A24 Just Out-Muscled Warner Bros. and Paramount at the Summer Box Office

Summer at the movies has long belonged to the biggest studios. Franchise sequels, superhero team-ups and family animation usually fill the calendar, while smaller distributors fight for whatever is left around the edges. That pattern held for so long that it started to feel like a rule of the industry.

This year, though, the 2026 summer box office broke a few of those rules. Audiences filled theaters for an unusual mix of releases, from epic blockbusters to micro-budget horror hits. The season also set a domestic record, helped along by ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey,’ which together contributed more than $1.5B to the total.

Now a surprising piece of the final tally is drawing attention. A24 finished the summer with a higher share of the domestic market than both Warner Bros. and Paramount, according to Variety, a result that DiscussingFilm highlighted on X. Data reported by The Hollywood Reporter puts A24 at 5.5%, ahead of Warner Bros. at 5% and Paramount at 4.5%.

Global Box Office described it as the first time an indie distributor has ended a summer ahead of a Big Five studio. Universal, Disney and Sony dominated the season with about 26%, 22% and 21% respectively, roughly 70% of the total. The gap between A24 and the two legacy studios is modest in percentage terms, but it is significant given A24’s much smaller theatrical footprint.

The exact dollar figures vary by tracker. Variety’s numbers, as reported by Screen Rant, had A24 at $237M, compared with $165M for Warner Bros. and $192M for Paramount. Deadline’s summer rankings, covering May 1 through Sept. 7, put A24 at about $244M, ahead of Warner Bros. at $239.3M and Paramount at $219.8M. In both accountings, A24 finished on top.

One film drove most of the surge. ‘Backrooms,’ based on Kane Parsons’ viral web series, opened on May 29 to $81M domestically from 3,442 theaters, A24’s biggest opening ever. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and was made for a reported $10M.

It has since grossed roughly $402M worldwide, making it A24’s highest-grossing release of all time. That kind of return on a small budget helped push the company far beyond its usual range.

‘Backrooms’ was not the only contributor. Olivia Wilde’s comedy ‘The Invite’ reached about $26M domestically and $55.7M worldwide, a rare summer hit for a comedy. The Anthony Bourdain biopic ‘Tony’ earned about $15M domestically after posting one of the year’s best limited openings.

Earlier in the year, ‘The Drama’ starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson earned about $132M globally. Not everything worked, and ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ underperformed with about $5.3M domestically. Still, the slate helped A24 look more like a mini-major than a boutique label.

A24’s rise was helped by weaknesses at its rivals. Warner Bros. had a tough summer, with DC Studios’ ‘Supergirl’ earning just $126.4M worldwide against a reported budget of more than $170M. One report said Warner Bros. dropped 76% from summer 2025, when ‘Superman,’ ‘Weapons’ and ‘F1’ powered a much stronger season.

Paramount never found a breakout, and ‘Scream 7’ was its top summer performer at nearly $122M domestically. The context matters, too, because Paramount Skydance’s planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery has raised questions about how the combined studios will release films. David Ellison has vowed the two studios will release 30 theatrical features a year together.

Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said that in 2026 audiences showed up for an eclectic mix of films. Big event movies delivered the popcorn experience, while micro-budget titles such as ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ disrupted the traditional idea of summer success. He also said the season shows that one movie should not have to carry an entire summer.

A24 also seems to benefit from its brand. One report said more than half of the audiences surveyed in 2026 chose A24 films because they trusted the company name. That kind of loyalty is something the biggest studios often spend billions trying to build.

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