Here's how summer blockbusters are expected to fare after last year's 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon

On the heels of last summer's 'Barbenheimer' takeover, movie theatres are seeing a slow start to the summer blockbuster season.

On the heels of last summer's "Barbenheimer" takeover, movie theatres are seeing a slow start to the summer blockbuster season.

Both Ryan Gosling's "The Fall Guy" and "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga", expected to be crowd pleasers, underperformed at the box office in May.

But Pixar's animated sequel "Inside Out 2" debuted in theatres last weekend with the biggest opening since "Barbie" last July, earning an estimated US$155 million in North American ticket sales.

Film critic Richard Crouse said this proves a couple points.

"It proves that if you give people movies that they want to see, they'll go to the movie theatres," he said.

"And it proves that people are still wanting to be entertained in kind of an old-fashioned way."

Summer success is vital for the health of movie theatres, which had been facing a 26 per cent deficit before the release of "Inside Out 2." The summer season typically runs from May through Labour Day, and accounts for about 40 per cent of annual box office sales.