Lost in Translation – Wrapping Up 2024

The past year continues to see audiences return to theatres to watch movies. Last year, Barbie dominated the box office. This year, no one film dominated discussion like Barbie did, and, overall, box office returns are up. As usual, the list of the top twenty grossing films comes from Box Office Mojo.

1 Inside Out 2 -Sequel to Disney/Pixar’s 2015 original film, Inside Out
2 Deadpool & Wolverine – Sequel to the adaptation of Deadpool
3 Despicable Me 4 – The third sequel to the 2010 original film, Despicable Me
4 Wicked – Adaptation of the musical adapted from the 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, itself a reimagining of L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz.
5 Moana 2 – Sequel to the 2016 original film, Moana
6 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Sequel to the 1988 original film, Beetlejuice
7 Dune: Part Two – Sequel and adaptation of the Frank Herbet novel, Dune
8 Twisters – Sequel to the 1996 original film, Twister
9 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – Sequel to remake of a sequel to two different movies, Godzilla and King Kong
10 Kung Fu Panda 4 – The third sequel to the 2008 original film, Kung Fu Panda
11 Bad Boys: Ride or Die – The third sequel to the 1995 original film, Bad Boys
12 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Sequel to the reboot of the franchise based on the novel Planete des Singes by Pierre Boulle.
13 It Ends with Us – Adapted from te 2016 novel of the same name.
14 The Wild Robot – Adapted from th 2016 novel of the same name
15 Venom: The Last Dance – Sequel to the adaptation of the comic Venom
16 A Quiet Place: Day One – Original film.
17 Gladiator II – Sequel to the 2000 original film, Gladiator
18 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Sequel to a reboot of the original 1984 film, Ghostbusters
19 IF – Original film
20 Alien: Romulus – Sixth sequel to the 1979 original film, Alien

Sequels were the main offering in 2024, with fourteen of the top twenty being a sequel of some sort. Franchises contributed four of the movies. However, superhero movies are lacking compared to previous years. Marvel only has two entries in the top twenty and DC has none. DC’s highest placing movie weas Joker: Folie a Deux, at position 35, followed by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom at position 38.

Breaking the results down, there were two original works, ten sequels to original movies, four new adaptations, and four sequels to adaptations. Dune: Part Two is being treated as a new adapation despite being a sequel; the original novel is too long to adapt in just one film. Animated films in the top twenty increased from two last year to five in 2024. Dreamworks produced three of the animated movies, the latest in each of the Kung Fu Panda and Despicable Me franchises and The Wild Robot.

Three of the adaptations are deep. Wicked can trace its roots through a musical based on a novel reimaging the 1939 adaptation of the 1900 novel, The Wizard of Oz. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the latest in the newest Planet of the Apes franchise, which is based on the the franchise created by the sequels to the 1968 film, which was an adaptation of the French novel, Planete des singes (“Monkey Planet“). Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the fifth entry in the Monsterverse franchise, built on, ultimately, Godzilla (1954) and King Kong (1933).

The new generation gap between originals and remakes may be shaking out. With home video becoming easier since the creation of the home VCR player, watching old favourite films is easy. Streaming has added a wrinkle, with works coming and going, but DVDs and Blu Ray discs have decent lifetimes and don’t wear out like a VHS tape. Thirty to forty years. though the resulting work may be more sequel than remake today.

Hollywood is recovering from the lockdown during the pandemic. Audiences have returned to the theatres. Summer blockbusters are still released. However, it’s not all superheroes all the time like in previous years. Original works are still in the minority. Studios are still not sure; note all the movies made as part of older franchises or sequels to older films. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel.