Despite a challenging start to the year, Disney led the 2024 box office with hits like “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and “Moana 2,” helping domestic ticket sales rebound. The strong finish hints at a promising 2025 for theaters, fueled by blockbuster franchises and growing consumer demand.
Disney’s Late-Year Boost Lifts the Box Office
Sweary superheroes and sassy family-friendly sequels helped turn around a major box office slide in the final months of 2024. At year-end, overall domestic ticket sales were off only 3.4% compared with 2023, at $8.74 billion. That was a major rebound from a nearly 27% deficit early in the year. The rebound came due to blockbuster films released after June, particularly Disney and Marvel's heavy hitters such as Deadpool & Wolverine, Inside Out 2, and Moana 2, besides Universal's Wicked.
These titles alone transformed a billion-dollar deficit into a much more digestible $300 million shortfall, calling for a robust recovery following the impact of Hollywood's 2023 strikes and production halt. According to Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, the recovery was "dramatic" despite a tricky start for the industry in 2024.
A Year of Franchise Dominance
The 2024 box office showed that franchise films remain the bread and butter of the industry. All of the top 10 highest-grossing films of the year came from established franchises or well-loved intellectual properties (IP). Despite concerns that the market was flooded with superhero and franchise content, moviegoers continued to flock to theaters, proving that audiences still crave familiar faces and stories.
Looking ahead, analysts predict that 2025 and 2026 will be stacked with even more franchise-heavy releases, including big names like
Avatar: Fire and Ash and
Jurassic World: Rebirth . If 2024’s trends are any indication, moviegoers will continue their love affair with blockbuster series, keeping box office numbers strong.
Disney’s Supercharged Year: Pixar, Marvel, and More
Disney emerged as the big winner of 2024, responsible for three of the year’s four highest-grossing films. Pixar’s
Inside Out 2 took the top spot, earning over $650 million domestically and crossing the $1 billion mark globally. The film’s success was especially sweet for Pixar, which had struggled post-pandemic with direct-to-streaming releases. Meanwhile, Disney’s
Deadpool & Wolverine became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, while
Moana 2 shattered records in its holiday debut.
Together, these films helped Disney amass over $2.2 billion at the domestic box office, accounting for 25% of the year’s total haul. The success highlights Disney's dominance in the franchise game and its ability to drive massive ticket sales across various genres.
Universal and Warner Bros. Keep Up the Momentum
While Disney led the charge, Universal and Warner Bros. also saw significant box office success in 2024. Universal benefited from films like
Wicked and
Despicable Me 4 , while
Wicked itself was a standout, grossing $432 million domestically and breaking records for Broadway adaptations.
Warner Bros. and Sony contributed strong performances as well, with Warner Bros. pulling in $1.19 billion and Sony grossing $1 billion. Together, these studios kept the competition close and set the stage for a highly competitive 2025 box office season.
A Promising Outlook for 2025 and Beyond
The strong finish to 2024 has set a positive tone for 2025, with analysts predicting continued growth. The upcoming years are packed with anticipated releases from franchises like
Captain America ,
Jurassic World , and
Avatar , which should keep the momentum going.
As Shawn Robbins from Fandango points out, the “more stable calendar” in 2025 will ensure a steady stream of releases, allowing theaters to capitalize on renewed consumer interest. With more wide-release films and fewer delays, the future looks bright for the movie industry, despite the challenges it faced in 2024.
