Summary
The2024 box officehas yet to see its first $1 billion movie as of June. A dip in the total box office was anticipated for 2024, especially after the oversaturated slate of theatrical releases of 2023 that sawBarbiebecome the highest-grossing movie of the year with a worldwide total of $1.446 billion. Some upcoming films, many of them sequels, are anticipated to be the top performers of 2024, includingDespicable Me 4,Inside Out 2,Deadpool & Wolverine,Mufasa: The Lion King, andJoker: Folie à Deux. As far as new original standalone movies that have yet to be released in 2024, there are very few options with high box office potential.
2024 will likely be remembered as the year of sequels, withDune: Part Twocurrently standing as the highest-grossing filmof the year with a worldwide total of roughly $712 million worldwide. Other highly anticipated sequels coming out in 2024 includeMoana 2,Sonic the Hedgehog 3,Venom: The Last Dance,Twisters,Gladiator II,Beetlejuice 2, andAlien: Romulus.This is in addition to the wide slate of sequels that have already been released in 2024, such asKingdom of the Planet of the Apes,Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,Bad Boys: Ride or Die, andKung Fu Panda 4. A fair number of prequels have also been released in 2024 includingA Quiet Place: Day Oneand thesurprising box office flopFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Cast
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is set in 1859, following families as they settle in territories from Wyoming to Kansas. The narrative centers around a cowboy on the run with a prostitute and a young boy after a deadly confrontation, exploring the challenges of life in the Old West.
The upcoming Kevin Costner WesternHorizon: An American Sagawill likely be a box office hit. Based on Costner’s large and loyal following thanks to his standout performance on Paramount’sYellowstone, his fans will likely show up in numbers at theaters when the first installment of hisHorizonfranchise finally gets released.Horizon: An American Sagamarks the first directorial effort by Costner since 2003’sOpen Rangeand his fourth overall following his 1990 Oscar-winnerDances with Wolves. Considering how much of Costner’s personal funding went into the creation of his landmark western franchise,Horizon’sbox office will likely be fueled by support for the actor in general.Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2releases on July 09, 2025 and would be even more surprising if it outperformsHorizon - Chapter 1.
The Crow
The Crow (2024) is a dark and gritty reimagining of the original graphic novel. It follows Eric, who is resurrected from the dead to avenge his and his soulmate’s brutal murders. Armed with supernatural abilities, Eric seeks justice against the killers responsible, navigating through a corrupt city that is as much a character as he is. This adaptation introduces new elements to captivate the modern audience!
The Crowwas a box office hit when it was released in 1994, earning $94 million against a $23 million budget. The 2024 remake, which has been likened more to a reimagining, will star Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs but will likely not be as much of a box office success as the original film, especially considering the current state of the modern box office.The film may be too ambiguous or niche to generate a wide response from audiences, paired with the fact that there’s no ostensible reason why viewers in this day and age would be compelled to seeThe Crowin theaters as opposed to waiting for it to inevitably reach a streaming platform. The Crow’sbudget is reportedly $50 million, meaning it would need to make roughly $110 million worldwide to turn a profit, a figure that bothArgylleandMean Girlswere not even able to hit.
MaXXXine
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx lands her big break, but her rise to stardom is jeopardized by a mysterious killer targeting starlets. As the body count rises, secrets from Maxine’s past threaten to surface, intertwining her quest for fame with a deadly game of survival.
MaXXXineis the third installment of Ti West’s modern horror franchise, which includes the celebrated A24 filmsXandPearl. The film looks to up the scale of the entire story’s universe and makes its premise more compelling by having it set in 1980s Hollywood rather than on a remote ranch. BothXandPearlwere remarkably made for just $1 million, althoughMaXXXinewill likely have a higher budget considering its enhanced set pieces and the addition of cast members such asElizabeth Debicki, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Lily Collins, and pop star Halsey. As A24 continues to rise into the mainstream with box office hits such asCivil WarandEverything, Everywhere, All At Once,MaXXXinecould easily become one of its highest-grossing productions.
Borderlands
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
Borderlandsis a critically acclaimed video game series that on the surface seems like an interesting choice to adapt into a feature film. Although 2024’sFallouthas proven that expansive video games with a cult following can generate mass appeal, Borderlands may not find the same type of success at the box office. It does have the advantage of featuring an all-star cast that includes Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, and, of all people, Cate Blanchett. The first two actors could inspire fans ofJumanjito see the late summer blockbuster in theaters but similar toThe Crow, the ambiguous nature of the franchise and the story may not be enough to attract viewers to see the film as soon as it’s released.The critical reception could change this, however, since Eli Roth wrote the script and directed it.
