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Hollywood’s summer ends 2% down despite Disney dominance

The Labor Day weekend is traditionally a quiet one for movie theatres
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Mufasa surveys the realm with young Simba in “The Lion King.” (Disney)

Hollywood’s summer season came to a close Sunday with a whimper, as the Gerard Butler action thriller “Angel Has Fallen” topped the box office for the second weekend and ticket sales on the season finished 2% behind last year.

The Labor Day weekend is traditionally a quiet one for movie theatres. No major releases entered the marketplace, allowing the third installment in the “Fallen” series to stay on top with an estimated $11.6 million.

While Hollywood’s most lucrative season featured a number of $1 billion blockbusters, never before has one studio so dominated summer at the movies. The Walt Disney Co. accounted for about half of all ticket sales in U.S. and Canada theatres.

Factoring in inflation and higher ticket prices, not since 1992 have fewer summer tickets been sold.

READ MORE: ‘The Lion King’ cast talks reimagining the Disney classic

READ MORE: ‘The Lion King’ rules and ‘Endgame’ scores all-time record

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press


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