While the box office is about to enter a period of calm, this quiet is deceptive. Behind the scenes, a massive holiday marketing war is brewing among the major studios. This lull comes after a successful run for films like Weapons, which has earned an impressive $148.8 million worldwide.
The successes of 2025, including the massive hit Jurassic World Rebirth ($828 million), have raised the stakes for the end of the year. Every studio wants to end on a high note, and the competition for audience attention this holiday season will be fierce.
The quiet fall period is the perfect time for studios to begin their marketing campaigns. As fewer new films compete for attention, the trailers, posters, and social media campaigns for the holiday blockbusters will begin to roll out, each vying for early buzz and pre-release tracking supremacy.
This marketing war will reach its peak as the releases draw closer. By the time Tron: Ares hits theaters in October, the public will have been saturated with promotion for Zootopia 2, Wicked: For Good, Mortal Kombat II, and others, all fighting for a piece of the lucrative holiday pie.