Year-end receipts provide a welcome boost for Disney, securing its position as the 2024 box office winner.

• During the last months of 2024, the box office was significantly boosted by the release of "Deadpool & Wolverine" from Disney and Marvel, "Inside Out 2" from Pixar, "Moana 2" from Disney Animation, and "Wicked" from Universal.
• Despite a slight decline of 3.4% in full-year ticket sales from 2023, reaching $8.74 billion, the shortage seen at the midway point of 2024 was significantly less at nearly 27%.
• The total domestic market was represented by Disney, which accounted for 25% of ticket sales.

During the last months of 2024, both foul-mouthed superheroes and family-friendly content boosted the domestic box office.

Despite a slight decline of 3.4% in full-year ticket sales from 2023, reaching $8.74 billion, the shortage seen at the midway point of 2024 was significantly less at nearly 27%.

The release of "Deadpool & Wolverine," "Inside Out 2," "Moana 2," and "Wicked" after June helped boost ticket sales and turn a billion-dollar deficit into just $300 million, according to Comscore data.

According to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, the massive comeback that began in June due to the residual impact of the strikes and resultant production delays that threw the release slate into disarray in the early part of the year is nothing short of remarkable, despite 2024 being one of the most challenging ever for theatres.

The 2024 box office was predicted to lag significantly behind the $9 billion earned in 2023 due to the disruption of the production calendar by dual Hollywood labor strikes in 2023, which postponed major blockbuster releases until the second half of 2024 and some even until 2025 and 2026.

According to Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, expectations for the year were burdened with the consequences of release delays due to industry strikes, as well as the need to adapt to changing consumer preferences in a world where shorter theatrical windows and advanced in-cinema experiences are increasingly in demand.

Despite the initial disappointment of a slump in first-half ticket sales, industry analysts predict a rebound in 2025 and the potential to surpass the $10 billion mark in 2026.

Despite concerns about the saturation of licensed material, particularly in the superhero genre, the next two years are expected to be filled with blockbuster franchises and films based on popular intellectual property. And, as demonstrated by the success of 2024, audiences continue to be drawn to these films.

The top 10 highest-grossing films of 2024 were all linked to major film franchises or popular IP, which is a positive sign for the future of cinema.

"Eric Handler, managing director at Roth MKM, predicts that the year's lineup will be franchise-driven, with "Avatar: Fire and Ash," "Jurassic World: Rebirth," and "Wicked: For Good" all expected to gross over $400 million."

Disney magic

In 2024, Disney profited significantly from franchise films, with Pixar's "Inside Out 2," Marvel's "Deadpool & Wolverine," and Disney Animation's "Moana 2" being the top-grossing films of the year.

"Barbie" was the last Warner Bros. film to reach $1 billion at the global box office until "Inside Out 2" surpassed that mark with more than $650 million in domestic earnings.

Disney's Pixar animation studio experienced a significant victory after a period of decline at the box office due to the pandemic. Despite its past success, Pixar has struggled financially since the pandemic hit, with some of its challenges stemming from Disney's decision to release several animated films directly on streaming service Disney+ during theater closures and even after cinemas reopened.

No Disney animated feature from Pixar or Walt Disney Animation had generated more than $480 million at the global box office since 2019 until "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing film of 2024.

Disney's first-ever R-rated Marvel feature, "Deadpool & Wolverine," hit theaters in July and quickly earned the record for the highest debut of an R-rated film ever. It went on to top $1 billion at the global box office, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe experienced a resurgence with the release of "Deadpool & Wolverine," which helped to address the inconsistency at the box office following the success of "Avengers: Endgame" in 2019.

Marvel has three major releases in 2025, including "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts," and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," as Handler noted, with the superhero genre seeking "a bit of redemption."

James Gunn and Peter Safran's first film under Warner Bros. will be "Superman: Legacy," which will be closely watched after the disappointing box office of "Joker: Folie a Deux."

Disney's "Moana 2" was the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year, earning $221 million in domestic ticket sales during its Thanksgiving release and eventually grossing over $900 million globally.

Disney's theatrical releases, including these films, contributed to their domestic box office revenue of over $2.2 billion last year, which accounts for approximately 25% of the industry's total earnings.

In 2024, "Wicked," "Despicable Me 4," "Twisters," and "Kung Fu Panda 4" accounted for 21.6% of the total market share, generating $1.8 billion in box-office receipts. "Wicked" was the third-highest-grossing film of the year, earning $432 million domestically and breaking the curse of movie musicals at the box office. Additionally, it set a new record for the highest debut of a Broadway adaptation in cinematic history.

The top five studios in terms of market share are Warner Bros., Sony, and Paramount, with $1.19 billion, $1 billion, and $880 million in revenue, respectively.

""The upcoming moviegoing rally in '25 is expected to generate even bigger results for movie theaters due to a more stable calendar with a greater number of wide release films," Dergarabedian said."

Fandango is owned by NBCUniversal, which is the distributor of "Wicked," "Despicable Me 4," "Twisters," and "Kung Fu Panda 4." NBCUniversal is also the parent company of Comcast.