At the end of the day, it wasnt as bad as expected.
But, the outlook is brighter as 2025 and beyond take shape.
First, lets look at some stats.
(Clockwise from top left) ‘Moana 2,’ ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3,’ ‘It Ends With Us,’ ‘Dune: Part Two,’ ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,’ ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,’ ‘Gladioator II,’ ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’Everett Collection
Overall, the international box office landed at an estimated $21.2 billion,perGower Street Analytics.
Thats 10% down versus 2023, and does not include China in the equation.
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Again, when backing out China, that spread closes to just 7.6%.
‘Inside Out 2’Disney
The comparison to the pre-pandemic three-year average, excluding China, is -20%.
And then there were a few nice surprises along the way, likeAlien: RomulusandIt Ends with Us.
There were some casualties, but theres casualties every year.
Thats why the industry more than ever needed the hits to deliver.
Basically, people came out to the movies rather than to a movie.
Still, as the hits get bigger, the risk gets greater if theres no floor.
But there wasnt a reason for people to see them, cautions one person.
Audiences are looking for things that make them feel good.
But they get it in all sorts of different packages.
When looking at the expense for certain films, they have to have a core message.
So the movies that work are taking a higher percentage of the box office.
Theres more movies than ever that dont work and just completely fall off a cliff.
Now people wait until the second weekend, or maybe the third weekend to make that choice.
They want to hear from their friends, a social community, rather than an online critique.
So thats slowing people down going to see movies.
And consistency is key.
Box office there for the year was about $5.9B according to state media.
In general, Asia became a tougher nut to crack in 2024.
Japan continues to thrive on local titles but ceded its usual No.
2 offshore market status, while Korea continued to hiccup.
Asia as a whole is putting forth a lot of local-language content thats resonating on a different level.
Says an international distribution exec, I think tastes have definitely changed.
But, Hollywood is competing in some cases with local marketshare of 30%-50%+.
The moviegoing in Mexico was insane.
Germany, Mexico, Australia, Italy and Spain saw only single-digit percentage dips from 2023.
Total admissions according to the CNC were 181.3M.
But habit needs to be nurtured.
Notes a studio exec, People starting to watch trailers in a movie theater will get people more interested.
Well come back next week.
We had a good time tonight.’
Overseas, its also the first to surpass $3B since the pandemic.
Foreign receipts were up 9.7%, while global rose 13%.
The movie isnt a patch on its predecessor, but that was never the comp.
It recently crossed $500M global with 64% of grosses coming from abroad.
Odds are at least two of those top $1B for the studio worldwide.
Globally, WB is the third highest-grossing studio in 2024, with a decrease of 16.7%.
6 movies of the year internationally.
The latter was the biggest Hollywood movie in China in 2024.
The latter group ultimately just couldnt be bothered to get off their couches.
Universal prides itself on the diversity of its broad slate.
However, an attempt to build a new franchise withThe Fall Guyfell flat.
The movie scored with critics and audiences, had two mega-hot stars and was in general a fun ride.
Sure: seeMadame Web,which could not be saved by international, nor couldKraven The Hunter.
There was terrific momentum at the end of 2024 asSonic the Hedgehog 3raced out ahead of the previous installments.
The studios lead film for the year was Ridley ScottsGladiator II.
There was also a surprise winner in February-March releaseBob Marley: One Love.
Transformers One, which generated oodles of excitement when it was first announced, fell short.
The animated movie failed to connect with the intended audience.
Also due areThe Naked Gun,The Running ManandThe Spongebob Movie: Search for SquarePants.
