The summer of 2024 will go down in box office history as a season of big ups and downs. The industry was well aware that it was going to be a strange season as last year’s labor battles in Hollywood postponed a slew of productions, and expectations were met: things started off slowly in May before heating up in June and July. All in all, there was plenty of success to report in the past few months, but August ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
With no high-profile releases in theaters last Friday, this week's box office Top 10 looks a lot like last week's box office results…albeit with smaller numbers. Check out the reported numbers below, and join me afterward as we break them down.
| QUALIFICATION | GROSS WEEKEND | GROSS INTERNAL | LW | THRRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Deadpool and Wolverine | $15,184,000 | $599,525,117 | 1 | 3.630 |
| 2. Alien: Romulus | $9,324,000 | $88,764,631 | 2 | 3.120 |
| 3. Finish with us | $7,425,000 | $133,719,000 | 3 | 3.551 |
| 4.Reagan* | $7,400,720 | $7,400,720 | N/A | 2.754 |
| 5. Tornadoes | $7,160,000 | $258,032,000 | 6 | 3.005 |
| 6. Blink twice | $4,687,000 | $15,340,550 | 4 | 3.067 |
| 7. The Forge | $4,600,000 | $14,313,000 | 5 | 1.921 |
| 8. Despicable Me 4 | $4,080,000 | $354,110,000 | 9 | 2.698 |
| 9. Fear* | $3,700,000 | $3,700,000 | N/A | 3.003 |
| 10. Inside Out 2 | $2,770,000 | $650,009,541 | 10 | 2.660 |
Deadpool and Wolverine close out summer 2024 at the top of the box office and are preparing to surpass $600 million domestically
As for bright spots at the box office, Shawn Levy Deadpool and Wolverine is clearly one of the big highlights of 2024 so far. The Marvel Cinematic Universe had a rough year in 2023, with the success of James Gunn's film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 overshadowed by the disappointments of both Peyton Reed Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Nia DaCosta The Wondersbut the franchise's first R-rated film has put things back on track.
According The numbers, Deadpool and Wolverine closed August/began September adding 15.2 million dollars to its coffers nationwide, which allowed it to win its fifth box office crown in the last six weeks (the premiere of Fede Álvarez's film). Extraterrestrial: Romulus (Having interrupted the streak earlier this month.) So far, the film has grossed $599.5 million in the United States and Canada, meaning it will almost certainly end Labor Day weekend surpassing $600 million in the region. That's a feat only achieved by five other titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Joe and Anthony Russo Avengers: Endgame ($858.4 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($678.8 million), by Jon Watts Spider-Man: No Way Home ($814.8 million), by Ryan Coogler Black Panther ($700.1 million) and Joss Whedon's the Avengers (US$623.4 million).
The blockbuster now also ranks as the MCU's seventh-biggest hit globally – its worldwide ticket sales have surpassed those of Shane Black. Iron Man 3 (which grossed $1.215 billion in 2013). Deadpool and Wolverine He's now earned $1.258 billion. He'll need to earn about $77 million more to continue climbing the franchise rankings and surpass Black Panther (which memorably grossed $1.334 billion in 2018), but it's questionable whether it will have what it takes to accomplish that feat at this point in the film's theatrical run.
Deadpool and Wolverine It won't go down in history as the biggest hit of the summer of 2024 (that superlative belongs to Kelsey Mann). Inside Out 2(which, as you'll see, is still at the bottom of the Top 10), but there's no doubt that it will end up being considered one of the year's big screen victories. Despite its audience reach being theoretically limited by its R rating, it has been more successful than Chris Renaud's all-ages film. Despicable Me 4And, as noted a few weeks ago, it has officially become the most successful R-rated release of all time, having surpassed Todd Phillips's. Joker.
Looking at the list of films coming out in 2024, one wonders which titles, if any, might end up eclipsing it in the global box office rankings. Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux will at least threaten the stature of Deadpool and Wolverine in the coming weeks, and the end of the year features some major releases like Ridley Scott’s film. Gladiator IIby Jon Chu Wickedand David Derrick Jr., Dana Ledoux Miller and Jason Hand. Moana 2 (although it should be noted that all three titles will compete head-to-head over the Thanksgiving holiday.)
New releases of Reagan and Afraid fail to generate much interest on the big screen
Top 3 at the box office (Deadpool and Wolverine followed by Extraterrestrial: Romulus and Justin Baldoni Ends with us) didn't change much this weekend because the newer titles that hit the big screen didn't generate much interest. This included Sean McNamara Reagan Starring Dennis Quaid and Chris Weitz, the horror film focused on AI Scared.
Distributed by ShowBiz Direct, Reagan It did at least manage to crack the Top 10, coming in fourth just ahead of Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters (which added $7.2 million to its domestic total in its seventh week of release and has grossed $258 million in the region to date). The film grossed $7.4 million from 2,754 theaters.
Scared It wasn't that successful. Despite a solid cast, including John Cho and Katherine Waterston, the Blumhouse-produced film was basically ignored on the big screen for the last three days. Sony Pictures screened the film in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide, but it only managed to gross $3.7 million, resulting in a dismal average of $1,232 per theater.
These results don't exactly contradict industry expectations, as the end of August is typically considered a dumping ground for films that are deemed to have no chance of success at any other time of the year. Still, the shift in calendar to September is expected to see box office figures pick up again.
On that note, spooky season has officially begun, and it's kicking off in a big way next Friday with the arrival of Tim Burton. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (and has earned some positive reviews so far.) Be sure to check back with CinemaBlend next Sunday to see not only how it performs in its opening weekend, but also how it shakes up the Top 10.