The list of the highest-grossing movies of 2024 worldwide is dominated by animated movies. There are four in the top 10, which underlines the popularity of the visually appealing storytelling format. Of course, there are epic live-action franchise offerings, too. But the most interesting fact is that all but one film in the top 10 are sequels.
We begin with the topper: Pixar Animation Studios’ Inside Out 2, the first film of 2024 to cross the USD 1-billion mark, is the highest-grossing movie of 2024 as well as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Its record-shattering spree dethroned Frozen 2 (2019) from the top spot among animated films that made the most at the worldwide box office.
Right behind is Deadpool & Wolverine, the only other movie which has earned more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Though it became the the biggest R-rated movie ever and was among the fastest grossing movies, it didn’t surpass the haul of Inside Out 2.
Year 2024: Highest-grossing movies you should watch
Let’s talk about animation first. Among the top of the 2024 highest-grossing movies worldwide list is Despicable Me 4. And why shouldn’t it, right? Every film in the franchise has been a major theatrical draw, with fans rooting for Gru and the adorable minions as they go on (mis)adventures involving epic villains.
Not only Despicable Me 4, but the animated film Kung Fu Panda 4, too, has maintained its hold among the 10 highest earners at the worldwide box office in 2024. The surprise record-runner is Moana 2. The film hit the screens worldwide on 28-29 November but became one of the top five earners at the box office in 2024 in less than 15 days.
Of course, the usual live-action movies dominate the list and continue to churn the most money among all types of films.
Dune: Part Two was always expected to perform very well at the box office, as it has, with its stellar star cast, masterful direction by Denis Villeneuve and the hype from the success of its previous instalment. The same is the case with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The latest instalment in the Monsterverse franchise expectedly did very well at the worldwide box office with fans wanting to see more action of the two titular titans colliding on the screen.
Wicked, one of the most-anticipated films of 2024, is another live-action movie that has done phenomenally well. More importantly, it has earned a larger share of its worldwide gross from the US market with just around 31 per cent of it coming from the rest of the world. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the only other film to have such an earnings ratio.
Analysts believed that Gladiator II, which was released by mid-November 2024 in most major markets, would enter the one-billion-dollar club. Given the epic period action movie it is and the history created by its predecessor in 2000, the sequel was expected to do so. However, the reception was mixed-to-positive and it remained out of the top 10 by the end of 2024.
The highest-grossing movies worldwide in 2024
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Directed by: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Catherine O’Hara
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
IMDb rating: 6.7
Worldwide gross: USD 451,100,435
Synopsis: Betelgeuse (Keaton) returns to the world of the living and into Lydia’s (Ryder) life when her teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), is taken to the afterlife by a deceiving ghost. Lydia agrees to marry Betelgeuse to save Astrid and thus begins a nightmare for everyone.
Trivia: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a legacy sequel to Beetlejuice (1988), which won an Academy Award for Best Makeup upon its release. Keaton, Ryder and O’Hara reprise their roles from the first film.
Venom: The Last Dance
Directed by: Kelly Marcel
Cast: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Andy Serkis
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes
IMDb rating: 6.0
Worldwide gross: USD 476,857,448
Synopsis: Eddie and Venom are on the run – both from a mysterious government agency led by Rex Strickland (Ejiofor) and an extraterrestrial hunter of symbiotes. As both alien monsters and the human organisation closes in on them, Venom finally tells Eddie why they are being hunted and what’s at stake.
Trivia: This is the third and final film in the Venom trilogy and the fifth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Though not critically well-received and the lowest-grossing film of the trilogy, it still managed to become one of the 10 highest-grossing films of 2024 primarily due to the popularity of the Venom character and Hardy’s performance.
Kung Fu Panda 4
Directed by: Mike Mitchell, Stephanie Stine
Cast: Jack Black, Ian McShane, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
IMDb rating: 6.3
Worldwide gross: USD 547,689,492
Synopsis: Po (Black) is tasked to train a new Dragon Warrior as he has become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. While his search is on, he also has to deal with a wicked sorceress named Chameleon (Davis) who can re-summon all the master villains from the spirit realm.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen
Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
IMDb rating: 6.1
Worldwide gross: USD 571,750,016
Synopsis: Godzilla and Kong battle with a colossal monster with links to the mysterious Skull Island, to protect their future and, as a result, ensure the survival of mankind.
