Biggest box office hits of 2024 (and surprising box office flops)

This year brought audiences heartfelt animated sequels like Moana 2, Inside Out 2, Kung Fu Panda 4, historical epics like Gladiator 2 and the pinnacle of science fiction in films like Dune: Part Two. 

It was also the year of big sequels and remakes that were surprisingly disappointing. Let’s list some of the biggest box office hits of 2024, while also noting the biggest flops of 2024.

Inside Out 2

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 delightfully depicted Riley’s ride through the roller coaster of emotions that a budding teenager experiences. In this sequel to Inside Out, anxiety joins Riley’s various personified emotions, which include anger, fear, joy, sadness and disgust.

The movie received a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is the highest grossing movie of 2024. The Kelsey Mann movie, made using a budget of $200 million, grossed $1.699 billion dollars, per Box Office Mojo.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Marvel’s highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine starring close friends Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is the second highest grossing movie of 2024 so far. The Shawn Levy directorial made $1.338 billion worldwide (nearly one and a half billion dollars) on a budget of $200 million.

The movie, which introduced the X-Men to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revolved around Deadpool’s adventures when he’s offered a place in the MCU by the Time Variance Authority (depicted in detail in TV series Loki), he recruits Wolverine to help with his mission.

Despicable Me 4

In the fourth addition to the Despicable Me franchise, villain Maxime Le Mal escapes prison, determined to once and for all teach Gru a lesson. Gru has also welcomed a baby son, Gru Jr., who seems to like everyone but his dad.

The Chris Renaud film grossed $969.2 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $100 million.

Moana 2

After restoring the Island Goddess Te Fiti in the first installment, Moana embarks on another adventure with the help of demigod Maui following a message from an ancestor.

Cast members Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, and Alan Tudyk all returned in their roles for this sequel. The beloved animated film brought in $729.7 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $150 million and is the third highest grossing film of 2024 so far.

Dune: Part Two

Denis Villeneuve’s second installment in this science fiction franchise brought back lead stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem in their previous roles.

The story continues Paul Atreides’ journey as the Mahdi when he joins the Fremen people, where he finds love in Chani.

The critically acclaimed film grossed $714.4 million worldwide with an estimated budget of $190 million.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

In the latest installment in this long standing franchise, Godzilla becomes its most powerful self, and Kong plunges deep into the Earth to combat a new and mighty threat. The movie grossed $571.8 million worldwide, despite mixed reviews. The Adam Wingard movie was made with an estimated budget of $135–150 million.

Kung Fu Panda 4

As Po (Jack Black) is asked to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace, he has to let go of the position of Dragon Warrior. Po faces another challenge in maturity when tasked with finding a replacement for himself. 

Meanwhile, he learns that a sorceress dubbed as The Chameleon is after his Staff of Wisdom to gain ultimate power. The beloved panda has to find a new Dragon Warrior, and defeat the powerful sorceress at the same time.

Stars Jack Black, Ian McShane, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, and Bryan Cranston reprised their roles from the previous films.

The movie grossed a whopping $549.2 million on a budget of around $85 million.

Other high grossing films of 2024 include Tom Hardy starring Venom: The Last Dance, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo led musical Wicked, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, and animated film The Wild Robot.

Joker: Folie à Deux

At Arkham State Hospital, Arthur Fleck aka Joker meets Harley Quinn, who celebrates his dark side.

Joker: Folie à Deux followed 2019’s critically acclaimed film Joker, which grossed $1.079 billion on a budget of $55 million.

Joker: Folie à Deux, a musical, was slammed brutally by critics for plot issues (dubbed a long drawn-out courtroom drama by Variety) and straying from the comics it derives from.

Following the immense success of Joker and heavy praise for Joaquin Phoenix’s performance, the second installment’s failure at the box office became shocking. The movie, which was made with a staggering budget of $200 million, grossed only $206.4 million worldwide, barely recovering the investment put into making it.

Madame Webb

Marvel’s Madame Webb starred Dakota Johnson as the titular MCU character Cassandra Webb, who attains psychic abilities and embarks on a mission to save three special women – destined to become spider-women – from antagonist Ezekiel Sims.

The movie disappointed critics and Marvel fans alike, with Johnson herself admitting that she wasn’t surprised at the reaction it got.

Madame Webb had a dismal run at the box office, earning $100 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $80 – $100 million.

Borderlands

Although Borderlands boasted an ensemble cast including Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis, it couldn’t bring their fans to the cinemas.

The video game inspired film had a huge $110–120 million budget and grossed only $33 million worldwide.

Megalopolis

Francis Ford Coppola’s science fiction epic depicted a futuristic and alternate New York City called New Rome. Adam Driver played architect Cesar Catilina, who dreams of a utopian city he’d call Megalopolis. The plot followed Cesar’s conflict with greedy and status oriented mayor of the city Franklyn Cicero.

The movie was Coppola’s own brainchild in making since 1977. After decades of issues with financing, the filmmaker financed it with $120 million from his own pockets. However, it failed to attract viewers and only grossed $13.7 million worldwide after being rejected by critics.

Some other major flops of the 2024 include Sebastian Stan starring The Apprentice (the actor has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance), Bill Skarsgard starring The Crow, Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson’s Fly Me to the Moon, Tom Hanks starring Here, and Kevin Costner’s very personal project Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.