A Reel Summer: Blockbusters, Brand Tie-Ins, and Digital Advertising Pull Moviegoers Back to Theaters

Few industries have suffered more than entertainment, post pandemic, with compounding pressures like union strikes and production delays plaguing the business. While the 2025 box office didn’t break all time highs, major releases did draw popcorn lovers into dark theaters, kicked digital ad spend into high gear, and enticed brands looking to cash in on big star power and monster titles.

The Mobile Download - Stitch Incoming

The summer season kicked off with a stalwart title and a Disney juggernaut. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning and Lilo and Stitch opened the season with solid box office numbers, and drove a 91% week-over-week surge in movie ticket app downloads. While Mission kept its core audience, Lilo and Stitch was a massive hit, being the first of only two films to reach the $1B milestone YTD, 2025.

AMC bet big on the Man of Steel, spending 2x more on Superman-related digital marketing promotions than either Cinemark or Regal. This enthusiastic online push fueled a 43% jump in AMC app downloads during the film’s mid-July release, outpacing the broader category by 15%. The theater advertiser promoted the film pre-opening, and continued ad spend the following week, leveraging the “#1 Movie in the World” title in their creatives.

Franchises Leverage Ad Spend For The Win

Streaming networks rode the franchise wave from tentpole movies like Mission Impossible and Jurassic World, sinking ad spend into campaigns for former films in the series’. Paramount+ and Peacock, beneficiaries of licenses for earlier installments (such as Jurassic Park and Mission Impossible 1-7), heavily promoted the prior entries in the lineup to boost subscriptions and engagement. These opportunistic campaigns ranged from post theatrical pushes for Mission, to pre-release “warm-up” promotions for Jurassic. 

Netflix Writes Its Own Script

Though theaters grabbed ticket sales in the summer heat, Netflix dominated the small screen, releasing a pair of comedies (including a franchise favorite of their own). Happy Gillmore 2 and Madea’s Destination Wedding accounted for 20% and 13%, respectively, of all US viewing time on Netflix during their release weeks. Happy Gillmore also generated 122k minutes viewed in its first two days alone, and accounted for nearly one-fifth of all movie time spent on Netflix the week after release.

But, the surprise star of the show - KPop Demon Hunters. The breakout hit which was released on the streaming service on June 20th, was so successful, Netflix launched a limited two-day theatrical release for a sing-along version in theaters August 23-24th. Ad spend for the film spiked 70% in the week leading up to the release (Aug. 16-22), compared to the previous week, accounting for 43% of their total digital ad budget. And, don’t sleep on that HutriX drip; ads for Kpop merch were a noticeable pillar of the campaign.

Big Stars. Big Brand Partnerships. Big Digital Ad Spend

Summer movies - in particular superhero and kids genres - are notorious for cross-promoting alongside fast food brands. Though, we’re not sure if any studies have been conducted on whether movie-themed toys make “happy meals” any happier. 

This summer was no different. Burger King teamed with How to Train Your Dragon, Dairy Queen with Superman, and Little Caesars with Fantastic Four. Each brand funneled about 70% of its promotional budget into these campaigns at their peak.

Sensor Tower’s Audience Insights demonstrates the correlation well. The ‘Moviegoers’ persona (those who frequent theater and streaming apps more than the general population of smartphone users) were 324% more likely to be ‘Fast Foodies’ in the first half of ‘25.

For us, it’s simply a limited-time combo meal. For them, it’s a calculated way to turn movie buzz into brand equity. 

Curtain Call - Mobile and Digital Takeaways 

Blockbuster movies, be it on the big screen or on the couch, endure as mainstays of summer, offering brands major co-marketing opportunities to partner with studios. In some respects, blockbusters are just as much about ticket sales as they are shared cultural moments that can anchor multi-million dollar ad spend and subscriber campaigns.

And with 2025’s summer box office success, brands and entertainment outlets will continue to evolve and form partnerships - as long as consumers continue to buy tickets, stream sequels, or spoon a blizzard with Superman’s face on the cup. But, if you were wondering, a happy meal is infinitely happier with a superhero toy inside (Source: Sensor Tower unofficial polling).

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