Some outstanding animation titles join epic live-action franchise offerings among the highest-grossing movies worldwide in the first six months of 2024, underlining an increasing popularity of stories that are told via computer graphics or hand drawn art since the days of the pandemic.
Year 2024: Highest-grossing movies that all should watch
Among the animation films at the top of the 2024 highest-grossing movies list is Kung Fu Panda 4. And why shouldn’t it, right? Every film in the franchise has been a major theatrical draw, with fans rooting for the lovable panda Po and his adventures in a world of martial arts masters.
Not only Kung Fu Panda 4, but both IF, which is part animated, and The Garfield Movieare among the 12 highest earners at the worldwide box office.
Of course, the major live-action movies dominate the list and continue to churn the most money among all types of films.
Dune: Part Two, so far the highest-grossing film of 2024, was always expected to perform very well at the box office. With its stellar star cast and the success of its previous instalment, it was always expected to do very well in theatres.
The same is the case with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The latest instalment in the Monsterverse franchise expectedly shattered the worldwide box office with fans wanting to see more action of the two titular titans colliding on the screen.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes forward the legacy of the Planet of the Apesfranchise not only in terms of box office revenue but also as a story.
Above all, there is one very important fact to take note of — none of the movies have yet touched the USD 1-billion mark. In fact, none has so far even touched USD 750 million. Deadpool & Wolverineand Gladiator II, two movies releasing later in 2024, might breach the mark.
Until then, Dune: Part Two shall sit at the top with a gamut of other fine gems that hit the screens in the first half of 2024.
The highest-grossing movies worldwide in 2024
Jump To / Table of Contents
- Civil War
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- The Beekeeper
- IF
- The Fall Guy
- Bob Marley: One Love
- The Garfield Movie
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Kung Fu Panda 4
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
- Dune: Part Two
1 /12
Civil War
Directed by: Alex Garland
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman
Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
IMDb rating:7.2
Worldwide gross:USD 114,384,368
Synopsis: A civil war has erupted in the near future America, with multiple armed factions waging a war against a dictatorial president (Offerman). In order to reach Washington D.C. before the rebel factions, a team of journalists embed themselves within an army and witnessed first-hand the complete breakdown of the country.
Trivia: Made on a budget of USD 50 million, Civil War is the most expensive film to date by American independent entertainment company A24.
2 /12
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Directed by: George Miller
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Alyla Browne, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke
Runtime: 2 hours 28 minutes
IMDb rating:7.9
Worldwide gross:USD 144,409,000
Synopsis: A young Furiosa (Browne) is kidnapped from her oasis refuge by the men of the warlord Dementus (Hemsworth) in a dystopian Australian wasteland. As Dementus wages a years-long war against another warlord named the Immortan Joe, a grown-up Furiosa’s (Taylor-Joy) personal attempt to find her way back home becomes increasingly difficult.
Trivia: Furiosa is both a prequel and spin-off to Mad Max: Fury Road(2015) and is the fifth instalment in the Mad Maxfranchise.
3 /12
The Beekeeper
Directed by: David Ayer
Cast: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Phylicia Rashad, Jemma Redgrave, Jeremy Irons
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
IMDb rating:6.4
Worldwide gross:USD 152,720,535
Synopsis: Adam Clay (Statham) embarks on a bloody campaign to avenge the death of his elderly landlady Eloise Parker (Rashad) after she fell victim to a phishing scam. His mission becomes a national concern for authorities as it is revealed that he is a member of a top-secret organisation known as Beekeepers.
4 /12
IF
Directed by: John Krasinski
Cast (including voice): Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, Liza Colón-Zayas, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Steve Carell
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
IMDb rating: 6.7
Worldwide gross:USD 160,720,000
Synopsis: Bea (Fleming), a young girl, can see imaginary friends, or IFs, of children who have forgotten them. She works with a man named Cal (Reynolds) to help IFs find new children to befriend.
5 /12
The Fall Guy
Directed by: David Leitch
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
IMDb rating:7
Worldwide gross:USD 165,633,565
Synopsis: Colt Seavers (Gosling) is a movie stuntman who is busy working on the directorial debut action film of his ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno (Blunt). When Tom Ryder, the lead actor of the film, for whom he is the stunt double, disappears, Colt must dig into the mystery to save Jody’s film.
Read more: Check out our review ofThe Fall Guy movie
6 /12
Bob Marley: One Love
Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton
Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
IMDb rating:6.3
Worldwide gross:USD 179,393,170
Synopsis:Bob Marley (Ben-Adir) embarks on a journey that would revolutionise music after a life-threatening incident in strife-torn Jamaica in the late 1970s.
7 /12
The Garfield Movie
Directed by: Mark Dindal
Voice cast: Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Bowen Yang, Snoop Dogg, Harvey Guillén
Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
IMDb rating:5.8
Worldwide gross:USD 192,713,000
Synopsis:Garfield (Pratt) is reunited with his long-lost father Vic (Jackson), who is a street cat. He is then forced to join Vic and Odie (Guillén) in a robbery.
8 /12
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Directed by: Gil Kenan
Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton
Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
IMDb rating:6.2
Worldwide gross:USD 201,199,570
Synopsis: A powerful malevolent entity is released from imprisonment from an ancient artefact. To prevent the entity from destroying the world with a new ice age, the Ghostbusters, old and new, must join forces.
Trivia:The film is a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife(2021). It is the fourth instalment in the Ghostbusters franchise canon and the fifth overall.
9 /12
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Directed by: Wes Ball
Cast: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William H. Macy
Runtime: 2 hours 25 minutes
IMDb rating:7.2
Worldwide gross:USD 359,772,773
Synopsis: Noa (Teague), a young ape, goes on a journey that aims to build a shared future for the dominant apes and humans, who are forced to live in the shadows. But in his way stands the tyrannical ape leader, Proximus Caesar (Durand).
Trivia: The story of the film is set 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes(2017). As such, it is a standalone sequel.
10 /12
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 542,960,620
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.
11 /12
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:6.2
Worldwide gross:USD 567,650,016
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.
12 /12
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:8.6
Worldwide gross:USD 711,844,358
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.
Know more about Dune: Prophecy, the prequel series to Dune movies
(All box office revenue figures are courtesy of Box Office Mojo.)
(Hero and Featured images: Courtesy of Warner Media – © Warner Media/IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What will be the biggest movie of 2024?
There is a possibility of Deadpool & Wolverine or Gladiator II, both of which will be released later in 2024, emerging as the biggest movie of 2024.
– Which is the highest-earning movie in India in 2024?
Hrithik Roshan-starrer Fighter is the highest-grossing movie in India in 2024.
(The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.)
Movies Box Office Highest Grossing Movies
