The summer box office just hit a milestone that seemed unlikely a few years ago: $3.985 billion in domestic ticket sales from May 1 to August 9, just $14.8 million shy of crossing the $4 billion threshold for the first time since 2023. The last time North American theaters saw this level of summer spending was 2023, with a total of $4.095 billion. This year marks the second post-COVID summer to breach the $4B mark and the 14th time in box office history.

The...