Australian box office tops $100M for three straight months – a first in history.
Sydney, Australia – The Australian box office has delivered a historic milestone, with April, May and June 2026 each surpassing $100 million, marking the first time the market has ever achieved three consecutive $100M+ months.
The record-breaking run caps off a standout first half of the year, with cinema admissions in Australia up +16% year-on-year.
Across the first half of 2026, a strong mix of franchise films, event cinema and original content powered attendance, with standout performances from Wuthering Heights , Project Hail Mary, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and The Devil Wears Prada 2, while musical biopic Michael has become the highest grossing movie of the year to date.
Momentum has accelerated over the past fortnight with the release of Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters, further lifting box office performance and laying a strong foundation for the July school holiday period.
The outlook for the second half of 2026 is strong, with major global releases expected to drive audience demand.
Key upcoming titles include the live-action Moana, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, all set for release this month and positioned to be record-breaking theatrical releases. A broader pipeline of diverse content is also expected to maintain momentum through the remainder of the year.
Guy Burbidge, Managing Director of Val Morgan Cinema, said, “Three consecutive $100M+ months is a landmark achievement and proves just how strongly Aussies love watching movies at the cinema. These record-breaking numbers are a result of not just the best content on the planet, but a sustained investment in the cinema experience itself, with the expansion of IMAX across Australia, alongside premium screen formats such ScreenX and HOYTS’ newly introduced APEX screens - truly signalling the strength of the industry. Demand for immersive entertainment is at an all-time high, and these formats deliver experiences audiences can’t get anywhere else.”
He added, “The depth of our slate is incredibly strong, with a diverse and high-quality pipeline of releases set to carry this momentum through the remainder of the year and into 2027.”
See the upcoming slate here: www.valmorgan.com.au/movies
Source: Numero, CineTAM.