As Hollywood stares into another cruel summer, it’s probably too soon to panic (yet)

“The Fall Guy” landed below expectations. “IF” didn’t have enough friend buy tickets, imaginary or otherwise. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Garfield Movie,” a.k.a. “Garfiosa,” won’t make anyone forget “Barbenheimer.”

“The Fall Guy” landed below expectations. “IF” didn’t have enough friends buy tickets, imaginary or otherwise. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Garfield Movie,” a.k.a. “Garfiosa,” won’t make anyone forget “Barbenheimer.” As the summer movie-going season lurches beyond Memorial Day, Hollywood’s dreams of continuing to recover from box-office losses associated with Covid and the advent of streaming haven’t materialized, with results lagging far behind May 2023, when “Guardians of the Galaxy” patrolled theaters. While the industry needs to seriously adjust expectations, and perhaps begin to accept what was once considered box-office mediocrity as the new normal, it’s probably too soon to panic (yet). Thus far, the numbers look pretty grim. Surveying the four weekends in May, box-office totals plummeted roughly 35% versus last year, according to the site Box Office Mojo, with the average for the No. 1 new movie down almost 50%. For Memorial Day weekend the top two titles, “Furiosa” and “Garfield,” combined for only a little more than half of what Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” swam off with in 2023, marking the weakest official kickoff to summer in more than 30 years. Despite the dismal start, there is promise of bright spots ahead, with “Deadpool & Wolverine” clawing out record advance ticket sales, and the animated “Inside Out 2” likely to be a major draw for families. Still, as the Hollywood Reporter noted, $100 million opening weekends, which once occurred with some regularity, increasingly feel like an artifact of the pre-Covid, less-streaming past.