Disney’s 2024 theatrical slate was event after event and arguably win after win.
This was the year that Disney got its groove back at the box office after a rougher-than-expected 2023.
Let’s break down Disney’s 2024 Box Office.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Domestic: $171 million — International: $226 million
Apes Together Strong.
Disney/20th Century Studio successfully resurrected the Planet of the Apes franchise, and two new sequels are on the way. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes budget was $160 million which is on the low end for IMAX-level blockbusters these days. I’m expecting the next two sequels to perform even better as Kingdom sets up an intriguing story. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened with $58 million at the domestic box office. Then it slowly declined as more films came out for the summer season.
The $397 million total was a success for Disney/20th Century Studio and also showed the promise of the Fox deal. Disney and 20th Century Studio’s marketing teams also deserve props as their marketing stunts with apes on horseback definitely increased interest in the film and franchise.
Worldwide: $397 million
Inside Out 2
Domestic: $653 million — International: $1.05 billion
Pixar needed a home run and they got a grand slam. Inside Out has ascended from a great Pixar film to now a cornerstone franchise for Disney. Not many films or franchises get the honor of passing $1 billion at the box office and not many do it as thunderously as Inside Out 2 did.
Inside Out 2 made a massive $154 million on its opening weekend followed by a massive second weekend of $100 million. Inside Out 2 is the 7th film ever to make $100 million in its second weekend. Inside Out 2 joins elite company with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Jurassic World, and The Avengers. That’s quite the list to be a part of.
Just an incredibly strong run for Inside Out 2 at the worldwide box office.
Record-Breaking Takeaways
Worldwide: $1.7 billion
Deadpool & Wolverine
Domestic: $636 million — International: $701 million
Everyone knew this was going to be a hit but it was a matter of how big it would be. Deadpool & Wolverine became the most successful Rated-R film of all time and also ushered in a Deadpool era for the entire Walt Disney Company.
It was also a pretty even split of where the box office earnings came from (52% international, 47% domestic). Deadpool and Wolverine made $211 million over its opening weekend and then made $96 million on its second weekend. The film was $4 million away from joining Inside Out 2 on the prestigious list of films that make $100M+ in its second weekend.
Now Disney/Marvel Studios will have to convince Ryan Reynolds to do Deadpool 4 after Secret Wars.
Record-Breaking Takeaways
Worldwide: $1.3 billion
Alien: Romulus
Domestic: $105 million — International: $245 million
Alien: Romulus was once thought of as a Hulu Original.
The film went on to make $350 million at the worldwide box office.
This shows how badly streaming broke Hollywood’s brain when it came to certain titles. Hulu (Disney) was going to put a $80 million film directly to streaming. What would that return on investment even look like? Would the watch time and subs even justify it? Likely no. Instead, they made the right decision to put it in theaters and they made money.
The film made $42 million on its opening weekend. I believe the stronger-than-expected opening was due to Disney’s marketing push and creating viral stunts like having the Alien facehuggers on random citizens in New York.
Due to the success of Alien: Romulus, there will be another Alien film coming from 20th Century Studios (there will be an FX series in 2025 in the meantime, SYNERGY!).
2024 was the year the Apes and Aliens made the Disney-21st Century Fox deal look better.
Worldwide: $350 million
Moana 2
Domestic: $445 million — International: $567 million
The total may change by the time this article is released.
Moana 2, which originally was going to be a Moana Disney+ series, has soared to $1 billion at the box office.
Disney made the decision to retool the Moana Disney+ series in order to get Walt Disney Animation Studios’ box office groove back. The strategy worked despite Moana 2 receiving middle-of-the-road reviews.
Moana 2 had a historic start at the domestic box office with $225 million in its first five days. The film has also had impressive legs. Moana 3 is all but certain and more Moana in the Disney Parks should be another guarantee after this box office performance.
Record-Breaking Takeaways
Worldwide: $1 billion
Mufasa: The Lion King
Domestic: $209 million — International: $382 million
The total may change by the time this article is released.
The box office story of Mufasa is quite remarkable. It faced tough competition with Sonic 3 but has held on and made a run at the box office. Mufasa went from an opening weekend of $35 million to a second weekend of $36 million. Mufasa benefitted from the holiday corridor. Mufasa is also estimated to make $15.5 million over MLK weekend. The film benefited from word of mouth. However, 64% of the worldwide gross does come from the international box office.
Mufasa is nearing $600M worldwide. To me, that’s a strong number for the prequel sequel. I feel like anyone who was projecting $1 billion wasn’t being realistic. There have been murmurs that Disney wants to do another live-action Lion King film. I currently put that at 50/50. I think the film would have to not come out in December in order to do better.
Worldwide: $591 million
Disney reasserted its box office dominance in 2024 with a trio of billion-dollar hits (Inside Out 2, Deadpool and Wolverine, Moana 2) and overall strong performers (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Alien: Romulus, and Mufasa: The Lion King).
We didn’t even mention the smaller bets from Searchlight that also brought in box office for Disney as well. Overall, the year was a comeback, and now they look to 2025, which is a larger and unpredictable slate of films.
Don’t worry though because we will be predicting that 2025 slate and those predictions will also inform our 2025 Box Office Breakdown.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
