Here are the top 10 movies from 2018 stateside (please note, all domestic grosses are through 12/31, not beyond):
#10: Venom (Sony)
October's big winner was also a surprisingly leggy hit. Fans of the Spider-Man comics had been excited about this film for a long time. And despite mixed reviews, audiences seemed to want to come back for more. Stateside, Venom has earned more than Phase 1 Marvel flicks such as Thor, the first Captain America, and the first Ant-Man. For a property that seemed darker than usual for a superhero flick, this one earned more than anyone expected.
Domestic Gross (through 12/31): $213,300,000
#9: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Lucasfilm/Disney)
While Solo did enough to get into the Top 10 list, it only earned a small fraction of previous Star Wars movies (a third of The Last Jedi, and about a fifth of The Force Awakens). With a production budget rumored to be as high as $300 million and the behind-the-scenes drama, this was not the result that Disney was hoping for. Five months between installments probably wasn't a smart idea.
Domestic Final Gross: $213,500,000
#8: Ant-Man and the Wasp (Disney/Marvel)
The fact that all three Marvel flicks made the Top 10 this year speaks to the power of that brand right now. The sequel to Ant-Man easily topped its' predecessor ($177 million). While it couldn't perform as strong as Thor: Ragnarok or the Captain America sequel, it was still yet another success for the MCU empire.
Domestic Final Gross: $216,600,000
#7: Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Paramount)
The best-received installment in the Mission franchise would surprisingly become the biggest-grossing in the 22-year old series to date. That wasn't easy to do in the midst of a surprisingly strong August and other strong competition. But Fallout relied on its insane stunts and the starpower of Tom Cruise, plus the positive response from Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation. This proved to be an incredibly-successful effort.
Domestic Final Gross: $220,200,000
#6: The Grinch (Universal)
Illumination Entertainment remains the most formidable competitor for the Mouse House, with a stunning 8 out of their 9 films earning north of $200 million stateside (7 out of 9 earning more than $250 million). Their adaptation of the Dr. Seuss favorite, no surprise, was another hit. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, was that it handily out-grossed Ralph Breaks the Internet and Into the Spider-Verse both domestically and worldwide. The power of Christmas movies friends. It's really hard to outsmart them sometimes. It's also worth noting that it topped the final gross of Jim Carrey's version of Grinch earlier this week ($260 million).
Domestic Gross (as of 12/31): $266,300,000
#5: Deadpool 2 (Fox)
The sequel to the original rule-defying superhero proved to be another big hit. It didn't quite live up to the original's gross ($362 million), but it came much closer than most sequels did (and was also held on stronger than normal for a superhero flick). In the meantime, with Fox being bought out by Disney, one has to wonder how this character will fit from here on out.
Domestic Final Gross: $318,500,000
#4: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Universal)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the year's top non-Disney flick was the return of the dinosaurs. Fallen Kingdom was never going to reach the heights of its predecessor ($652 million), and it did lose some steam. However, it still turned in a strong performance in the midst of a very crowded summer.
Domestic Final Gross: $416,800,000
#3: Incredibles 2 (Disney/Pixar)
Disney and Pixar eventually heard the audiences' cries, and they gave them what they wanted. Everyone knew that Incredibles 2 would be a monster at the box office this year, but it perhaps did even stronger than anyone anticipated. Stateside, its' the biggest animated movie ever and ranks as the ninth-biggest movie of all-time. Overseas, it's the second-biggest behind only Frozen (and ranks 15th all-time). Like most Pixar flicks, Incredibles 2 remained a strong player through the summer as well.
Domestic Final Gross: $608,600,000
#2: Avengers: Infinity War (Disney/Marvel)
Of course, there was no doubt about it that Infinity War would challenge for one of the biggest movies of all-time. No one was wrong. The film took the opening weekend record from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and went on to become the fourth-biggest movie of all-time stateside and worldwide, and beating the original Avengers ($623 million, $1.5 billion worldwide) in the process. Word-of-mouth was strong too. I can only imagine what will happen next year with Endgame.
Domestic Final Gross: $678,800,000
#1: Black Panther (Disney/Marvel)
The biggest surprise of all this year, however, was how strong Black Panther turned out to be, and it was a February release! It was a true cultural phenomenon, way bigger than Wonder Woman was for DC. For a big section of America, Panther was a true event film as it was the first superhero film centered on an African-American hero. It became the first film to gross more than $200 million on a non-summer opening weekend, and even had legs of its own. The film remained in the Top 10 through mid-May, and could possibly even be a Best Picture contender at the Oscars. I don't think Disney and Marvel had that high of expectations to begin with. The film now ranks as the third-biggest movie of all-time stateside and ninth worldwide.
Domestic Final Gross: $700,100,000
Now, for the 10 biggest movies of the year worldwide:
#1: Avengers: Infinity War ($2.048 billion worldwide, #4 all-time).
#2: Black Panther ($1.346 billion worldwide, #9 all-time).
#3: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($1.305 billion worldwide, #12 all-time).
#4: Incredibles 2 ($1.242 billion worldwide, #15 all-time)
#5: Venom ($855 million)
#6: Aquaman ($822 million)
#7: Mission: Impossible - Fallout ($791 million)
#8: Deadpool 2 ($741 million)
#9: Bohemian Rhapsody ($703 million)
#10: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald ($629 million)
And, here are how the studios ended up for this year:
1: Disney ($3.003 billion, 26% of market share)
2: Warner Bros ($1.773 billion, 15.5% of market share)
3: Universal ($1.742 billion, 15.3% of market share)
4: Sony ($1.221 billion, 10.7% of market share)
5: 20th Century Fox ($1.077 billion, 9.4% of market share)
6: Paramount ($704.9 million, 6.2% of market share)
7: Lionsgate ($388.6 million, 3.4% of market share)
That's the yearly recap for 2018. Here's to hoping 2019 will end up being an even stronger year!
