Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman star in Marvel's 'Deadpool & Wolverine'.
Disney
Gross superheroes and family-friendly fare kept the domestic box office afloat in the final months of 2024.
Full-year ticket sales fell just 3.4% from 2023 to reach $8.74 billion, a far cry from the nearly 27% deficit in mid-2024.
The combination of Disney and Marvel's “Deadpool & Wolverine”, Pixar's “Inside Out 2”, Disney Animation's “Moana 2” and Universal “Wicked,” all released after June, boosted ticket sales and turned a $1 billion deficit into just $300 million, according to Comscore data.
“While 2024 has been one of the most challenging ever for theaters, the massive comeback that began in June due to the residual impact of the strikes and resulting production delays that derailed the release schedule early this year is nothing short of remarkable” , says Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Box office analysts had predicted that the 2024 box office would lag significantly behind the $9 billion tally in 2023. After all, the production calendar was disrupted by double labor strikes in Hollywood the year before, causing major blockbuster releases to be postponed to the second half of 2024. They were even postponed to 2025 and 2026.
“Early-year expectations were saddled with the weight of release delays due to industry strikes, on top of the continued adjustment to modern consumer habits that have taken hold in a world of shorter theatrical windows and increased demand for state-of-the-art films. experiences in the theaters themselves,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory.
The decline in ticket sales in the first half was a disappointment after the box office had seen steady annual growth in the wake of the pandemic. However, industry analysts foresee a recovery in 2025 and the potential to break the $10 billion mark in 2026.
The next two years are filled with blockbuster franchises and films tied to popular, existing intellectual property. And while there was some concern that the industry would become too overloaded with licensed material, especially in the superhero genre, 2024 has proven that audiences will still flock to these films.
In fact, all of the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2024 were from major film franchises or tied to popular IP. And that's a good sign, as 2025 and 2026 are full of big titles.
“This year will see a resumption of a franchise-driven lineup,” wrote Eric Handler, managing director at Roth MKM, in a recent research note. “Competing for the highest-grossing films of the year should be 'Avatar: Fire and Ash,' 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' and 'Wicked: For Good,' all of which should be able to top the $400 mark [million].”
Disney magic
Disney in particular benefited from franchise films in 2024. The company is responsible for three of the year's four highest-grossing films: Pixar's “Inside Out 2,” Marvel's “Deadpool & Wolverine” and Disney Animation's “Moana 2.”
“Inside Out 2” took off at the box office, grossing more than $650 million domestically and becoming the first film since Warner Bros. '”Barbie” that reached the $1 billion mark worldwide.
This was a major win for Disney's Pixar animation hub. Pixar, once a highly successful studio, has suffered at the box office due to the pandemic. Many of the problems arose in part because Disney chose to debut a handful of animated films directly on the Disney+ streaming service during movie theater closures and even after theaters reopened.
As a result, before “Inside Out 2,” no Disney animated film from Pixar or its Walt Disney Animation studio had generated more than $480 million at the worldwide box office as of 2019. 'Inside Out 2' ultimately became the highest-grossing film. from 2024.
The second highest was Disney's first-ever R-rated Marvel film. “Deadpool & Wolverine” hit theaters in July and quickly earned the record for the highest debut of an R-rated film ever. It topped $1 billion at the worldwide box office, the only R-rated film aside from Warner Bros.' “Joker” for doing this, also becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
'Deadpool & Wolverine' brought a much-needed boost to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was struggling with consistency at the box office in the wake of 2019's record-breaking 'Avengers: Endgame'.
Handler said the superhero genre is looking for “a little bit of redemption,” noting that Marvel has three major releases in 2025: “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
Warner Bros. will also debut its first film under the direction of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new heads of the DC Studio. All eyes will be on “Superman: Legacy,” especially after the dismal box office of “Joker: Folie a Deux.”
Disney also had “Moana 2,” the fourth highest-grossing film of the year. It arrived on Thanksgiving and broke the record for the highest opening film during that five-day holiday period with $221 million in domestic ticket sales. It went on to gross $404 million domestically and more than $900 million worldwide.
Together, these films and other theatrical releases helped Disney gross more than $2.2 billion at the domestic box office last year, accounting for about 25% of the industry's total revenue.
Universal, fueled by “Wicked,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Twisters” and “Kung Fu Panda 4,” accounted for 21.6% of the total market share with $1.8 billion in box office receipts for the year. “Wicked” was the third-highest-grossing film of 2024, taking in $432 million domestically and breaking the curse of movie musicals at the box office. It also became the highest debut for a Broadway adaptation in film history.
Warner Bros. amounted to $1.19 billion, or a market share of 13.7%. Sony took in $1 billion, or 11.5%, and Paramount rounded out the top five with $880 million, or 10%.
“The late 2024 cinema rally has created a solid 2025 for cinemas,” Degarabedian said. “[G]Given the more stable calendar with a more orderly cadence, frequency and, most importantly, a greater number of wide-release films… the resulting momentum will all but guarantee even greater results for theatrical exhibition this year.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Twisters” and “Kung Fu Panda 4,” and the owner of Fandango.