This summer weekend, which is almost the midpoint of the calendar year, is as good a time as any to take stock of how the box office is faring so far in 2025. And, once again, the industry will be left scrutinizing conflicting signals about the health of the market, what’s on trend with audiences these days, and where it’s all headed. To wit: This weekend, we saw Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, the third installment in a zombie franchise that kicked off in June 2003, rampaging to some $60 million globally, half of that in the U.S., while Disney/Pixar’s Elio floundered with a $35 million global opening. In the past, you’d expect no problem with a summertime pairing of a Pixar movie with an adult-skewing genre flick—Finding Nemo next to The Italian Job; Wall-E with Wanted, etcetera. But the meaning of what qualifies as “theatrical” has changed. Perhaps Disney/Pixar animated originals no longer have the juice.