Total North American box office for 2024 is expected to come in at about $8.75bn, according to an estimate from measurement company Comscore, 3.3% down on the $9.05bn tally for 2023.
Among studios, Disney ended the year with the biggest total gross, reporting a final domestic tally (including Fox releases) of $2.23bn.
The 2024 estimate, made before taking residuals and complete studio reporting into account, reflects a big recovery after a first half of the year in which the release calendar was decimated by the actors and writers strikes of 2023.
Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian reports that prior to the June release of Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2, the year’s first $100m opener, domestic box office was down 27.5% on 2023. The second half of 2024 benefited from “a consistent slate of films released at a regular cadence to create and maintain the all-important revenue enhancing momentum,” Dergarabedian said.
Inside Out 2 ended up as the year’s highest grossing film outright, contributing $653m to Disney’s $2.23bn haul. The studio’s second and third biggest releases were Marvel Studios’ Deadpool And Wolverine, with $637m, and Moana 2, with $404m as of December 31.
Universal was Disney’s closest competitor with a 2024 domestic total of $1.89bn. With a take, as of December 31, of $432.9m, Wicked was the studio’s biggest earner and now stands as the biggest ever adaption of a Broadway musical at the domestic box office, beating out previous record holder Grease.
Universal’s Despicable Me 4 ended the year with $361m, making the Illumination series the highest grossing animated franchise ever. The studio’s Twisters added another $267.8m to the 2024 tally.
Warner Bros ended the year with a box office haul of $1.19bn, the studio reported. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice was the biggest individual performer, taking $294.1m domestically, followed by Dune: Part Two with $282.1m and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with $196.3m.
Sony reported a domestic tally for the year of just over $1bn. Bad Boys: Ride Or Die was the biggest contributor, with $193.6M). It Ends With Us delivered another $148.5m, becoming the biggest romantic drama release since 2018, and Venom: The Last Dance bit off $139.7m, bringing the total for its three-film franchise to $1.84bn.
Paramount’s domestic gross reached $879.7m by year’s end, with Gladiator II, which is still in release, leading the studio’s performers with $164.6m. Sonic The Hedgehog 3, also still in release, took $151.5m and A Quiet Place: Day One $138.9m.
Lionsgate reported an estimated total gross of $250.9m for calendar 2024. Current release The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was the company’s top performer, taking an estimated $39.9m as of December 31. The Strangers: Chapter 1 managed $35.2m and Imaginary $28m.
No comments yet