The Top 10 movies at the 2024box officehave collectively accomplished a major historical record. 2024 has been an unusual year at the box office, as there has been a dearth of major tentpoles in the wake of the 2023 writers and actors strikes, which saw many blockbusters delayed to 2025 while workers fought for fair pay. However, there have been several record-breaking theatrical runs throughout the year, including theInside Out 2box office, which saw the Pixar release become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.
PerTotal Film, the 2024 box office has established a major record. At the time of writing,all 10 movies in the Top 10 at the global box office are sequels, which are in this case defined as direct follow-ups that are not prequels, reboots, or other non-sequel projects that are still IP-connected like 2023’sBarbie. This is the first time this has happened in at least 50 years. See the full breakdown of the 2024 Top 10 below:
#1
$1.69 billion
#2
$1.34 billion
#3
$968.2 million
#4
$714.4 million
#5
$571.7 million
#6
$547.6 million
#7
$451 million
#8
$438.9 million
#9
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
$404.5 million
#10
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
$397.4 million
What This Box Office Record Means
Modern Cinema Isn’t Entirely IP-Driven
While worldwide box office reporting was spottier before 1974, it seemsentirely likely that this is in fact the first time that this record has ever happened, as the modern preponderance of sequels began around the 1980s. During that decade, many iconic franchises were born, includingIndiana Jones, theBack to the Futuretrilogy,Beverly Hills Cop,Ghostbusters, andLethal Weapon. While sequels did exist from the early years of cinema through 1974, they were much less common, emphasizing how rare this 2024 record truly is.
1916’sThe Fall of a Nation, which followed 1915’sThe Birth of a Nation, is believed to be the first sequel in movie history.
The fact that this particular record may have never happened beforedoes not mean that the Top 10 has never been composed entirely of IP-related movies, which is a much more common occurrence. While movies like2023’sOppenheimer, 2021’sThe Battle at Lake Changjin, 2020’sTenet, and 2018’sBohemian Rhapsodyhave prevented it from occurring many times in the past decade, 2019 and 2022 both had Top 10s that were entirely composed of IP movies. However, reboots such as the live-actionAladdinprevented them from all being sequels.
Our Take On The 2024 Box Office Record
It Probably Won’t Last
While thisbox officerecord is historic, the Top 10 will likely change considerably by the end of the year. As the holiday blockbusters season heats up, it is likely that the makeup of the chart will change. While sequels such asGladiator IIandSonic the Hedgehog 3, late 2024 also sees the release of theLion KingprequelMufasaas well asWicked, which is an adaptation of a stage musical that is a prequel toThe Wizard of Oz. Either movie charting wouldprevent this record-breaking slate from existing for more than a few weeks.
