Whew.
Domestic box office revenue was able to clear $9 billion after all, despite a dismal fall season at the multiplex, according to Comscore. That’s the best showing of the post-pandemic era, with revenue in U.S. and Canada up 20 percent over 2022’s $7.5 billion.
But movie ticket sales are still down sharply from pre-pandemic times, when domestic revenue crossed $10 billion every year beginning in 2009 and $11 billion every year beginning in 2015 and ending in 2019, the last year before COVID-19 struck. Comscore believes 2023 domestic revenue will come in at $9.03 billion-$9.05 billion for 2023, a drop of roughly 21 percent from 2019’s $11.4 billion.
In terms of box office trends, 2023 will be remembered as a year of enormous change as audiences spurned tried-and-true staples, such as superhero fare — The Marvels was the biggest stumble in the history of Marvel Studios — and instead embraced originality or genres that had previously struggled.
The marquee example of the new world order was the Barbenheimer phenomenon. The one-two-punch of filmmaker Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie and Universal‘s Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, saw box office revenue for July and August reach pre-pandemic levels.
“Another box office target was set and hit in 2023 as the domestic year surpassed the $9 billion threshold, owing much to a notable Barbenheimer-powered $4 billion summer movie season and a unique year in which alternative content, specialized film and international cinema made their mark in an unprecedented show of strength adding to the bottom line,” says Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian.
He’s referring to such films as Angel Studios’ hit indie pic Sound of Freedom, which drew much of its strength from faith-based and conservative audiences. The pic came out of nowhere to earn $184.1 million domestically, putting it at No. 10 on the list of top-grossing 2023 movies.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was another unicorn. The superstar pop singer decided to bypass the Hollywood studio system and bring her concert pic directly to cinemas via a deal with AMC Theatres. In an unimaginable feat, Eras Tour earned $179.6 million domestically to land at No. 11 on the top 20 list, ahead of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($174.5 million) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 ($172.1 million).
Barbie, from Warner Bros., was far-and-away the year’s biggest earner and the only film to cross the $600 million threshold domestically on its way to topping out at $636.2 million. It was also the No. 1 pic globally after strutting to $1.44 billion.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie, released in the spring, was the year’s first major surprise. It earned $574.9 million domestically and $1.36 billion globally to become the top-grossing video game adaptation of all time in a huge win for Universal.
There was more good news in store for Universal, culminating with the studio ending Disney‘s long-running winning streak and narrowly winning the domestic marketshare race with an estimated $1.94 billion in ticket sales between Jan. 1-Dec. 21, 2023, according to unofficial estimates. (Universal may also be first in global marketshare after Disney had ranked No. 1 for seven consecutive years).
Disney’s 2023 domestic revenue was an estimated $1.9 billion, although final numbers for all of the studios won’t be revealed until Tuesday or Wednesday.
Among other 2023 Universal titles, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer — an adult-skewing biographical drama running just over three hours — earned an eye-popping $326 million domestically and $952 million globally, while Fast X grossed $704.9 million worldwide (it was soft in North America but did well internationally).
Back on the chart of top-grossing films domestically, Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Universe placed No. 3 ($381.3 million), followed by Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($359 million). Disney also took spots No. 6 and No. 7. with The Little Mermaid ($298.1 million) and Avatar: The Way of Water, which, while released at the end of 2022, raked in $283.1 million in 2023.
Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 ranked No. 9 on the top 10 list domestically with $187.1 million in ticket sales.
If Hollywood execs aren’t exactly setting off fireworks over 2023, it’s because they’re bracing for a tumultuous ride at the 2024 domestic box office after a slew of high-profile tentpoles were pushed to 2025 because of the lengthy writers and actors strikes.
In a major blow to the post-pandemic recovery effort, domestic box office revenue in 2024 could come in behind that of 2023. If projections are right, domestic box office in 2024 could top out at $7.5 billion to $8 billion, say multiple studio executives who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter (a few are more bullish in thinking $8 billion to $8.5 billion is possible).
