Had the grosses for the first week of Avengers: Infinity War, opening April 27, been included in the 2018 summer tally, domestic revenue would have all but matched the record $4.75 billion collected at the box office in summer 2013.
Still, this year’s summer season, kicking off May 4 and wrapping on Labor Day, made a spectacular recovery over 2017, when revenue limped to $3.8 billion, the worst showing in 10 years. Revenue between May 4,
2018, and Sept. 3, 2018, hit nearly $4.4 billion, the biggest year-over-year uptick (14 percent) in two decades and the fifth best of all time, according to comScore.
Attendance was up as well, by roughly 10 percent. “This is a substantial rebound,” says John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “And…
