This summer’s box office is set to hit $4 billion for the 13th time ever, up 16% over last summer. Barbie and Oppenheimer, which together rep 22% of that figure, created a blast radius, finally bringing infrequent moviegoers back to cinemas after Covid had sidelined audiences.

However, with the ongoing strikes set to upset both the production and post-production pipeline, next summer may not be so rich.

“The spring movies will wind up becoming the summer movies next year,” one box office insider predicts with doom and gloom.

Cosplayers hold Barbenheimer signs at San Diego Comic-Con

How big was this summer in terms of demand? It was the season that made moviegoing a special participatory grab-your-friends-get-excited thing again, which the industry was even lacking in a bit despite the 2022 rally of Top Gun: Maverick and the previous 2021 carryover success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It was a moment when 6 a.m. Imax...