Summary
2024’s highest grossing movies at the worldwidebox officeare a mixture of franchise continuations and original films. The box office is traditionally dominated by the latest works involving known IP, major stars, or accomplished directors. After the film industry was rocked by COVID-19, 2022 and 2023 showed signs of promise that audiences were eager to return to theaters. This is exactly what Hollywood was hoping for with its 2024 movie slate. Although some highly anticipated productions were delayed after the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes,2024’s lineup still included plenty of titles that projected for good box office performances.
WhereasBarbie,The Super Mario Bros. Movie, andOppenheimerdominated the list of2023’s highest grossing movies, the 2024 slate hadDune: Part Two,Deadpool and Wolverine,Inside Out 2, andDespicable Me 4as titles that were among2024’s predicted highest grossing movies. Of course, not every movie lives up to its box office expectations, and several others can become bigger hits than projected. A mixture of expected and surprise results make up the highest grossing movies at the box office in 2024, based on data fromBox Office Mojo.
Released on April 26,Civil Waris one of the 2024 box office surprises. Alex Garland and A24’s political war movie has made $121.6 million worldwide. The film’s strong performance began with its $25 million opening weekend. It hasmade $68 million domestically overallthanks to strong word of mouth. A24 has also been able to add another $53 million from international audiences even though the film skews more toward American audiences.
The performance ofCivil War’s box officeis certainly impressive. The film carried the highest budget for an A24 movie to date at $50 million. This made it a bigger risk, butCivil Warhas exceeded expectations andcrossed the $100 million mark it likely needed to become profitable. It now stands as A24’s second highest grossing movie of all time, trailing onlyEverything Everywhere All At Once’s $143 million performance. Even without breaking that record,Civil War’s box office is one of 2024’s best.
Civil War’s Incredible Box Office Compared To A24’s Current #1 Movie
Civil War’s box office is breaking records for A24. Here is how it compares to A24’s highest-grossing movie, and whether Civil War can beat it.
Released on January 12,The Beekeeperwas 2024’s first box office success story. Jason Statham’s action movieonly opened to $16.5 million domestically, but the continued interest from audiences and positive reviews helped turn it into a hit. It made $66 million domestically overall, adding another $50 million after its opening weekend.The Beekeper’s box officewas substantially aided by overseas interest drawing another $86 million. The end result was Statham’s movie making $152 million at the worldwide box office.
With a strong box office performance,The Beekeeperbecame a profitable venture for Amazon MGM. The filmreportedly carried a $40 million budget, meaning it needed to make at least $80 million to break even.The Beekeepernearly doubled that total by the end of its theatrical run. It makes the movie’s theatrical release a very smart move from Amazon MGM to potentially launch a new franchise.
Released on May 24,Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagahas one of the year’s most documented box office performances. George Miller’s movie made headlines with itsdisappointing $26 million opening weekend domestically. It has managed to pull together a total of $66 million domestically, while international audiences have attributed $102 million to the box office.Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’s box officestands at $168 million, well below the $380 million performance ofMad Max: Fury Roadnine years prior.
The underwhelming nature ofFuriosaat the box office made the movie’s path to success much more difficult. It carries a budget of $168 million or higher, meaning the box office has only matched the cost. Since movies typically need to double their budgets to breakeven or make a profit,Furiosais well shy of the target $336 million total it needed. Even with strong reviews, there was not enough interest to return to the Wasteland for theMad Maxfranchise to succeed.
Released on May 3,The Fall Guy’s box office has made $172.5 million worldwide. The film was projected to make as much as $40 million in its opening weekend to kick off the summer season. Despite receiving great reviews,The Fall Guyopened below expectationsto the tune of $27.7 million. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s action movie performed better than expected in the following weeks, allowing its legs to carry the film past $90 million domestically. It also added another $81 million from international territories to give the movie its bigger worldwide total.
Even as one of 2024’s highest grossing movies,The Fall Guyis not a box office success. Universal made the David Leitch production with a reported $140 million budget. This requiresThe Fall Guytomake over $280 million to become profitable. The movie has only managed to barely make its budget back instead.The Fall Guy’s week-to-week drops came in relatively low to help keep the film somewhat afloat at the box office. That does not ultimately stop the movie from underperforming.
