The highest-grossing movies at the 2024box officeall share one sad similarity. The year has had an unusual structure in terms of theatrical distribution, as the planned releases of many big-budget blockbusters were pushed to 2025 amid the dual 2023 Hollywood strikes, during which writers and then actors took to the picket lines to fight for fair pay from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, pausing productions across the globe. However, despite a dearth of major tentpoles early in the year, many record-breaking movies were released throughout 2024, including two billion-dollar titles so far.
The year has broken a variety of records thanks to movies from a wide range of genres. This includes the2024 Thanksgiving weekend box officeearning a collective $414 million thanks to a roster that featured the Disney animated featureMoana 2, Jon. M Chu’s Broadway musical adaptationWicked, and the Ridley Scott historical epicGladiator II, making itthe best 5-day Thanksgiving weekend of all time in North America. Another major record earned during the year was the Pixar animated movieInside Out 2becoming the highest grossing animated movie of all time by raking in $1.69 billion.
Inside Out 2’s Box Office Numbers: Total, Worldwide, Domestic, Opening & Records
Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has become 2024’s highest-grossing movie. Suffice it to say, it made so much money while also breaking few box office records.
2024’s 15 Highest Grossing Movies Worldwide Are All Part Of IP
They Range From Inside Out 2 To Alien: Romulus
At the time of writing,all of 2024’s Top 15 movies are IP adaptations, which is a roster that includes sequels, prequels, and interquels. This was not the case earlier in the year. In July, the 15highest grossing movies of 2024included original titles such as Alex Garland’sCivil War(now No. 31 with $126.2 million), John Krasinski’sIF(No. 22 with $190.3 million), the biopicBob Marley: One Love(No. 24 with $180.8 million) and the Jason Statham actionerThe Beekeeper(No. 27 with $152.7 million). Below, see the full Top 15 chart for the year so far:
#1
$1.69 billion
#2
$1.34 billion
#3
$969.1 million
#4
$714.4 million
#5
$606.1 million
#6
$571.7 million
#7
$547.7 million
#8
$472.9 million
#9
$465.5 million
#10
$451.1 million
#11
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
$404.5 million
#12
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
$397.4 million
#13
$371.5 million
#14
$370.9 million
#15
Alien: Romulus
$350.9 million
This IP domination of the year’s worldwide box office chart seemsunlikely to change during the final weeks of 2024. While there are multiple original movies set to premiere before New Year’s Eve - including the Nicole Kidman erotic dramaBabygirland the Bob Dylan biopicA Complete Unknown- none seem set up to outgrossAlien: Romulus, even though they could become major successes on their own terms. The only movies that seem potentially able to clear $350.9 million are also IP-derived projects such as the musical prequelMufasa: The Lion Kingand the video game adaptationSonic the Hedgehog 3.
IP Dominating The Box Office Is Nothing New - But 2024’s Results Are Extreme
2024’s Original Hits Have Fallen Behind
Modern Hollywood has long been dominated by IP projectsin a variety of modes. This includes sequels, spinoffs, and prequels such asTop Gun: Maverick,Black Widow,No Time to Die, andFast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, as well as reboots including the Disney live-action moviesThe Lion King,Beauty and the Beast, andAladdin. Additionally, original stories have been adapted from multimedia franchises includingGreta Gerwig’sBarbie,Sonic the Hedgehog, andUncharted.
BothSonic the HedgehogandUnchartedbring popular video game franchises to the big screen.
This has somehow occurred in spite of the fact that the 2023 strikes saw many of the most prominent IP movies of the year delayed to 2025. That reschedulingallowed quite a few original movies to thrive earlier in the year, including the independent serial killer thrillerLonglegs, which grossed $126.9 million against a budget of less than $10 million, and the romantic dramaIt Ends with Us, which was based on a novel but is not part of a pre-established movie franchise and has become the No. 16 movie of the year worldwide at the time of writing.
2024’s Box Office Is The First Time Ever The Top 15 Movies Are All IP
Usually There Is At Least One Breakthrough Original
However, 2024 marksthe first time that the entire Top 15 has been dominated by IP since at least 1977, past which point worldwide box office records become murkier. However, it seems unlikely that full IP domination of the Top 15 was ever the case before 1977, as the modern preponderance of sequels did not begin to kick into high gear until the 1980s. In fact, of the Top 15 movies of 1977, only two (the James Bond movieThe Spy Who Loved Meand the horror sequelExorcist II: The Heretic) were based on pre-existing movie IP.
The No. 1 movie of 1977 wasStar Wars, a movie that launched a sprawling franchise and was instrumental in the tides turning for IP-derived movies throughout the ensuing decade.
Until now,there has been at least one original hit in the Top 15 every year, includingChristopher Nolan’sOppenheimerin 2023 (No. 3 for the year), 2013’sFrozen(No. 1), 2010’sInception(No. 4), 2007’sRatatouille(No. 6), 2003’sFinding Nemo(No. 2), and 1999’sThe Sixth Sense(No. 2). In fact, there are generally even more, including in 2016, when the Top 15 featured five original movies, namelyZootopia,The Secret Life of Pets,Moana,Sing, andThe Mermaideven though sequels such asCaptain America: Civil WarandFinding Dorystill thrived.
2025 Could Repeat IP’s Level Of Success At The 2024 Box Office
A Huge Number Of Sequels Are Already On The Schedule
Because so many planned 2024 IP movies got delayed to 2025 during the strikes, there is an even wider range of2025 movie sequelson the schedule in the coming year. Below, see a breakdown of some of the most prominent sequels set to premiere throughout the year, which does not even include impending reboots such asWolf Man,Snow White, andLilo & Stitch. It also does not include the spinoffFrom the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the video game adaptationA Minecraft Movie., or the comic book universe moviesSuperman,Thunderbolts*, andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps.
US Release Date (subject to change)
M3GAN 2.0
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Thanksgiving 2
TBD
However, it is possible that IP will not continue itsbox officedomination in 2025. Several of these sequels seem unlikely to land in the Top 15, includingDownton Abbey 3, which is a sequel to a $92.6 million movie, andBridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which is being released on Peacock in the United States in spite of an international theatrical run. Given historical precedent, it is also entirely possible for a surprise original movie (especially a Disney or Pixar title) to become a hit at the level required to outgross even this wide roster.
