A year ago, international box office recovery still felt like one of those forecasts everyone wanted to believe but nobody was quite ready to bet the concession stand on.

Six months into 2026, the picture looks considerably better.

Across selected markets in Europe, Asia and Australia, box office revenue or admissions increased in France, the UK and Ireland, Portugal, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea and India. France admissions rose nearly 20%. Australia posted three consecutive AUD 100 million months for the first time. Hong Kong reversed several years of decline. Even Portugal managed to grow revenue despite slightly lower attendance and fewer operating screens.

Then there is China, which apparently did not get the memo. Its first-half box office fell 40.6%, making it the clear outlier.

The more interesting wrinkle is who is driving the rebound. Hollywood titles such as “Michael,” “Toy Story 5” and “Project Hail Mary” performed strongly in the UK, Ireland and Australia, while collecting huge grosses globally. Yet elsewhere, local productions were doing much of the heavy lifting.

“Marsupilami” led France, “Night King” powered Hong Kong’s comeback, “The King’s Warden” became a historic South Korean hit and India’s growth stretched across Hindi and regional-language cinema.

That is excellent news for exhibitors, who generally do not ask to see a film’s passport before selling a ticket. For Hollywood, it is simply a little more complicated. International cinemas are recovering. The question now is whether Hollywood is recovering with them in certain territories, or simply watching more local films take top billing.