Trap
Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.
If there’s one thing that’s still certain at the modern box office, it’s thatM. Night Shyamalan movies continue to be profitable, even ones with poor critical reception. 2023’sKnock at the Cabinmade $54 million against a budget of $20 million, while 2021’sOldmade $90 million worldwide against a budget of $18 million. 2019’sGlass, which received a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 37%, made an astonishing $247 million against a budget of only $20 million. Trap will likely follow suit, or else it will become one of M. Night Shyamalan’s rare box office misfires. It seems incredibly unlikely thatTrapwould flop, considering its lead actor Josh Hartnett starred in last year’s Best Picture winnerOppenheimerand hasn’t played a leading role in a horror movie since 2007’s30 Days of Night.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
The long-awaited sequel to 1988’sBeetlejuicewill see the return of Michael Keaton as the iconic character under the direction of Tim Burton. The biggest question mark about theBeetlejuicesequel, aptly titledBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, iswhether fans of the original film will provide enough of a draw at the box office some 36 years afterthe release of the first film. This is another one of those cases in which the box office will likely be heavily influenced by the critical reception, even though that seems to be less and less of a driving factor in this day and age. The originalBeetlejuicewas mostly celebrated by critics, earning an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. If the sequel pulls too many of the same old tricks from the first without compellingly innovating the franchise, thenBeetlejuice 2could be another surprising flop in 2024.
Smile 2
Smile 2 is the sequel to the 2022 psychological horror film by director Parker Finn that centers on a therapist who witnesses a patient’s suicide, leading to a series of terrifying supernatural events. The sequel will see the return of Finn as director, with Paramount continuing distribution.
The firstSmilewas a massive box office success, grossing $217.4 million against a budget of $17 million. Following the same line of thinking asTrapandMaXXXine, inexpensive horror movies have been some of the most profitable movies in recent years, and throughout history for that matter. With all of the innovation coming out of the horror genre nowadays, it should be no surprise that aSmilefollow-up will repeat its box office success in 2024.Smile’sunforgettable marketing campaign featured paid actors to creepily smile on broadcastsof live national sporting events, which was a brilliant form of advertising the film. Fans should expect to see the same type of iconic marketing as the Halloween season approaches, which should result in Smile 2 being one of the highest-grossing horrors of the year.
Wicked
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Wickedwill finally make its debut on the silver screen in 2024 which theoretically should draw massive numbers to theaters. The fantasy musical is based on one of the most popular musicals ever made and features an ensemble cast of Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. What’s more, 2023’sWonka, another musical remake of sorts, far exceeded box office expectations and became the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year with a staggering total of $632 million. All this and more provide solid evidence for whyWickedshould be a box office hit. Wicked’s “Achilles heel”, however, may just be its director,John M. Chu, whose last filmIn The Heights, also a musical, was a box office bomb, grossing only $45 million despite great reviews.
Venom: The Last Dance
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
The past twoVenommovies have been massive box office successes, with the original 2018 film grossing a staggering $856 million, which remarkably made it the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year in what would become a historic year at the box office. With Tom Hardy returning forVenom: The Last Dance, the third and potentially final installment of the celebrated franchise should be another box office hit and could even outperform the $501 million worldwide total of 2021’sVenom: Let There Be Carnage.The franchise has essentially defied the odds of what makes a box office hit, with the first movie earning just a 30% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and the sequel earning a score of 57%. Regardless of the critic score of Venom 3, it should be one of the most portable movies of the year.
Twisters
A follow-up to the 1996 original film Twister, Twisters is a sequel set years after the original, said to be fast-tracked by Steven Spielberg and Mark L. Smith, with Frank Marshal as producer. Little details exist about the film, but Helen Hunt is expected to reprise her role as Jo, with the film likely to pay homage to the late Bill Paxton.
Twistershas a real chance of halting the skyrocketing momentum of its leading man Glen Powell, who has become one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood since becoming internationally known as Hangman in 2022’s landmark blockbusterTop Gun: Maverick. Powell demonstrated his star power alongside Sydney Sweeney in the surprise box office hitAnyone But Youand recently flexed his muscles as a versatile actor in Richard Linklater’sHit Man.Twistersmarks Powell’s first major blockbuster sinceMaverickand first ever in a leading role, unless you include 2022’sDevotionwhich he starred in alongside Jonathan Majors.Twistersis technically not a sequel to the 1996 box office hitTwister, since the two films don’t share any characters. It will, however, be a test of Powell’s true power as a leading man and may become another surprisebox office flopof 2024 if its story doesn’t hold up to its action sequences.
