Warner Bros. And Paramount Fall Out of 2026’s Domestic Box Office Top 5, and the Reasons Why Run Deep
Studio rankings have looked wildly different from year to year lately, but 2026 is shaping up to be one of the more dramatic shakeups Hollywood has seen in some time. The traditional hierarchy of major studios has been upended by a mix of blockbuster hits, surprising misses, and a few genuinely unexpected breakout success stories.
Universal has spent the past year building toward a genuinely historic run, powered by films like ‘The Odyssey,‘ ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,’ and ‘Minions & Monsters,’ while Sony rode the massive success of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ to a commanding second-place position. That kind of consistent output from the top performers has left less room at the table for studios that would normally be fighting for a spot near the front of the pack.
That reshuffling has produced a genuinely striking result. Warner Bros. and Paramount have both been pushed out of 2026’s domestic top five highest-grossing studios so far, with Universal leading at $1.43 billion, followed by Sony at $1.18 billion, Disney at $1.05 billion, Amazon MGM at $557 million, and Lionsgate rounding out the list at $518 million.
Warner Bros.’ struggles have been particularly stark. The studio’s biggest 2026 releases, including ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Mortal Kombat II,’ and ‘Supergirl,’ each topped out in the $72 million to $84 million domestic range, numbers that pale in comparison to the studio’s typical output. According to Deadline’s summer box office reporting, Warner Bros. domestic grosses fell a staggering 76 percent compared to summer 2025.
WARNER BROS and PARAMOUNT kicked out of 2026’s domestic top 5 highest-grossing studios so far: 1️⃣Universal — $1.43bn 2️⃣Sony — $1.18bn 3️⃣Disney — $1.05bn 4️⃣Amazon MGM — $557M 5️⃣Lionsgate — $518M https://t.co/O3iURagxiw
— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) September 15, 2026
Paramount’s story looks similarly rocky, though with a bit more nuance behind it. Paramount Skydance brought in roughly $308 million domestically across seven total releases this year, with ‘Scream 7’ and ‘Scary Movie 6’ serving as the studio’s strongest performers at $122 million and $108 million, respectively. The studio has also been navigating significant corporate turbulence, with its proposed merger deal for Warner Bros. currently blocked in court and an antitrust trial scheduled for March 2027.
The final trailer for ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY’ has been released.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 21, 2026
In theaters on July 31. pic.twitter.com/D6Mh3fCjZN
Both studios now find themselves trailing Amazon MGM, a genuinely notable shift given the streamer’s relatively recent push into theatrical releases. Amazon MGM’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ became the studio’s biggest release ever, surpassing even ‘The Martian,’ and helped push the company’s domestic total past $550 million, ahead of both legacy studios.
Universal’s position at the top of the list reflects one of the strongest overall years any studio has had in recent memory. ‘The Odyssey’ alone has grossed over $593 million domestically, while ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ added another $429 million, giving the studio multiple genuine blockbusters within the same calendar year rather than relying on a single tentpole release.
The final trailer for Christopher Nolan's ‘THE ODYSSEY’ has been released.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 1, 2026
In theaters on July 17. pic.twitter.com/xn42TcX4aG
Sony’s second-place standing owes almost everything to ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ which currently sits as the year’s highest-grossing domestic release at nearly $927 million, a figure that alone accounts for the overwhelming majority of the studio’s total haul. Disney, meanwhile, has maintained a steady third-place position through a mix of releases including ‘Toy Story 5,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ and ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.’
With the 2026 box office race still ongoing and several major fourth-quarter releases still to come, there’s still time for Warner Bros. and Paramount to climb back into contention before the year closes out. For now, though, this shakeup at the top of the domestic rankings offers a genuinely revealing snapshot of just how unevenly this particular theatrical year has played out across the industry’s biggest players.
What do you think of Warner Bros. and Paramount falling out of the 2026 domestic box office top five?
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
