Blockbusters Primed For Big Year After 2 Pandemic Impacted Summers

After two pandemic-plagued years kept people out of theaters, Hollywood is looking to flex its muscle with a packed 2022 summer line-up.

"Top Gun: Maverick" shattered Memorial Day weekend box office records at Mach speed, bringing in more than $150 million domestically, and that could be just the beginning.

Variety Magazine Senior Editor Marc Malkin says, "fingers are crossed that "Top Gun: Maverick" has started a trend." He adds Hollywood is working hard to entice audiences to struggling theaters with high-budget films led by major movie stars.

“Right now, there is something for everyone," Malkin says. "There’s a lot of family entertainment and that, of course, brings people to the theaters.”

According to Fandango, 83% of its ticket buyers plan to see three or more movies on the big screen this summer. And there are a number of big hits ahead.

Chris Pratt and his prehistoric co-stars stomp into theaters in "Jurassic World Dominion" on June 10th.

It's to "infinity and beyond" on June 17th when Pixar's "Lightyear" arrives in theaters.

Austin Butler stars as Elvis Presley in the upcoming musical biopic "Elvis," starting June 24th.

And Chris Hemsworth electrifies in "Thor: Love and Thunder" in July.

“I think theater owners are looking at this summer saying, you know what, 'now we can finally go back to normal,' but it's always gonna be a new normal. It’s never going to be the way it was.”

But a jam-packed summer slate to thrill fans and boost theaters may make going to the movies the new normal.

Malkin adds that while audiences will return to the theater for big blockbuster-type movies, smaller independent films may still struggle to get people to the movies.