1. Inside Out 2
Disney (Pixar) | June 14, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $154.2M
Domestic Total $653M
Global Total $1.698B
The year’s top-grossing movie was far from a box office guarantee at the start of the year. Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2 came on the heels of a period of box office malaise for Disney’s Pixar division, which hadn’t secured a single release above the $155 million mark since 2019’s Toy Story 4. Inside Out 2 nearly hit that number in its opening weekend alone, storming to a $154 million domestic debut that ignited a box office rally through the end of the year for the market at large.
Inside Out 2 finished its domestic run as the second-highest-grossing film of the current decade (behind Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick). As for Pixar’s cold streak at the box office? Inside Out 2 ended it by becoming the computer animation studio’s highest-grossing title of all time in North America, joining Incredibles 2 as the second Pixar release to cross the $500 million benchmark at the domestic box office.
Inside Out 2 finished the year as the top performer at the global box office. with $1.69 billion in ticket sales worldwide. It is currently the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time at the global box office with $1.69 billion.
2. Deadpool & Wolverine
Disney (Marvel) | July 26, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $211.4M
Domestic Total: $636.7M
Global Total: $1.338B
There was plenty of speculation about the big screen future of Marvel’s Deadpool franchise following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. While Deadpool’s two R-rated superhero outings had brought fans to theaters in droves, the films’ adult humor didn’t seem a natural fit for Disney’s family-friendly brand. Any attempt to relaunch the franchise or offer fans a watered-down version of its crass protagonist would likely go down in flames. The box office potential of a third film was never in question; Disney’s commitment to the irreverent superhero was always in doubt.
Disney didn’t need much convincing once Hugh Jackman signed on to reprise his fan-favorite role as X-Men’s Wolverine. The team-up between both characters created instant buzz, driving anticipation for Deadpool & Wolverine to a fever pitch. The film scored the best three-day opening weekend of the year with $211 million, becoming the first R-rated title to debut over $200 million. The scope of that opening weekend can’t be overstated: Deadpool & Wolverine’s box office bow also set the record for summer’s best opening weekend of all time, R-rated or not.
Deadpool & Wolverine was an international hit, earning $1.338 billion worldwide to become the global box office’s second-highest-grossing film of the year.
3. Wicked
Universal | November 22, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $112.5M
Domestic Total: $432.9M
Global Total: $649.1M
Universal’s two-part big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked defied the tepid performance musicals have had at the box office in recent years to become the number one Broadway adaptation of all time. Based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Universal’s marketing machine permeated the culture with a robust advertising campaign and product tie-ins that seem to have exceeded even Barbie.
Fans of the stage show have long awaited a film adaptation of the beloved property. Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, who produced the stage musical, announced the film adaptation in 2012. That anticipation, coupled with more recent fan-focused events such as Fandango and E! News livestreaming the Los Angeles red carpet premiere and the primetime television special Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, helped turn the title into an event film. Audiences around the country arrived in pink and green for the $112.5 million opening weekend. The preholiday opening proved a success, with counter-programmer Gladiator II bringing back Barbenheimer memories. “We saw an opportunity, by moving it up to the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, to simply dominate a weekend and get a running start into the holidays: first Thanksgiving, then Christmas,” said Jim Orr, president of Domestic Theatrical Distribution at Universal.
4. Moana 2
Disney | November 27, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $139.7M (3-day) | $225.4M (5-day)
Domestic Total: $404M
Global Total: $906M
The success of Moana 2 represented a much-needed win for Disney’s animation division, which had been on something of a cold streak until Moana and Maui sailed into theaters for a record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend—a development made all the more welcome by the fact that Moana 2 was initially created as a Disney+ series, rather than a theatrical movie.
Though late November has typically served as a solid release corridor for Walt Disney Animation Studios —Frozen, Frozen II, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Tangled are among the films that came out either over Thanksgiving weekend or the week before—the animation powerhouse had a rough few years leading up to the release of Moana 2. 2023’s Wish and 2022’s Strange World, both Thanksgiving weekend releases, failed to connect with audiences, ending their domestic runs with $63.9 million and $39 million, respectively. Even 2021’s Encanto, which followed a soft Thanksgiving debut with a strong holdover run, topped out at $96 million, making 2019’s Frozen II the only Walt Disney Animation Studios film to pass the $100 million mark in the five years prior to Moana 2’s release.
The animated sequel leveraged strong presales to earn nearly $140 million over the three-day holiday weekend, passing Frozen II as the Walt Disney Animated Studios title with the biggest three-day debut. It also shattered the previous record for the biggest Thanksgiving Day gross for a single title (previously held by Frozen II with $15 million) to the tune of $27.7 million. And, together with holdover releases Gladiator II and Wicked, it gave the domestic box office its highest-grossing Thanksgiving weekend, both three-day and five-day, of all time.
5. Despicable Me 4
Universal | July 3, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $75M (3-day) | $122.6M (5-day)
Domestic Total: $361M
Global Total: $969.3M
The Despicable Me and Minions films have now combined to earn over $5 billion worldwide, an unprecedented figure reached thanks to the performance of last summer’s Despicable Me 4.
Since kicking off in 2010 with the first Despicable Me movie, the Universal/Illumination Entertainment franchise has become about as close to a sure thing as this industry can get. Still, everything wasn’t lined up in its favor: When Despicable Me 4 hit theaters, it had been seven years since the release of Despicable Me 3. During that time, the Minions entered the spotlight with 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, potentially diverting young moviegoers’ interest from the core Despicable Me series.
