LOS ANGELES (California), April 30 (Reuters) - As Hollywood's summer movie season kicks off on Friday, movie theater owners are betting on the fashion world's women in "The Devil Wears Prada 2" rather than superheroes to draw audiences to theaters.

For the past two decades, the first week of May has traditionally seen the release of a superhero movie or other exciting adventure film on the big screen. Walt Disney had planned to release Avengers: Doomsday during this period this year, but replaced it with the comedy Prada 2 starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, after the filmmakers needed more time to complete the Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

Box office analysts expect this move to pay off with a strong opening for Prada. Analysis of US and Canadian box office revenue by TD Coin analyst Doug Croitz indicates this coincides with a decline in action film earnings.

Kreutz said that Superman, F1, and other action-adventure films accounted for 35 percent of the top 100 box office sales in 2025. This was the lowest percentage, matching 2010, and also the third consecutive year that the percentage slightly exceeded 30 percent.

Disney's Marvel superhero films, Universal's Fast and Furious franchise, and others drew large audiences to cinemas in the 2010s. In 2022, action films accounted for 56 percent of domestic box office revenue, driven by Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick.

The number of action movies shown in cinemas has remained steady at around 25 per year for more than a decade.

Kruitz said that part, but not all, of the decline in sales may be related to a drop in quality. However, he added that even films with positive critical reviews have performed less well at the box office compared to previous years.

"It seems that audiences are no longer as enthusiastic about watching good superhero movies today as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic," Kruitz added in a research note.

In contrast, family-friendly films are on the rise, as are horror films. Recent hits include *Lilo & Stitch*, *Zootopia 2*, and *The Super Mario Bros. Movie*.

Cinema owners say the popularity of film genres changes periodically. They say the key to success is offering a diverse selection of films throughout the year.