Trivia: The film is a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and the fifth film in the Monsterverse franchise.
Wicked
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Runtime: 2 hours 40 minutes
IMDb rating: 7.9
Worldwide gross: USD 643,836,210
Synopsis: A young green-skinned woman named Elphaba (Erivo) becomes friends with the popular Glinda (Grande-Butera) at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. Both are studying magic. But when the kind-hearted Elphaba learns the truth about the Wizard of Oz (Goldblum), she decides to revolt. It not only breaks her friendship with the self-centred Glinda but also leads her to be falsely branded as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Trivia: Wicked is primarily based on the stage musical of the same name, which, on the other hand, is an adaptation of the novel titled Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. The book, which was published in 1995, takes a revisionist approach to the classic 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Wicked, the movie, is also titled Wicked: Part I, as it is the first in a two-part adaptation of Maguire’s work. It was nominated in four categories at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards including acting nods for both Erivo and Grande. As such the second instalment is one of the most-awaited films of 2025.
Dune: Part Two
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux
Runtime: 2 hours 46 minutes
IMDb rating: 8.5
Worldwide gross: USD 714,444,358
Synopsis: Paul Atreides (Chalamet) leads the Fremen against the powerful House Harkonnen who destroyed his family, House Atreides. But this vengeful quest of his tests his relationship with Chani (Zendaya).
Trivia: The sequel to Dune (2021) completes the two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert.
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Moana 2
Directed by: David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Voice cast: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes
IMDb rating: 7.0
Worldwide gross: USD 900,633,683
Synopsis: Moana (Cravalho) assembles a crew in a dangerous quest to raise a sunken island from the depths of the ocean which will help connect all the islands. She is joined by the demigod Maui (Johnson), but they are up against a powerful god who doesn’t want them to succeed.
Trivia: The film serves as a sequel to Moana (2016). It is the only animated film other than Inside Out 2 among the 10 highest-grossing movies of 2024 to have been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.
Despicable Me 4
Directed by: Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage
Voice cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Sofía Vergara, Will Ferrell
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
IMDb rating: 6.2
Worldwide gross: USD 969,126,452
Synopsis: Gru’s (Carell) family is in danger when his old rival Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell) creates an invention that can turn people into hybrids of cockroaches. Gru must protect his family, but before that he has to help a new neighbour, Poppy Prescott (King), commit a crime.
Trivia: Despicable Me 4 comes seven years after the third instalment in the franchise. It was made on a budget of around USD 100 million and, despite mixed reviews, performed well at the box office.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen
Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes
IMDb rating: 7.6
Worldwide gross: USD 1,338,073,645
Synopsis: Deadpool (Reynolds) and an alternate universe Wolverine (Jackman) must join forces to save the multiverse from the powerful telekinetic and telepath Cassandra Nova (Corrin).
Trivia: Deadpool & Wolverine holds several opening day records, including the biggest global opening since Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and the biggest domestic openings ever in the careers of both Reynolds and Jackman. The film features major superhero cameos of several actors who played iconic characters in older non-MCU Marvel movies.
Inside Out 2
Directed by: Kelsey Mann
Voice cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
IMDb rating: 7.6
Worldwide gross: USD 1,698,772,985
Synopsis: Things are going pretty well for 13-year-old Riley Andersen (Tallman) and her emotions –Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Smith), Anger (Black), Fear (Hale) and Disgust (Lapira). But everyone’s lives change in an unexpected manner the moment Anxiety (Hawke) joins the ‘emotions’ group.
Trivia: The film is a sequel to Inside Out (2015), in which Kaitlyn Dias voiced Riley. The sequel has been on a record-shattering spree since its release. It recorded the biggest second-weekend opening for any animated film at the US domestic box office in history and the seventh-biggest of any film overall. It is also the fastest animated film to cross USD 1 billion at the box office.
(Figures and IMDb ratings in this article are as of 2 January 2025, reflecting the approximate final box office count as of the end of 2024. All box office revenue figures are courtesy of Box Office Mojo.)
(Hero and Featured images: IMDb)
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Animated film 'Inside Out 2' was the biggest film of 2024.
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Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
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