The summer box office rebounded due to the success of "Inside Out 2" and "Deadpool & Wolverine."

• Despite a 10% decline in ticket sales compared to 2023, the domestic summer box office exceeded expectations with $3.6 billion in revenue.
• The summer movie season began with a 22% decline in the domestic box office, missing out on the usual Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster to kick things off.
• The summer period saw a surge in ticket sales thanks to the unlikely partnership of "Inside Out 2" and "Deadpool & Wolverine" from Disney.

A decade-low summer movie season was anticipated by box office analysts and cinema owners a few months ago.

Despite the presence of anthropomorphic emotions and a foul-mouthed antihero, the summer box office managed to earn $3.6 billion in ticket sales, which is a 10% decrease from the previous year. However, this is still a significant improvement from the industry's initial predictions.

As the summer of 2023 generated $4 billion in revenue, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, predicted that expectations for May 2024 would be tempered, with a more modest summer revenue result anticipated.

The domestic box office experienced a 22% decline during the summer movie season, which spans from May to Labor Day, and failed to have the usual launch of a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

Since 2009, there hasn't been a blockbuster superhero film to kick off the summer box office, and it showed.

Marvel Studios has consistently launched successful moviegoing seasons over the past two decades, with only two summer films in the franchise generating less than $100 million on opening weekend, excluding pandemic years.

Despite strong marketing efforts and solid reviews, Universal's "The Fall Guy" failed to drum up ticket sales during its domestic debut and stalled out shy of $100 million during its domestic run.

"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" was a high-octane action flick that only managed to snare $67 million during its domestic run.

Disney's "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" exceeded expectations, grossing $171 million during its run.

The box office experienced a significant increase in moviegoers in mid-June with Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out 2" breaking records and revitalizing the animation studio. By Labor Day, the film had become the highest-grossing summer movie, generating $650 million in box office receipts.

According to Dergarabedian, the transition from May's gloomy weather to June's boom was much needed, and a series of box office successes sparked a chain reaction that continued into August.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" boosted the summer box office with its late July release, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film ever, earning over $600 million domestically through the holiday weekend.

Alongside breakout hits like Disney's "Alien Romulus," Sony's "It Ends With Us," and "A Quiet Place: Day One," Universal's "Despicable Me 4," "Twisters," and "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" also contributed significantly to the summer box office. Additionally, the 15th anniversary re-release of "Coraline" by Fathom generated $31 million in ticket sales.

The highest August ticket sales since 2016 were due to these titles, resulting in over $900 million in revenue.

The third-quarter box office results are expected to be strengthened by the continuation of the summer's momentum into the fall.

"Eric Handler, an analyst at Roth MKM, wrote in a research note published Tuesday that our confidence in a better than projected 3Q result is strengthened by a robust September lineup of releases, including 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' (now projected to have an $80 million+ opening weekend), horror title 'Speak No Evil,' and animated features 'Transformers One' (anticipated to have a $40 million+ opening) and 'The Wild Robot.' If September ends up with low double-digit growth from the previous year, the quarter would finish down low single digits."

Despite the ongoing impact of last year's labor strikes on the cinema schedule, there are several exciting movies set to be released in the near future.

Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, stated that while there may not be a pound-for-pound juggernaut like 'Inside Out 2' or 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' the upcoming sequels from popular franchises such as Beetlejuice, Transformers, Joker, Smile, and Venom provide ample reasons for moviegoers, theaters, and studios to be excited about the next two months.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.