2024 made for a successful year for films at thebox office,possibly even signaling an upward turn for the moviegoing economy that has been in decline since the pandemic. Several titles across different genres, such as sci-fi, animated, and thebest horror movies of 2024, scored big as they brought in hordes of audiences and achieved record-breaking profits in cinemas. In the end, the revenue attained by such films made a few of them some of thehighest-grossing movies of all time.
Several big-budget blockbusters understandably garnered massive profits while still becoming thebest movies of 2024overall. Nevertheless, there were also multiple independent motion pictures that blew away the competition and became household names in theaters. Now that the year has come to a close,10 movies in particular that premiered in 2024 stand out as having achieved the most incredible success storiesthat will be remembered for years to come.
10Terrifier 3
Art The Clown Topped Himself Again With This Terrifying Threequel
Terrifier 2reached an impressive $15 million haul at the box office in 2022. However, its Christmas-themed sequel grossed nearly six times more moneyfollowing its premiere in October 2024. Despite being an indie horror film with a measly $2 million budget, writer/directorDamien Leone’sTerrifier 3horrified countless audiences around the world with its extreme amount of gore and violence, creating considerable buzzand filling up theaters.
Terrifier 3’s Success Shows How Hollywood Can Fix A Growing Movie Problem
Despite all the odds, Terrifier 3 is more of a box office success than film franchises that used to be box office darlings.
This controversial, low-budget slasher film surprised many when it even topped DC’s big-budget but critically panned blockbuster,Joker: Folie à Deux, in movie theaters. With that,the evil Art the Clown established himself as a pop culture icon, rivaling the Clown Prince of Crime. All in all,Terrifier 3’sbox officesuccess reachedover $88.9 million, making it the highest-grossing unrated film of all time.
9Civil War
A24 Unleashed A Record-Breaking Indie Action Blockbuster
The independent film and TV studio A24 continues to grow more prominent and successful each year with its slew of acclaimed, director-driven features. However, the studio topped itself once more in 2024 with the release of its most expensive motion picture to date: writer/director Alex Garland’s dystopian action filmCivil War. Having grossed over $126.2 million in theaters,Civil Warbecame A24’s second most profitable movieat the box office, falling behindEverything Everywhere All At Oncebut surpassingUncut Gems.
The movie also usurped the horror movieHereditaryas the A24 film with the studio’s highest-grossing opening weekend.Civil Warwas also A24’s first film to have ranked #1 at the weekend box office upon its debut. The title easily could’ve tanked due to its controversial subject matter, butCivil War’s profits only added to A24’s rise to Hollywood greatness.
8The Substance
This Horror Comedy Was No Laughing Matter
Coralie Fargeat’sThe Substancegenerated quite a buzz after its worldwide premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, winning the award for Best Original Screenplay. Despite being a new indie IP with an unconventional marketing campaign,The Substancethen achieved great word-of-mouth on social media. Combined with the A-list star power of actor Demi Moore, this movie defied the odds as it attracted hordes of viewers upon release.
The satirical sci-fi body horror film wowed audiences with its gory scares, profound social commentary, and riveting performances from Moore and her co-star Margaret Qualley. For these reasons,The Substancemade a whopping $77 million in theaters against its $17.5 million budget. With its gross surpassing that of 2023’sPriscilla,Fargeat’s film established itself as Mubi’s all-time most profitable movie at the box office, as well as an instant pop culture phenomenon.
7Dune: Part Two
Director Denis Villeneuve Dominated Cinemas With His Dune Sequel
Though Denis Villeneuve’s firstDunemovie made a hefty amount following its premiere, its success was still held back as audiences slowly returned to theaters after the COVID-19 lockdown Almost three years later, the franchise returned to cinemas withDune: Part Two.Adapting the second half of Frank Herbert’s classic novel, this sequel premiered to a glorious reception as it ushered in a new age for sci-fi blockbusters.
Having been made on a $190 million budget,Dune: Part Twobroke even at the box office with $500 million, ultimately grossing $714.4 million in theaters worldwide. For a while,Dune: Part Twoheld the title of the highest-grossing movie of 2024. Though it lost that ranking soon afterward, this sequel continued to be one of the most profitable motion pictures of the year, further establishingDuneas one of cinema’s biggest new franchises.
6Inside Out 2
Pixar’s Long-Awaited Sequel Made For An Emotional Success
As the sequel to one of Pixar’s most beloved movies ever,Inside Out 2’s box officeresults showed that it had built more than enough anticipation in the nine years since the original movie’s release. This long wait paid off tenfold,as this sequel attracted a storm of praise and moviegoers in 2024, setting record highs for Pixar and animated films in general.
Having made $1.7 billion at the box office since its release,Inside Out 2soared to the topandbecame the highest-grossing film of the year. Its profits also placed it as the eighth highest-grossing movie in cinema history, ranking behindSpider-Man: No Way Homebut surpassingJurassic World. On top of that,Inside Out 2brokeFrozenII’s record in theaters as the highest-grossing animated film ever made, showing how Pixar films can still be box office juggernauts in modern cinema.
