The Fall Guy," a $125 million production, brought in just $28.5 million in its domestic box-office debut this weekend

Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures' $125 million production brought in just $28.5 million in its domestic box office debut this weekend.

Despite a few blockbuster hits in recent years, such as 2023’s Barbie and Oppenheimer, or 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, ticket sales have stubbornly remained a third below pre-pandemic levels, putting the crucial summer box office season that begins the first weekend in May at risk.

“This summer’s box office appears likely to suffer both from a smaller overall film slate and a relative lack of top-tier franchise pictures,” said Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen. Sales are down 22% year over year, “and we expect summer box office to perform at that level or worse.”

Streaming services surged in popularity during the pandemic, teaching consumers to expect a constant stream of new movies and TV shows to watch at home, all for less than the cost of a weekend trip to the cinema.

Netflix Inc., which recently announced a worldwide subscriber base of 270 million, offers its standard streaming plan for $15.50 a month, approximately the price of a single movie ticket in many markets.

To differentiate the theater experience from what consumers can enjoy at home, theater owners are increasingly offering larger-screen formats, such as those offered by Imax Corp., which significantly boosted ticket sales for Dune: Part Two and Oppenheimer. The latter has grossed close to $1 billion globally.