No one could blame the box office for needing an imaginary friend right now. For the first time in more than a decade — excluding the worst period of the COVID-19 crisis — no movie opening during the first six months of the year has come close to hitting the $100 million mark in its domestic launch.

In 2023, for example, three films had accomplished this feat by the time Memorial Day rolled around, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which debuted to $146.3 million in April on its way to earning $1.36 billion worldwide. To date, the top opening of the year belongs to March tentpole Dune: Part Two, which started off with $82.5 million, followed by $80 million for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. In fact,…