04:46 PM EDT, 10/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The box office performed better than expected during the third quarter, with momentum expected to continue with industry revenue approaching $10 billion by 2026, Barrington Research said Monday.

Despite facing strong comparisons in the same period of 2023, which was just 6% shy of 2019 levels with the successes of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," the box office notched a modest year-over-year increase in the third quarter, according to the research report.

Domestic revenue edged up 0.6% to reach $2.67 billion on a cumulative basis, driven by "Deadpool & Wolverine," according to data from BoxOfficeMojo, which is owned by Amazon.com ( AMZN ) company IMDb.

"The general expectation for much of the year was for the third quarter to be challenged," Barrington analysts Patrick Sholl and James Goss wrote. But the strong lead into the quarter from "Inside Out 2" and "A Quiet Place Day One," and a balanced slate throughout the period helped drive the improvement, they said.

Barrington estimates the box office will generate about $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter, with "Joker: Folie a Deux" opening at about $100 million and movies like "Mufasa," "The Last Dance," and "Moana 2" following later this year. For the full year, box office revenue is expected to surpass $8.5 billion, according to Barrington.

"The tentpole heavy slate, with many films that may perform well, would likely pressure film rent levels for exhibitors, but should produce robust year-over-year box office gross," Sholl and Goss wrote. Strikes in 2023 pushed many films into 2024.

Domestic box office revenue could reach $9.5 billion in 2025 and then approach $10 billion in 2026, according to Barrington. There's optimism that movie-going momentum can be maintained, it said.

IMAX ( IMAX ) , which is on the Barrington best ideas list, faced a difficult comparison with "Oppenheimer" but continued to see strong demand for its experience. Barrington raised its third-quarter revenue estimate on Cinemark (CNK) to $890 million from $872.3 million, putting it ahead of the $884.6 million consensus view.