R-rated, restricted-audience films and gooey all-family films propped up domestic cinema boxoffice in 2024.
“Venturing into R-rated territory for the first time paid off in spades as Disney and Marvel’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ — the third installment in Ryan Reynold’s doozy-of-a comic-book-franchise became the top-grossing R-rated film of all time — while Pixar and Disney’s ‘Inside Out 2’ led the PG boom,” wrote Pamela McClintock in the Hollywood Reporter. A “Deadpool & Wolverine” image is above showing actor Ryan Reynolds in costume. His endearing character is fast-taking and drops F-bomb dry comedy, which is an innovation for movies adapted from comic books.
Top Five Grossing Films in 2024 Cinema
| Rank | Title | WW Gross mil. | Dom Gross mil. | Budget-Prod. mil. | Rating | Distrib |
| 1 | Inside Out 2 | $1,690 | $653 | $200 | PG | Disney |
| 2 | Deadpool-Wolverine | $1,340 | $638 | $200 | R | Disney |
| 3 | Despicable Me 4 | $968 | $361 | $100 | PG | Universal |
| 4 | Moana 2 | $906 | $404 | $150 | PG | Disney |
| 5 | Dune: Part Two | $714 | $282 | $190 | PG-13 | Warners |
Indie distributor A24 cashed in on R-rated with horror film “Longlegs,” with $74.6 million in domestic ticket sales and $126.9 million globally. That is a big haul for a movie that reputedly cost under $10 million to make. Family animation also boomed with “Inside Out 2” at No. 1 and “Despicable Me 4” at No. 3.
On audience classifications, the PG (may not be suitable for ages 13+/parental guidance) provides some edgy content beyond the lower G-general audience. Three of the top-five cinema grossers in 2024 carried PG ratings (see accompanying table). As 2024 ended, Universal Pictures’ release of stageplay adaptation “Wicked” is another PG-rated cinema blockbuster.
“If estimates are correct, 2024 domestic revenue clocked in at roughly $8.75 billion, down 3.3 percent from last year’s $9.04 billion,” writes McClintock. “And it’s a good bet that 2025 could cross that $9 billion mark once again, but that is still notably behind pre-pandemic levels of $11 billion.”
Having 2024 boxoffice slightly below 2023 may seem a bummer at first glance, but two crippling Hollywood labor strikes in 2023 and the Covid shutdown interrupted the flow of movies. This year gets closer to normal and 2026 should be resolved completely.
Glossy big-budget Hollywood films rebounded strongly post pandemic, but what is below pre-Covid levels are midbudget films aimed at sophisticated adult audiences. Video streamers such as Netflix compete with distributors to cinema such as the major studios for those films, because serious adult fare is consider a hook for streaming subscribers.
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