5Deadpool & Wolverine
Marvel Studios Made Bank Once More With This Multiversal Epic
While many of Marvel Studios' films have been record-breaking blockbusters at the box office, the recent onset of superhero fatigue has resulted in some hit-or-miss movies in the 2020s. But with actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising their iconic superhero roles,the Marvel Cinematic Universe reached a new high in Deadpool’s third comedic blockbuster.
Google’s Top Trending Movies Of 2024 Revealed (And Deadpool & Wolverine Didn’t Make The Top 5)
Google has revealed their top trending movie searches of 2024, and the order of these searches leaves Deadpool & Wolverine in a surprising spot.
With the promise of featuring several classic characters from Fox’s Marvel projects, including from theX-Menfilms, it’s no surprise that this Marvel movie attracted so many viewers. Grossing an incredible $1.3 billion in theaters, as an R-rated film,Deadpool & Wolverineexceeded box office predictions upon release and shattered several records as well. Eventually, this movie topped DC’sJokeras the highest-grossing R-rated film ever made. By the end of its theatrical run,Deadpool & Wolverinebecame the 20th highest-grossing film in cinema history.
4Twisters
The Latest Hollywood Legacy Sequel Took Cinemas By Storm
Twenty-eight years afterTwisterpremiered in theaters,Twisterscame and rebooted the franchise to great success. Despite being a standalone sequel with none of the original film’s cast,Twistersswept up huge box office profits as it garnered $371 million globally. As a result, the film surpassed its initial box office projections as it gained rave reviews and set several theatrical milestones.
With its $81.3 million debut, this disaster movie had the highest-grossing opening weekend in the genre, beating the record set by 2004’sThe Day After Tomorrow. Its high opening also rivaled the profits gained byInside Out 2andDune: Part Two, making it one of the most popular movies of 2024. Also, thanks to this film’s incredible turnout in theaters, director Lee Isaac Chung made a spectacular jump from helming indie films likeMinarito making huge, high-grossing blockbusters.
3Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice Returned With A Vengeance At The Box Office
The world had waited almost 40 years for a sequel to director Tim Burton’s classic horror comedyBeetlejuice. Due to the original film’s legacy,this long-awaitedBeetlejuicesequelwas all but guaranteed to send audiences flocking to theaters the moment it premiered. It was especially successful thanks to the modern popularity of stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Jenna Ortega that this film triumphed.
After debuting with $111 million at the box office, 2024’sBeetlejuice Beetlejuicedidn’t just usurp the original film’s entire box office gross.This highly-anticipated sequel made back its $100 million budget with the third highest-grossing opening of 2024, competing withDeadpool & WolverineandInside Out 2. It even rivaled the success of 2010’sAlice in Wonderlandwith the second-biggest opening in Burton’s career. To think that Warner Bros. nearly sent this hit movie right to streaming on Max.
2Moana 2
Moana Sailed To The Top At The Box Office With Her Second Film
Following the theatrical success ofMoanain 2016, a sequel was sure to bring audiences back to movie theaters and generate vast revenue. Sure enough,Moana 2broke several box office records following its premiere. Despite gaining more divisive reviews than the firstMoanafilm, this follow-up came out on top and became one of the most successful sequel movies ever made.
The weekend that it hit theaters,Moana 2achieved the highest-grossing opening for a film by Walt Disney Animation. It also made for the most profitable Thanksgiving weekend release in history. Soon afterward,Moana 2came in fourth place in the whole year’s box office gross. It even beat the record set byThe Super Mario Bros. Moviein 2023 for the highest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film at $386 million, reasserting Disney’s potential in the genre.
1Wicked
This Movie Defied Gravity & Box Office Projections
Due to the trend of low-grossing musical films following the pandemic,the odds seemed all but stacked againstWickedsucceeding in theaters. However, this Broadway movie adaptation from director John M. Chu made for a pleasant, breathtaking surprise. First, it gained plenty of hype with its early reviews and its same-day release as Ridley Scott’sGladiator II, making for a repeat of 2023’s Barbenheimer phenomenon.
Wicked Becomes One Of 2024’s Top 3 Highest-Grossing Movies In Box Office Update
Jon M. Chu’s Wicked crosses another box office milestone, becoming one of the top 3 highest-grossing films in 2024’s domestic box office.
Wickedachieved the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a Broadway musical. Once it crossed $190 million domestically, the movie beatGreaseas the most profitable stage musical film adaptation in cinema history. Since its premiere in November 2024, the $150 millionWickedgrossed over $536 million in theaters, solidifying it as thehighest-grossing movie in theWizard of Ozfranchiseand the second highest-grossing Broadway-based musical film ever made behindMamma Mia!.