Released on February 12,Bob Marley: One Lovebecame a major box office success by making $179.3 million worldwide. The Bob Marley biopic had a strong opening weekend with $28.6 million after opening early on a Wednesday, where it made $14 million alone. The film had very strong legs after its opening weekend, which allowed it to finish with a$96.8 million total gross domestically. International audiences also added another $82.5 million to the box office.
This performance madeBob Marley: One Lovea big winner for Paramount in 2024. With its reported $70 million budget, the studio needed audiences to be very interested in seeing the later years of the musician’s life.Bob Marley: One Love’s box officepassed the $140 million milestone to become profitable for Paramount. It also managed to becomeone of the highest grossing music biopics of all timethanks to its $179 million total. It is the fifth biggest musician biopic domestically ever.
Released on May 17,IFhas made $184.3 million at the worldwide box office. The total comes after it did not have the start expected for John Krasinski’s new movie about imaginary friends. Box office projections for the film’s opening weekend domestically were around $40 million, but it came in below that with its$33 million opening haul.IF’s box office has had great legs, as it has tripled that opening weekend for a domestic total of $109 million. The movie has also made an additional $74.7 million overseas.
The performance ofIFis enough to put it among 2024’s highest grossing movies, but it is far from a success. The movie reportedly has a budget of $110 million. This means John Krasinski’s film has yet to even make back what it cost to make, and that does not include any marketing or additional expenses.IFneeds to make roughly $220 millionto become profitable. The film has a chance to move past this milestone if it has small drops for the remainder of its theatrical run and gets good word of mouth.
Released on March 22,Ghostbusters: Frozen Empiremade $201 million at the box office worldwide. The sequel toGhostbusters: Afterlifeperformed mostly as expected. Its$45 million opening weekend domesticallywas right on par with projections. The film had a substantial drop in its second weekend, but it still managed to make $113.3 million domestically overall.Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s box officealso pulled in another $88 million from international audiences, helping it squeak past the $200 million milestone.
The box office total forGhostbusters: Frozen Empireputs the film right on the brink of being a success. The moviereportedly carries a $100 million budget, so its $201 million haul is just enough to help Sony break even.Frozen Empireis just shy ofGhostbusters: Afterlife’s $204 million total from 2021.EveryGhostbustersmoviehas made at least $200 million at the box office, but the 2024 release is still the lowest-grossing entry of the franchise.
Released on May 24, Sony’s animatedThe Garfield Moviehas become a box office hit. The movie only made $24 million in its opening weekend domestically, but it has had strong legs.The Garfield Moviecurrently has made $89 million at the domestic box office. The real success for the film has come overseas, as $150 million have come internationally. That givesThe Garfield Moviea box office total of $239.9 million total.
Sony’s smart financing helps makeThe Garfield Moviea rather massive financial success. The movie’sbudget is reportedly only $60 million, and the box office total is now four times that amount. It has beaten the $120 million milestone it needed to break even. As a result, Chris Pratt has delivered another box office success by playing an iconic character in an animated movie.
Released on June 7,Bad Boys: Ride Or Dieis one of 2024’s highest grossing movies. Sony bet big on Will Smith headlining the sequel and watched as the filmopened above expectations for a $54 million opening weekenddomestically.Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’s box officestands at $165 million domestically overall and has made another $166 million internationally. That brings its worldwide box office total to $331.9 million, which is the second-highest total for the franchise.
With a reported budget of $100 million,Bad Boys: Ride Or Dieis a major success. The box office total is more than triple what it cost to make the film. Even if Will Smith was paid bonuses for the box office performance, the fourth film should still be a profitable venture for Sony. It is alsoresponsible for makingBad Boysa $1 billion franchise.
Released on May 10,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apeshad a strong showing at the box office. The filmopened to $58.4 million domestically, which is right in line with how the previous three modernPlanet of the Apesmoviesperformed. Audiences have shown sustained interest in the film as represented by its weekend-to-weekend drops not being substantial.Kingdom of the Planet of the Apeshas made $165.2 million domestically, with another $221 million coming from overseas. This gives the movie a worldwide box office total of $389 million.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Box Office Looks So Much Better Now
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is on track to be a financial success, proving any doubters wrong and breaking a recent cinema trend.
The performance ofKingdom of the Planet of the Apes' box officeputs the franchise in a strong position. 20th Century and Disney gave director Wes Ball a reported $160 million budget to make this installment. That means the film needs to make $320 million worldwide to break even.Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesis a profitable releasefor the studios now that it has passed that milestone. It will still come in far below the previous trilogy barring an elongated theatrical run with continued interest.
