2024 Box Office
In 2023, Barbenheimer was celebrated as the savior of cinema. Dismal box-office numbers had prevailed since the COVID pandemic, but BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER suddenly had folks flocking in droves back to the theaters. 
BARBIE ended up being the highest grossing film of the year ($636 million) and OPPENHEIMER fifth ($326 million). There were 22 other films that passed the $100 million dollar benchmark in 2023, and the belief of many was that the movie-going experience was back, baby!
In 2024, however, things have gotten a little dicey again. The palpable cultural excitement has abated, and though the summer movie season produced two juggernauts, INSIDE OUT 2 ($653 million) and DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE ($637 million) the industry failed to illicit the same type of buzz as it did last year. There are plenty of examples of films underperforming (Kevin Costner’s partially self-funded HORIZON, for example), but the most troublesome to me, was the failure of FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA. Serving as a prequel to one of the great action movies of this (or any) generation (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD) the George Miller-helmed project may not have met the impossible expectations laid out by its predecessor, but it remains one of the best films of the year. It was the type of film that begged to be seen on the biggest screen possible yet earned a paltry $67.2 million in domestic gross. A film that was meant to be one of the biggest blasts of the summer, came and went with barely a whisper.
Ultimately, 20 films topped the $100 million mark this year, and while that is only a few less than last year, it is certainly worth noticing. Only two of those (DEADPOOL and VENOM: THE LAST DANCE) were comic-book based movies, which is a genre that has utterly dominated the box-office for the better part of the past 20 years.
Conversely, family films did very well. Within the top 20, alongside chart-topper INSIDE OUT 2, PG-rated titles WICKED, MOANA 2, DESPICABLE ME 4, KUNG FU PANDA 4, THE WILD ROBOT, and IF all passed the $100 million mark. These illustrate that going to the movies remains a popular pastime that parents and children still enjoy experiencing together, whereas other demographics don’t seem to exhibit the same type of passion as they once did.
The pandemic certainly changed the way we watch movies. From that point on, long gone were the days in which a film debuted in theaters and then months would pass before it became available to watch at home. When everyone was talking about the MATRIX, you had to go see it on the big screen if you wanted to be part of the cultural conversation. Now, there are times when you only have to wait a matter of weeks. Take the recently released RED ONE. The film debuted in theaters on November 15 to a lukewarm reception from critics and audiences alike, resulting in disappointing box-office numbers ($32 million for its opening weekend). Though some were already proclaiming it as a flop of epic proportions (the estimated budget was around $250 million), Amazon was already counting on its streaming success. By December 12 it was streaming on Prime, and in its first four days, had already achieved 50 million views. This is while it continued to play in theaters, generating revenue on both fronts.
RED ONE may serve as the most extreme example, but its certainly not alone. The much-maligned JOKER sequel, JOKER: FOLIE a DEUX disastrously opened on October 4 and is currently streaming on Max, and the animated adventure LORD OF THE RINGS: WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM opened on December 12 and is already available to watch on demand at home.
For me, and I hope this is still the case for many, going to the movies remains one of the great pleasures in life. FURIOUSA, DUNE 2, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, ALIEN: ROMULUS, and A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE were films that deserved to be seen in the way in which they were intended. But, as examples of the quick turnarounds continue to pile up, paired with the fact that home entertainment has evolved in a way in which you can essentially set up a theater in your own home, I can fully understand those who elect to just wait it out and watch from the comfort of their couch. How the industry responds and where we go from here remains one of the biggest conundrums that will need to be confronted as we enter 2025.
