Following up one of the greatest movie years in recent memory is a formidable task. 2023 really had it all: a primo selection of Oscar-nominated films, releases from some of the greatest working auteurs and of course the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon which propelled movie-going to the forefront of pop culture. Did 2024 live up to its predecessor? In its own way, yes, but there’s no doubt that it was a very different movie year. Here is a chronological exploration of 2024’s year in film.
As in most movie years, January and February introduced audiences to a fine assortment of schlock. First up was “Mean Girls,” an adaptation of the stage musical, which is in turn an adaptation of the original film of the same name. “Mean Girls” wasn’t the only musical adaptation of 2024, but it certainly was the worst. February continued this trend, gracing audiences with “Madame Web,” another entry in Sony’s convoluted universe of Spider-Man spinoff films. The disastrous reception of “Madame Web” seemed to spell the end of superhero movies once and for all, but Marvel’s summer release would prove that the genre still has some staying power.
March delivered the year’s first blockbuster, “Dune: Part Two.” The sequel — a word sure to be uttered numerous times throughout the course of this article — collects the talents of Denis Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and many more in an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s heady sci-fi novel. The film was a massive success, garnering over $700 million at the worldwide box office.
“Civil War” and “Challengers” were the big surprises of April, but for different reasons. “Civil War,” a dystopian thriller produced by independent studio A24, exceeded box office expectations to become the studio’s second highest grossing film ever. According to industry expert David A. Gross, the film’s success could have been related to its political relevance.
“The film is bending the genre into something contemporary and relatable. The story is not directly partisan, but it’s provoking partisan feelings,” Gross said.
“Challengers” — the high-octane romantic sports drama starring Zendaya — was slightly less successful at the box office but soared in popularity amongst younger movie-goers. It’s currently the fourth most-watched film of 2024 on Letterboxd, a movie-reviewing social media platform with a youthful user base. According to Bethy Squires from Vulture, “Challengers” also became “one of the top four fastest films to reach one million watched on Letterboxd.”
But with unexpected triumphs came unexpected defeats. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” bombed over Memorial Day weekend, grossing only $32 million domestically — the worst Memorial Day weekend performance in nearly 30 years. This statistic is especially damning when compared to the opening domestic box office gross of its predecessor “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which amassed $45 million on a normal weekend. The failure of “Furiosa” has been attributed to its status as a prequel as well as the absence of major cast members from “Fury Road.”
While “Furiosa” flopped, the Cannes Film Festival handed out its highly coveted awards. Cannes — one of the prestigious “Big Five” film festivals — is known for its influence on the Oscar awards race. Some of the festival’s top awards went to the musical crime drama “Emilia Pérez” and the cynical sex-worker dramedy “Anora.” Both films share a brazen singularity commonly under-recognized at the Oscars. Nevertheless, “Emilia Pérez” and “Anora” have emerged as Academy Award frontrunners.
Summer of 2024 was a season of sequels, R-rated romps and surprise horror hits. Disney struck gold with “Inside Out 2,” the highest-grossing film of the year, and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe resuscitator. Horror also had an unexpectedly large presence. The creepy procedural thriller “Longlegs” and sci-fi creature feature “Alien: Romulus” were instant hits, even earning spots amongst the top 10 most popular films of 2024 on Letterboxd.
As summer transitioned to fall, the Venice Film Festival introduced the first major challenger to the Cannes-hailed, established awards contenders — “The Brutalist.” The American epic has been compared to some of the greatest films of all time, including “The Godfather” and “There Will Be Blood.” It currently remains firmly in the Oscar race.
September marked the wide release of another Cannes Film Festival sensation — “The Substance.” The body-horror film, which tackled the subject of female body insecurity, featured some of the most audacious, disgusting and cinematic visuals of the year. Miraculously, the divisive film has been watched by over 1.5 million users on Letterboxd, making it the fifth most-watched film of 2024 on the platform.
The unlikely success story of “The Substance” stands in stark contrast to the catastrophic failure that was “Joker: Folie à Deux.” The sequel to the Oscar-nominated film “Joker” seemed poised for greatness; its first trailer received 167 million views within 24 hours and the film was even expected to have a presence at the 2025 Oscars. But come release, “Joker 2” was widely rejected by fans, receiving a “D” from the audience surveyor company CinemaScore.
Closing out November was the double-feature event dubbed “Glicked,” 2024’s answer to “Barbenheimer.” The cinematic sensation consisted of “Wicked,” an adaptation of the eponymous musical and unofficial prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” as well as “Gladiator II,” the sequel to the Roman epic film “Gladiator.” The duo’s contrasting tones mimicked 2023’s pairing of the dramatic male-led film “Oppenheimer” and the bubbly female-led film “Barbie.” Though opening box office earnings for “Glicked” fell short of “Barbenheimer,” there’s no doubt the films benefited from symbiotic marketing campaigns.
“I think going forward, more studios can look at this as another successful blueprint for how to release two big counterprogramming movies at the same time,” Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango, told NBC.
The end of the year is nigh, but unlike 2023, the 2024 race for best picture remains decidedly uncertain. “Anora” looks to have a slight edge, but with “The Brutalist,” “Wicked,” “Emilia Pérez” and others in contention, declaring a winner with any confidence would be foolish. Not to mention award hopefuls “Nickel Boys” and “September 5” — which have yet to receive wide releases — as well as Christmas release “A Complete Unknown” could once again shake up the race.
But uncertainty isn’t necessarily the sign of a bad movie year, it just means the industry is changing — and maybe for the better.
Some of the biggest movies of the year were bold, experimental films. Sure, they were in the mix with a slew of sequels and franchise fodder, but at least there’s room for both. Audiences crave originality, and for once producers finally delivered. Maybe, just maybe, going into 2025 viewers can expect a bolder and braver Hollywood.
Drew Askeland is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. He can be reached at daskelan@uci.edu.