Here are the top 10 box office winners in the U.S. this year
Box office numbers have been steadily climbing ever since the pandemic – except this year. Overall 2024 box office will be about $8.2 billion, down slightly from $8.9 billion in 2023. But that’s still good!
Animation ruled the year, with 4 entries in the top 10. Sequels or remakes filled out the rest of the top 10. Here’s a look (box office numbers are according to boxofficemojo.com and are domestic numbers).
“Inside Out 2” ($653 million) – The sequel catches up with Riley as she enters puberty and experiences brand new, more complex emotions as a result. As she tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions try to adapt to the possibility of being replaced. Yep, this had all the feels, all over again.
“Deadpool and Wolverine” ($637 million) – Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman smashed up the box office for this super successful superhero pairing (although calling Deadpool a hero is kind of a stretch, but whatever).
“Wicked” ($384 million) – This adaptation of the beloved Oz-set Broadway musical is sure to make even more big bucks heading into 2025. And we’ll get the hotly anticipated sequel “Wicked – For Good” on Nov. 1. It might just make a little money, too.
“Despicable Me 4” ($361 million) – The fourth entry in the Gru franchise gives us new family addition Gru. Jr. – so expect more films to follow.
“Moana 2” ($359 million) – This sequel follows Moana as she journeys to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters in search of an adventure – and some of the big bucks that the first film earned.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” ($294 million) – Tim Burton’s wonderfully macabre sequel was highly anticipated by fans, and avoided the dreaded waited-too-long-for-a-sequel curse, actually turning out to be as good as the original.
“Dune: Part Two” ($282 million) – Director Denis Villeneuve’s sprawling spice opera generated early buzz, thanks to a good teaser campaign, which paid off with big box office. And yes, “Dune: Part Three” is already in development.
“Twisters” ($268 million) – This is called a “standalone sequel,” meaning it doesn’t continue the original film’s storyline or characters. It’s basically a remake, though, where pretty people go in search of, you guessed it, tornadoes.
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($196 million) – Godzilla and Kong duke it out in an epic battle – again. Didn’t get your fill of destruction? Don’t worry, a sequel to the sequel is scheduled for 2027.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” ($194 million) – The fourth entry in the series has Po the dumpling-loving panda tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. A fifth movie is rumored to be in development. Po doesn’t pause!