Australia’s cinemas have crossed A$1 billion at the box office in 2026, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey helping turn a run of blockbusters into a national milestone.
Ticket revenue is up 24% year-on-year, according to cinema advertising company Val Morgan’s latest figures, drawn from Numero. The total covers films screening across Australia, with five consecutive months from April to August each bringing in more than A$100 million.
Spider-Man and The Odyssey now rank fifth and ninth respectively among the highest-grossing releases of all time at Australian cinemas. Together, their takings have overtaken the combined haul of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the pairing that made “Barbenheimer” a phenomenon in 2023.
The momentum started early. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s Wuthering Heights helped deliver the strongest Valentine’s Day box office since 2016, while Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 powered a record May. June to August became Australia’s highest-grossing winter cinema season.
Horror has played its part too. Obsession became Australia’s highest-grossing horror release, with Backrooms and Resident Evil joining the genre’s all-time top ten locally.
There is still a sizeable final act ahead. Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three arrive in December, giving cinemas another major double bill before the year is out.
