For the past two decades, if not more, Hollywood has relied on PG-13 fare to rally the public. Adding a PG rating to photos from big-budget events can alienate older children, teens, and young adults (the latter being the most frequent moviegoers). Case in point: Remember the choice to change the rating from PG to PG-13 for the fourth and fifth Harry Potter films? In this series, the more maturely rated films received more box office revenue. It has increased rapidly.
Last year, PG fares, including Universal’s blockbuster “Wicked,” accounted for as much as 30% of domestic ticket sales, overturning that long-held theory, according to ComScore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. . “2024 is the year that PG-rated movies have shown undeniable appeal to all ages and demographics,” he says. “This is a ratings pizza and everyone loves it,” added Mark Weinstock, Paramount’s president of worldwide distribution and marketing. “This shows there’s always an audience for family movies. Just look at this holiday. There are four PG movies at the top of the charts.”
To be honest, this change was not intentional. Studios have had to postpone many installments of major PG-13 series to 2025 and 2026 due to historic labor strikes and the lingering effects of COVID-19. (Mission: Impossible, Jurassic World, and the Avatar sequels are just three examples.) And some of Hollywood’s most respected filmmakers include Francis Ford Coppola, Clint – Eastwood, Kevin Costner, etc., but they couldn’t even secure proper support for their latest work. It was not well received by critics at all (at least in the case of Coppola and Costner).
It certainly doesn’t hurt that Disney’s vast film empire, with its formidable family-friendly roots, is back on track after nearly a decade of dominance and losing its market share crown to Universal in 2023. There wasn’t. Global ticket sales for the studio’s titles reached $5.56 billion, marking the first time since the pandemic that a major production has topped the $5 billion mark. Disney and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine was the first to venture into R-rated territory, making the third installment of Ryan Reynold’s ridiculous comic book series the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time I did. Meanwhile, Pixar and Disney’s Inside Out 2 led the PG boom, becoming not only the world’s biggest earner that year with nearly $1.7 billion in ticket sales, but also the highest-grossing movie of all time. Animated movies listed (not adjusted for inflation). And Walt Disney Animation’s Moana 2 is almost certain to join Inside Head 2 and Deadpool 3 as the only titles to join the $1 billion box office club in 2024. are.
By all accounts, 2024 will also be the year that Disney’s takeover of 20th Century pays off, with Alien: Romulus, the latest installment of Planet of the Apes, and Searchlight’s Oscar nominee Complete Unknown. was a big hit on the screen. “We’re proud of the work we’ve delivered this year, a collection of high-quality films that offer something for everyone, and audiences truly flocked to theaters in droves and enjoyed a great time across the board. ” said the Disney co-chairman. Alan Bergman heads the company’s film division.
Donna Langley, who oversaw Universal Pictures and specialty label Focus Features for many years, has also risen rapidly through the executive ranks and, as of November, has green-lighting authority over all NBCUniversal content. . Similarly, the film adaptation of Wicked has grossed more than $424 million domestically and $651 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Broadway stage adaptation of all time. Given that, she deserves a lot of credit for the PG boom in 2024. She is also the head of animation companies Illumination and DreamWorks Animation, which together produced three of this year’s top five animated films: Despicable Me 4, Kung Fu Panda 4, and Created “Wild Robot.” “Particularly noteworthy are PG-rated animated films, which have huge attendance numbers because of the low ticket prices for children,” Dergarabedian says. Universal Domestic Distribution President Jim Orr added, “2024 was certainly a challenging year at the domestic box office, but ultimately a very rewarding year.”
Wild Robot, on the other hand, is one of the 2024 films that maintained its theatrical release despite reaching homes relatively quickly through premium video-on-demand, meaning that the shrinking window could potentially reduce all It has proven to have the potential to benefit all involved. Universal was at the vanguard of window collapses at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Movies put on PVOD for purchase or rental may have better persistence in theaters thanks to advertising from third parties like Amazon Prime and Apple TV+, according to several studio officials. there is. Wild Robot became available on PVOD just 18 days after its release in theaters, and continued to play on over 2,000 screens for several weeks. Sources say Universal saw similar results at the box office with Twisters and Fall Guys. Among many other examples, Paramount’s Gladiator II also saw a box office surge when it went on PVOD over the holidays.
Dergarabedian said that until “Inside Head 2” was released in mid-June, a month after “Deadpool,” the year-over-year deficit at the domestic box office remained at an astonishing 27.5 percent. It is pointed out that It started in the summer with the release of “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” and picked up again in earnest over Thanksgiving, when “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” continued through the Christmas corridor. What he did, he says, was surprising. “The final six weeks of 2024 will offer one of the most eclectic and fascinating productions ever shown in this vital corridor, with something for every taste and every age group. The movie generated huge box office revenue and ended the year with the highest acclaim. He added that holiday titles such as Focus Features’ edgy R-rated vampire movie Nosferatu, Complete Unknown and Nicole Kidman’s awards nominee Babygirl will be added. mentioned.
If the estimates are correct, domestic revenue in 2024 will be about $8.75 billion, down 3.3% from last year’s $9.04 billion. And while there’s a good chance it will surpass that $9 billion level again in 2025, it remains well below its pre-pandemic level of $11 billion.
Revenue Snapshot: It Could Have Been Worse
While domestic revenues recovered significantly, it was a different story overseas, where the decline was even more severe. Sales declined by double digits, mainly due to China. Further complicating matters is the fact that Hollywood films are no longer preferred in the Middle Kingdom, where audiences prefer homegrown films. And Russia continues to ban access to major Hollywood studios out of loyalty to Ukraine.
Studio Market Share Scorecard
Bergman’s Disney film studio has regained its No. 1 market share position with a string of record-breaking films, including Inside Head 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine. These were the only two films to gross over $1 billion worldwide that year. Disney wasn’t the only box office hero. Universal had another very good year as Langley gained more power in the larger NBCU empire. Warner Bros. suffered a major setback with director Todd Phillips’ “Joker” sequel, but it finished in second place in market share overseas. Warner deserves credit for anchoring the first half of the year with Dune: Part II and Godzilla x Kong: New Empire.
special box office scorecard
Osgood Perkins’ “Long Legs” grossed $22.6 million at the domestic box office when it was released in July, far exceeding expectations, making it the best debut of 2024 for an original horror film with the best start in Neon history. (which is saying a lot considering Tom Quinn’s work includes Oscar winners such as Parasite). The R-rated film became the highest-grossing independent film of the calendar year with $74.6 million in domestic ticket sales and $126.9 million worldwide. It also reflects the daunting reality that independent distributors can’t rely solely on arthouse and awards fees. High-end genre productions like Longlegs and A24: Civil War allow companies to pay to keep the lights on. Focus Features’ vampire pic “Nosferatu” is yet another example (it debuted to a better-than-expected $40 million). This is not necessarily a new trend, but it has become a more important weapon in the battle against streamers. It’s clear that awards season is as important as ever for professional companies. Searchlight did well last year with “Poor Things” and is hoping for similar results this year with Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” which will appeal to promising audiences during the holiday season. numbers have been published. And Neon’s Oscar-nominated Anora has earned $14 million in the U.S. so far.
Animation makes history with a capital “A”
After COVID-19 and the rise of streaming, many feared families would never be able to return to multiplexes. No need to worry anymore. Never before in modern box office history have animated films accounted for three of the top five grossing movies of the year (through 2024) or contributed more to overall box office revenue. Usually, large live-action tent poles prevail.
This article first appeared in the January 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe to receive the magazine.
