Throughout 2024, the film industry saw major box office successes, with several movies achieving significant milestones. A few movies stood out with their success, but what could be the reasons behind this success?
1. Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” was the highest-grossing film of 2024, making $1.69 billion at the box office globally. As the sequel to “Inside Out”, the film delved deeper into the complexities of adolescence and introduced new emotions that could resonate with younger audiences and adults. The four new emotions, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment, arrive and clash with the original emotions of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. The movie features returning cast members such as Amy Poehler (Joy) and Phyllis Smith (Sadness). Directed by Kelsey Mann, who has also worked on senior creative teams of animations such as “Luca”, “Turning Red”, and “Lightyear”, the movie was well-received by both audiences and critics. Film critic Robbie Collin said that the movie “gets Pixar back to doing what they always did best: juggling big concepts in fun and ingenious but also surprisingly wise and moving ways”, according to a BBC article.
2. “Deadpool & Wolverine” is a collaboration between two widely-loved Marvel characters, and the movie grossed $1.34 billion worldwide. Both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprised their roles as Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively, and were joined by Channing Tatum, Emma Corrin, and Matthew Macfayden in a star-studded cast. The plot focuses on the teamwork between Deadpool and Wolverine to complete a mission handed to them by the Time Variance Authority and save the world from an existential threat. Directed by Shawn Levy, who previously directed Netflix’s “Stranger Things” (2016-present), and “Free Guy” (2021), which also starred Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. Both the aforementioned movie and show had stellar reviews, which makes it less surprising that “Deadpool & Wolverine” received overwhelmingly positive audience reviews.
3. The third highest-grossing movie at the box office this year was Disney’s “Moana 2”, which earned almost $990 million internationally. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprised his role as Maui, and Auli’i Cravalho returned to voice heroine Moana. Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film featured a musical score composed by Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i. At the same time, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replaced Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters. In “Moana 2”, the title character Moana embarks on an adventure beyond the ocean’s edge to save her people once again, simultaneously discovering new islands and secrets about the past of her ancestors.
The global box office in 2024 was undeniably successful, driven by a mix of sequels, widespread audience appeal, and innovative storytelling. Films like “Inside Out 2”, “Deadpool & Wolverine”, and “Moana 2” show the power that established franchises have of capturing wide audience demographics. There is only one question: will 2025 bring even more success to the box office?