The 15 highest-grossing movies of 2024

Worldwide gross: $350,986,018

Reported production budget: $25 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 55%

The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel "It Ends With Us" was one of the biggest surprises at the 2024 box office.

In less than two weeks in theaters, the movie surpassed $180 million at the box office globally — a tremendous feat for a project that was reportedly financed for just $25 million. It's possible that fans of the book and those aware of the reports of a rift between Blake Lively and costar and director Justin Baldoni were intrigued by "It Ends With Us" and wanted to see what all the hype was about.

Worldwide gross: $370,962,265

Reported production budget: $155 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 75%

After the box-office success of the rom-com "Anyone But You," Glen Powell continued his hot streak in Hollywood starring alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in the stand-alone sequel to the 1996 disaster movie "Twister."

"Twisters" surpassed box office predictions, earning $32.2 million from release day and preview screenings and scoring a solid $80.5 million during its opening weekend.

Worldwide gross: $397,378,150

Reported production budget: $160 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 80%

Although "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" is one of the top-performing movies of the year, it earned the lowest global total compared to the three other films in the rebooted "Planet of the Apes" franchise.

Worldwide gross: $404,544,199

Reported production budget: $100 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 65%

Two years after his infamous slap at the Oscars, Will Smith made a comeback and regained box office glory with the fourth installment in the action-comedy franchise "Bad Boys."

"Ride or Die" was a hit domestically and overseas. In its opening weekend, the movie topped the global box office, making over $100 million and overperforming in key markets.

Worldwide gross: $406,644,901

Reported production budget: $250 million to $300+ million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 71%

"Gladiator II," didn't win over critics as much as Ridley Scott's epic 2000 film "Gladiator," though many agreed that it delivered plenty of thrilling action sequences.

The sequel fell short of the first "Gladiator" movie at the box office too, grossing $100 million less — though still bringing in an impressive haul to end up on this list.

Worldwide gross: $451,100,435

Reported production budget: $100 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 76%

Nostalgic sequels don't always equate to success, but Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" was a slam dunk for Warner Bros.

Executives initially wanted the sequel to the 1988 "Beetlejuice" movie to forgo a theatrical release and head straight to streaming. But Burton disagreed. So they cut costs to lower the budget and justify a theatrical release — and it paid off.

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" earned $41.5 million from release day and preview screenings, becoming the second-biggest opening day ever for a September release, after 2017's horror movie "It." The movie is also one of Burton's most commercially successful films.

Worldwide gross: $476,368,152

Reported production budget: $120 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 41%

Sony's films about Spider-Man-adjacent characters don't have a great track record. But the "Venom" franchise, starring Tom Hardy, has become a fan favorite among the more disappointing and flat-out cringy movies. However, the third and final installment was the worst-performing "Venom" film at the box office.

Worldwide gross: $547,689,492

Reported production budget: $85 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 71%

The fourth "Kung Fu Panda" film, starring Jack Black as the voice of the panda named Po, earned the franchise's lowest critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes but racked up $26.5 million more than 2016's "Kung Fu Panda 3."

Worldwide gross: $571,750,016

Reported production budget: $135 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 54%

"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," centered on the titular gargantuan creatures teaming up after being enemies in 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," rocked the box office.

"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" surpassed box office projections in its opening weekend and became the second-biggest debut for Warner Bros. and Legendary's shared MonsterVerse franchise.

With $571 million earned globally, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is now the highest-grossing movie in the Monsterverse.

Worldwide gross: $586,301,620

Reported production budget: $150 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 88%

Jon M. Chu's film adaptation of the wildly popular stage musical of the same name was a critical and commercial success.

"Glicked," the combined name for the rivalry between "Gladiator II" and "Wicked," was this year's version of the 2023 "Barbenheimer" phenomenon. In the battle between gladiators and witches, the latter was the clear winner. "Wicked" earned a higher Rotten Tomatoes score and has grossed over half a billion at the global box office, so far.

Despite not being explicitly advertised as such, "Wicked" is the first in a two-part franchise. The sequel, "Wicked: For Good," hits theaters in November 2025.

Worldwide gross: $714,444,358

Reported production budget: $190 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%

Following the success of the 2021 "Dune" adaptation, Denis Villeneuve released a sequel that completed Paul Atreides' (Timothée Chalamet) journey from Frank Herbert's first "Dune" novel.

Hailed by critics as a "sci-fi masterpiece," the 2024 sequel was rated higher and grossed $300 million more worldwide than "Dune: Part One."

Worldwide gross: $820,990,553

Reported production budget: $150 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 61%

"Moana 2" didn't make nearly as big a splash in pop culture as the original film did with catchy songs like "How Far I'll Go" and "You're Welcome." The sequel also had a drastically lower rating on Rotten Tomatoes than "Moana," which landed a 95% critics score.

Regardless, "Moana 2" performed much higher at the box office and was a clear win for Disney. The movie even broke Thanksgiving box office records, racking up $380 million globally at the time.

Worldwide gross: $969,126,452

Reported production budget: $100 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 56%

Since the first "Despicable Me" movie was released in 2010, the franchise has been lucrative for Illumination Entertainment and Universal Studios.

The fourth installment fell short of earning $1 billion, which "Despicable Me 3" achieved in 2017. "Despicable Me 4" also received the lowest critics score of all the movies on Rotten Tomatoes.

Worldwide gross: $1,338,073,645

Reported production budget: $200 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 78%

Some recent entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have received middling reactions from fans and critics alike, but the success of "Deadpool & Wolverine" indicates that perhaps the superhero slump might be over.

The third installment of the "Deadpool" franchise earned a lower critic score on Rotten Tomatoes than the previous two movies. But the Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team-up surpassed the global earnings of its predecessors and is one of two films released in 2024 to hit $1 billion at the box office.

After less than 30 days in theaters, "Deadpool & Wolverine" dethroned Todd Phillips' 2019 film "Joker" to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.

Worldwide gross: $1,698,765,616

Reported production budget: $200 million

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 91%

"Inside Out 2" fully surpassed expectations, grossing $155 million domestically and $295 million worldwide in its debut three-day weekend. The "Inside Out" sequel also earned the second-biggest domestic opening ever for an animated movie, following "Incredibles 2." It ended up being the highest-grossing film of 2024.