The Top 10 movies at the 2024 box office have collectively accomplished a major historical record. 2024 has been an unusual year at the box office, as there has been a dearth of major tentpoles in the wake of the 2023 writers and actors strikes, which saw many blockbusters delayed to 2025 while workers fought for fair pay. However, there have been several record-breaking theatrical runs throughout the year, including the Inside Out 2 box office, which saw the Pixar release become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.
Per Total Film, the 2024 box office has established a major record. At the time of writing, all 10 movies in the Top 10 at the global box office are sequels, which are in this case defined as direct follow-ups that are not prequels, reboots, or other non-sequel projects that are still IP-connected like 2023’s Barbie. This is the first time this has happened in at least 50 years. See the full breakdown of the 2024 Top 10 below:
|
Rank |
Title |
Worldwide Box Office |
|---|---|---|
|
#1 |
Inside Out 2 |
$1.69 billion |
|
#2 |
Deadpool & Wolverine |
$1.34 billion |
|
#3 |
Despicable Me 4 |
$968.2 million |
|
#4 |
Dune: Part Two |
$714.4 million |
|
#5 |
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire |
$571.7 million |
|
#6 |
Kung Fu Panda 4 |
$547.6 million |
|
#7 |
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice |
$451 million |
|
#8 |
Venom: The Last Dance |
$438.9 million |
|
#9 |
Bad Boys: Ride or Die |
$404.5 million |
|
#10 |
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes |
$397.4 million |
What This Box Office Record Means
Modern Cinema Isn’t Entirely IP-Driven
While worldwide box office reporting was spottier before 1974, it seems entirely likely that this is in fact the first time that this record has ever happened, as the modern preponderance of sequels began around the 1980s. During that decade, many iconic franchises were born, including Indiana Jones, the Back to the Future trilogy, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and Lethal Weapon. While sequels did exist from the early years of cinema through 1974, they were much less common, emphasizing how rare this 2024 record truly is.
1916’s The Fall of a Nation, which followed 1915’s The Birth of a Nation, is believed to be the first sequel in movie history.
The fact that this particular record may have never happened before does not mean that the Top 10 has never been composed entirely of IP-related movies, which is a much more common occurrence. While movies like 2023’s Oppenheimer, 2021’s The Battle at Lake Changjin, 2020’s Tenet, and 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody have prevented it from occurring many times in the past decade, 2019 and 2022 both had Top 10s that were entirely composed of IP movies. However, reboots such as the live-action Aladdin prevented them from all being sequels.
Our Take On The 2024 Box Office Record
It Probably Won’t Last
While this box office record is historic, the Top 10 will likely change considerably by the end of the year. As the holiday blockbusters season heats up, it is likely that the makeup of the chart will change. While sequels such as Gladiator II and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, late 2024 also sees the release of the Lion King prequel Mufasa as well as Wicked, which is an adaptation of a stage musical that is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Either movie charting would prevent this record-breaking slate from existing for more than a few weeks.
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Source: Total Film