And then there was competition from Pixar’s Inside Out 2, a behemoth earner that would later become the highest-grossing animated feature of all time. When Despicable Me 4 came out over the July 4 weekend, moviegoers proved that the market could sustain two animated tentpoles, especially following the domestic market’s prolonged slump for family titles. Despicable Me 4’s $75 million debut puts it solidly in the middle of the pack compared to debut grosses for other films in the franchise. A robust theatrical exclusivity period of 10 weeks contributed to a $361 million cume, making it the fifth-largest domestic earner in Illumination Entertainment’s history.
6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Warner Bros. | September 6, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $111M
Domestic Total: $294.1M
Global Total: $451.1M
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice breathed life into the autumn box office, surpassing expectations to become the third 2024 release to open above $100 million. In doing so, it secured the second-highest-grossing debut for a PG-13 September release and the second-highest September debut in general, trailing only 2017’s It: Chapter 1.
A large part of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s overperformance can be attributed to its cross-quadrant appeal. The presence of co-lead Jenna Ortega—already familiar to fans of director Tim Burton through her starring role in Netflix’s Wednesday—helped the film draw in female viewers under 25, a group that made up 15 percent of the opening weekend box office. Returning stars Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton attracted older audiences nostalgic for the 1988 original. Of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s opening weekend audience, 24 percent were from the much-pursued under-25 audience segment, and 59 percent were women.
By the end of its run, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had become the second-highest-grossing domestic title of Burton’s career, trailing only 2010’s billion-dollar global grosser Alice in Wonderland. It also had the second-highest opening of Burton’s career (again, following Alice) and is his third-highest global grosser, behind Alice and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
7. Dune: Part Two
Warner Bros. | March 1, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $82.5M
Domestic Total: $282.1M
Global Total: $714.4M
The first half of Denis Villeneuve’s two-part Dune saga streamed simultaneously with its theatrical release as part of Warner Bros.’ day-and-date pandemic-era slate. The original’s numbers therefore offered little insight into the second film’s potential under normal market conditions. The studio took no chances with the financial prospects of Dune: Part Two, changing the original November 2023 release date due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes and instead opting for a March launch with a full-scale global marketing campaign.
The difference in performance between the day-and-date original and the theatrically exclusive second film was stark, as Dune: Part Two doubled its predecessor’s opening weekend with an $81 million haul. The strength of premium format tickets propelled Dune: Part Two to $282 million in North America, more than twice the original’s $108 million run.
A strong overseas run helped lift the title to over $700 million worldwide, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year at the global box office. The performance gave Warner Bros. the confidence to move ahead with another installment in the sci-fi series, tapping Villeneuve to return for an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s follow-up novel, Dune: Messiah.
8. Twisters
Universal | July 19, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $81.2M
Domestic Total: $267.8M
Global Total: $370.9M
This disaster-flick sequel was released 28 years after its predecessor. It features an entirely new cast and has no connection to the original, save for the obvious high-concept pitch: pickup trucks chase tornadoes in rural America. Star Glen Powell proved he had the appeal to headline a major studio movie on his own with Twisters, which opened to an impressive $81 million.
The mid-July debut saw great returns from premium formats, including stellar results from immersive 4DX auditoriums equipped with motion seats, fans, fog machines, and water effects, which quickly became sought-after destinations for audiences nationwide. Twisters struggled to keep momentum in the ensuing weeks, as Deadpool & Wolverine tore through the marketplace and cut short Twisters’ run in the same premium auditoriums that helped make it an opening weekend sensation. An earlier release date could have pushed the film to greater heights—and a higher spot in our year-end ranking.
9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Warner Bros. | March 29, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $80M
Domestic Total: $196.3M
Global Total: $571.7M
Fans expecting a rematch after the Godzilla and King Kong showdown of 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong ($100.9 million domestic and $470.1 million global) were instead greeted by a film with a title that suggested the former monster rivals were teaming up to collaborate on a fashion brand. The Warner Bros. title delivered on expectations with a robust $80 million opening weekend, becoming the second-highest opener in Warner Bros.’ Monsterverse. The result was behind the series’ launch in 2014 with Godzilla ($93.1 million) and well ahead of the previous second-place record holder, 2017’s Kong: Skull Island ($61 million).
The second Godzilla x Kong title ranks second in the overall Monsterverse series domestically with $196.3 million total, just shy of Godzilla’s $200.6 million in 2014. Globally, it surpassed Kong: Skull Island ($568.6 million) to become the highest-grossing entry in the series at $571.7 million.
10. Kung Fu Panda 4
Universal | March 8, 2024
Domestic Opening Weekend: $57.9M
Domestic Total: $193.6M
Global Total: $547.7M
DreamWorks Animation’s action-comedy franchise returned with Jack Black in the iconic title role after an eight-year hiatus. Heading into opening weekend, the average opening for a Kung Fu Panda installment was $49.7 million, giving the fourth entry in the series a better-than-expected debut in the franchise.
With a dearth of kid-driven content following 2023’s Wonka and Migration, Kung Fu Panda 4 marked the first major animated family release of 2024. The animated sequel enjoyed an uncontested run with family audiences at the box office for over two months. The open road helped Kung Fu Panda 4 surpass the domestic release of both its predecessors (Kung Fu Panda 2 at $165.2 million and Kung Fu Panda 3 at $143.5 million). The entry also came close to Dreamworks Animation’s biggest March opener, Monsters vs. Aliens, which brought in $59.3 million in 2009. The Kung Fu Panda franchise officially crossed the $2 billion mark globally during the run, with over $2.3 billion at the global box office.
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