The highest-grossing movies of 2024 have shared one common feature: they are all franchise films. This is remarkable, considering the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023 forced the delay of many high-profile movies, including Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe films. The strikes only added to the dearth of big-budget blockbusters early in the year. However, this lack allowed smaller, original films, such as the independent thrillers “Longlegs” and “It Ends with Us”, to thrive in the box office.
Interestingly, this marks the first time the Top 15 movies worldwide have been all franchise films since at least 1977. Of the Top 15 in 1977, only two movies were based on pre-existing franchises. Today, original movies have difficulty breaking into the Top 15. While there was at least one original film in the Top 15 every year from 1999 to 2017, in recent years original films have been relegated to lower ranks.
2025 promises to continue this pattern, with many franchise movies already scheduled. Some significant sequels and reboots have been delayed since 2023, contributing to a stacked lineup next year. Despite this possibility, it’s not set in stone that franchise movies will dominate the box office. Disney and Pixar still have a strong track record of creating surprise hits at the box office. Perhaps an unexpected original film from one of these studios might shake up the rankings, or even dethrone the top franchise films altogether.