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Credit: REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
Hollywood has made its decision. Movies aren’t over. Plenty are still being made, but it’s clear that entertainment companies are increasingly looking to sports to anchor their content strategies.
It’s summer. That used to mean that every second of advertising time and every casual conversation at the office was dedicated to the biggest movies. This summer, though? That mantle belongs exclusively to the World Cup.
World Cup soccer has been a phenomenon. That shouldn’t be a surprise with the USMNT’s surprising start and the continued growth in popularity the sport has seen in this country. Fox and Telemundo have enjoyed record audiences every step of the way.
The environment is also right for soccer to have this moment. Look at what is happening in theaters. This past weekend, Moana fell flat, coming nowhere close to the $60 million opening that box office analysts projected. No one should be surprised. A live-action Moana was just another shameless cash grab, part of this summer’s trend of the biggest studios having nothing original to offer. Even usually reliable franchises like Star Wars and The Minions were met with apathy in 2026.
It’s no wonder that soccer has risen to the top of our pop culture mind. The World Cup is even getting the ultimate blockbuster treatment — a run of collector’s cups at McDonald’s. That’s an honor that used to be reserved for the likes of Batman and Jurassic Park.
The World Cup is also getting plenty of tabloid-style coverage. Forget red carpets. The place to find celebrities looking their best this summer is on Fox when the cameras pan to stadium luxury boxes.
The entertainment business revolves around sports in 2026. The World Cup may currently be the one in the spotlight, but it doesn’t take the world’s single biggest sporting event to prove my point. The games are where studios are putting their money and their faith now.
Consolidation has left us with very few major media companies. All of these companies are making major investments in sports rights and view them as the smartest use of millions or even billions of dollars. Just look at all of the conversation and speculation around NFL media rights. These companies are going to pay more than ever before and will likely receive fewer games than their packages include now.
And all of that investment in sports is coming at the expense of what used to be the bedrock of these companies. Sequels and reboots in theaters are safe. They may not always make a ton of money, but they also rarely lose a ton of money. Reality and game shows on TV are cheap, and any money you’re not spending on TV shows is more money you can spend on sports rights.
Look at the checks being doled out. In 2021, Netflix wrote a $450 million check to secure the rights for two Knives Out sequels (both of which were excellent, by the way). That’s about 10% less than what they pay annually for just five NFL games. Disney got the film rights to Hamilton, a true cultural phenomenon, for $75 million in 2020. It would provide a subscription driver for Disney+, merchandise sales, and maybe even a presence in the company’s theme parks. Still, Disney was willing to pay more for WNBA broadcast rights.
Another data point to consider is talent compensation. Dwayne Johnson reportedly made $25 million for Moana, which is less than the reported $37.5 million Tom Brady makes each year to call NFL games at Fox. The more fun comparison is the power of stars to get a project over the finish line. Inside the NBA is possible because of Charles Barkley. That sounds an awful lot like Top Gun: Maverick to me, which was famously an absolute no-go for Paramount until Tom Cruise signed on the dotted line.
It’s not hard to understand why sports are so much more valuable than major movies or TV properties. Sports reliably generate ad revenue because they are urgent but do not require a major commitment from their audience. Yes, people want to follow the games in real time, but no one has to leave their home to do so.
There’s also so much more product to offer. For the cost of making three Marvel movies, Disney can get a whole season of NBA games. That’s more reasons for the audience to give you their attention and more inventory to sell to advertisers.
Sports’ ascension to the top of the entertainment hierarchy is not just about the money being spent. Paramount rethought what it meant to carry NFL games when it introduced the SpongeBob SquarePants alternate broadcasts and then subsequently launched NFL Slime Time on Nickelodeon. The studio was marketing the same product to different audiences and creating a path to transition kids from tuning in to see Davante Adams get SpongeBob eyes to becoming a devoted part of the NFL audience.
No company values its intellectual property more than Disney, and it’s copying Paramount’s strategy to create excitement for the Super Bowl. We’ve already seen Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear and other iconic characters paired in TV advertisements with ESPN personalities and NFL icons. Theme park events and special missions within the company’s Fortnite video game are also expected. That is the kind of treatment that used to be exclusive to the tentpole of the company’s summer movie slate.
America still loves to be entertained by movies and TV shows. Look at the runaway success of indie horror movies Backrooms and Obsession and the absolute cult that has developed around Ted Lasso and the various Taylor Sheridan shows. But Hollywood always prioritizes projects it can count on for big returns. Right now, that’s sports, so every studio and network is putting up big money to secure as many games as possible.
The post Sports, not movies, are the summer blockbuster of 2026 appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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