2024 was once again an exciting year for cinema with some successful movies. Many are likely thinking of Deadpool and Wolverine or Dune 2. But the true star of the year is a film that might not come to mind immediately. The whole genre showed how successful it is this year.
How was the cinema year 2024? 2023 was the year of Barbenheimer
. Barbie and Oppenheimer created a cinema hype and many visitors during a similar release period. Barbie grossed over 1.4 billion US dollars, making it the highest-grossing film of the year (via Box Office Mojo).
In 2024, there was no such cinema event
. The highest-grossing film of 2024 (as of November 29, 2024) was Inside Out 2 with a box office of nearly 1.7 billion US dollars. Therefore, the film is even more successful than Deadpool and Wolverine and Dune: Part Two (via Box Office Mojo). This also shows a trend that has emerged in 2024.
Families and Children are Strong Moviegoers
Which genre was the big star of 2024? Looking at the top 10 based on box office results on Box Office Mojo, one can see how big animated films were in 2024.
Among the top 10 are:
- Inside Out 2 (approx. 1.7 billion US dollars)
- Despicable Me 4 (approx. 1.3 billion US dollars)
- and Kung Fu Panda 4 (approx. 500 million US dollars)
Thus, animated films also outshine the sci-fi genre, which is represented twice with Dune: Part Two (approx. 700 million US dollars), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (approx. 600 million US dollars), and Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom (approx. 400 million US dollars).
Already in 2023, with films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, it was shown that not only children and families go to such films, but almost every target group does.
2024 is also not the end for animated hits. On November 28, Moana 2 was released, which had already performed very well in previews (via The Hollywood Reporter). Also, Mufasa: The Lion King (if counted as an animated film) has promising projections.
What about animated films in 2025? 2025 is also packed with animated films again, including many that have potential for high box office results:
- The Gangster Gang 2
- Plankton: The Movie
- The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants
- Elio
- Zootopia 2
In addition to sequels, one must also not forget the new films, even in the animation sector. A film from DreamWorks mixed science fiction with animation and became a successful critical favorite: A new sci-fi film is loved by critics – It is rated better than Dune 2 and Alien: Romulus
