October 2025 Sees Lowest Box Office in 30 Years

October was a tough month for movie theaters, with ticket sales hitting their lowest point in more than 30 years.

Big releases like Disney’s “Tron: Ares” and Dwayne Johnson’s “The Smashing Machine” struggled to attract audiences, leaving the total box office for the month at just $425 million.

According to Comscore, this is the worst October haul since 1997, when films like “Kiss the Girls,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and “The Devil’s Advocate” brought in $385 million (unadjusted for inflation).

Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, said, “An inauspicious Halloween ended a rather challenging month of October at the box office.”

Halloween weekend itself was especially weak, with just $49 million in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday. Paramount’s “Regretting You” and Universal’s “Black Phone 2” topped the North American charts, but overall turnout was low. Analysts pointed to a mix of factors: a lack of major new releases, trick-or-treating on Friday night, and even the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series in a thrilling Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

A few films did perform well, such as Taylor Swift’s “The Release Party of a Showgirl” and Sony/Crunchyroll’s “Chainsaw Man,” but they couldn’t make up for big misses. High-profile films like Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” ($7.8 million), Disney and 20th Century’s “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” ($20 million), and Jennifer Lopez’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” ($1.6 million) underperformed.

Expensive productions like “Tron: Ares,” which cost $180 million to make but only earned $126 million globally, and A24’s “Smashing Machine,” with a $50 million budget and $19 million in revenue, added to the financial losses.

Despite the disappointing October, the year has had its highs and lows. April saw strong numbers from “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners,” while March was disappointing with titles like “Snow White” and “The Alto Knights.”

So far, 2025 box office returns are 2.9% ahead of 2024, but that gap has been shrinking since summer, when ticket sales were 25% higher than last year. Domestic revenue still trails pre-pandemic 2019 figures by more than 22%.

Looking ahead, analysts are optimistic about the holiday season. Bock added, “Not to fear though. Holiday season kicks into gear next weekend — and Hollywood will be breathing a huge sigh of relief.” Films like “Zootopia 2,” “Wicked: For Good,” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” are expected to give theaters a much-needed boost as the year ends.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!