, mean fewer actual tickets were sold than during some previous blockbuster summers. The 2026 summer season was also seven days longer than the comparable 2013 period.

Still, in terms of raw domestic box office revenue, summer 2026 now stands alone at the top.

Toy Story 5 [pixar]

And Hollywood isn’t finished yet.

With major releases including Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three still on the calendar, analysts believe the domestic box office could surpass $10 billion for the full year for the first time since 2019.

After years of questions surrounding the future of the theatrical experience, 2026 has delivered a pretty convincing reminder that audiences are still willing to head to the movies when the right films are waiting for them.

The search for the next James Bond may be further along than fans realize.

Gary Oldman has raised eyebrows after claiming that the actor who will succeed Daniel Craig as 007 has already been selected, despite Amazon MGM Studios making no official casting announcement.

While promoting the latest season of Slow Horses on Canada’s The Morning Show, Oldman was asked about his co-star Jack Lowden, whose name has continued to surface in conversations surrounding the coveted role.

“It’s been rumored that he is on the shortlist. We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack,” Oldman said.

Oldman’s wording immediately sparked speculation that he may have knowledge that a decision has already been made behind the scenes. However, his comment about keeping his fingers crossed for Lowden also leaves open the possibility that Oldman does not actually know the identity of the actor selected.

For now, Amazon MGM has not confirmed that a new Bond has been cast, and Oldman did not explain how he came by the information.

Lowden has become one of several actors linked to the role. The Scottish actor currently stars alongside Oldman as MI5 agent River Cartwright in Apple TV’s Slow Horses. His film credits also include Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Benediction and Mary Queen of Scots.

The next installment will mark the beginning of a new era for the long-running franchise. Denis Villeneuve, the filmmaker behind Dune and Dune: Part Two, is set to direct, while Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the screenplay. Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing the film for Amazon MGM Studios.

Craig concluded his 15-year run as James Bond with 2021’s No Time to Die. Since then, speculation over his successor has become one of Hollywood’s biggest ongoing casting conversations.

Whether Oldman knows something the rest of us don’t remains unclear. But if his claim that the decision has already been made is accurate, an official announcement revealing the next 007 could finally be getting closer.

A Spider-Man suit worn by Andrew Garfield during the production of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has found a new owner, and the final price is surprisingly affordable for a piece of superhero movie history.

The costume sold at auction for just $2,650, before the addition of a 25 percent buyer’s premium. The auction closed on September 1.

While that might sound like an absolute steal for an authentic Andrew Garfield Spider-Man costume, there is a reason it didn’t command the six-figure price sometimes associated with screen-used superhero memorabilia.

The suit was a production-worn practice suit rather than one of the hero costumes featured on camera in the finished 2014 film.

Garfield wore the costume during production for rehearsals, stunt preparation and camera blocking. Practice suits allow actors, stunt performers and filmmakers to plan complicated action sequences without risking damage to the considerably more expensive costumes intended for principal photography.

That distinction dramatically affects its value to collectors, but it doesn’t change the fact that the costume was actually used during the making of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and worn by Garfield himself.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 [sony pictures]

The relatively low price becomes even more surprising when compared to another famous Spider-Man costume.

In 2025, a Spider-Man suit associated with Tobey Maguire and used during the production of Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 sold for approximately $289,000, far exceeding its original $100,000 to $200,000 estimate.

Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 costume remains particularly popular among fans. The redesigned red-and-blue suit introduced in the sequel moved away from the look of Garfield’s first film and delivered a design much closer to Spider-Man’s traditional comic book appearance.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 auction suit [sony]

Garfield starred as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014 before eventually returning to the role alongside Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

For one collector, $2,650 was enough to own a genuine costume worn by one of the three live-action Spider-Men. It may not have swung across the screen, but considering its connection to Garfield and the production of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it’s still a pretty remarkable piece of Spider-Man history.