A Closer Look At Warner Bros Box Office In 2026

Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery comes at an interesting time for both studios as they face what has been a rough year for both of them theatrically.

Even before “Digger” opens in cinemas on Friday, Warner Bros. has seen its 2025 box-office share of 21%, falling to just 6% this year according to Variety. Paramount meanwhile is coming seventh in the 2026 studio list with just 5% of the box-office share.

For Warner Bros., that’s a far cry from last year when the studio was riding high on the success of multiple hits in a row like “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners,” “Final Destination Bloodlines,” “F1,” “Superman,” “Weapons” and “The Conjuring: Last Rites”.

It had a few misfires like “Mickey 17” and “Alto Knights,” but it also had the universally praised “One Battle After Another,” which won a Best Picture Oscar even as the studio reportedly lost $100 million theatrically on that film.

This year, however, has been rough. The trade paper has gone through this year’s line-up from Warners films and confirmed that many of them have lost the studio money.

Going by its theatrical grosses, their losses include “The Bride!” at nearly $100 million, “Supergirl” at $80 million, “Practical Magic 2” at $30-40 million, and “The End of Oak Street” at $25-40 million.

The winners, on the other hand, have been modest. “Wuthering Heights” was the most successful with net $40 million gains, while “Mortal Kombat II” and “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” are expected to have gains of just $10 million each.

With “Digger” looking to be a major misfire and “Clayface” mostly a niche thing, all eyes turn towards “Dune: Part Three” and its 2027 line-up like “Man of Tomorrow,” “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” and the untitled “Ocean’s 11” prequel to save the studio’s fortunes.

Theatrical, of course, is just one component of profitability, with ancillary income like digital rental, sales, streaming and TV licensing an essential part of the equation.

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