Movie ticket sales in the U.S. hit a 25-year low of 1.24 billion in 2017. Unfortunately for theater owners, 2018 appears to be no different. Rising ticket prices – which topped $9 for the first time this year – have helped soften the blow, yet the improving quality of home theaters and media ensures that American movie theaters will continue to feel pressure.
Despite this downward swing, the past year has had a number of blockbusters that had no problem of attracting moviegoers. Of the 675 major films released so far in 2018, 26 have grossed over $100 million at the domestic box office. While this figure is down from 44 films out of 480 in 2002 – the year in which ticket sales peaked – it nevertheless illustrates that there are still films that can make serious money at the U.S. box office.
Among the year’s top-earners are numerous comic book-based movies, proving that the nation’s superhero obsession is still going strong. Five of these films – not including the superhero-themed “Incredibles 2” – have grossed over $200 million at the box office, thereby accounting for half of the year’s top 10 theatrical success stories.
Another four of the 26 highest-grossing films are almost fully computer-animated. Movies for families and children often do well at the box office, and computer animation has been one of the most popular genres of films aimed at this demographic. Non-animated family films that appear on the list include “A Wrinkle in Time,” “Ready Player One,” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
To identify the top grossing films of 2018, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed gross domestic movie theater ticket sales for U.S. films from movie ticket tracking website Box Office Mojo as of Nov. 27, 2018.
Click here to see the highest-grossing films of 2018.
26. Fifty Shades Freed
> Domestic box office: $100.4 million
> Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson
> Release date: February 9, 2018
> IMDb rating: 4.5/10
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25. A Wrinkle in Time
> Domestic box office: $100.4 million
> Starring: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon
> Release date: March 9, 2018
> IMDb rating: 4.2/10
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24. The Equalizer 2
> Domestic box office: $102.1 million
> Starring: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders
> Release date: July 20, 2018
> IMDb rating: 6.8/10
23. Peter Rabbit
> Domestic box office: $115.3 million
> Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler
> Release date: February 9, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7/10
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22. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
> Domestic box office: $117.1 million
> Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler
> Release date: November 16, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7/10
21. The Nun
> Domestic box office: $117.4 million
> Starring: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet
> Release date: September 7, 2018
> IMDb rating: 5.5/10
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20. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
> Domestic box office: $120.6 million
> Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn
> Release date: July 20, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.6/10
19. Ready Player One
> Domestic box office: $137.0 million
> Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn
> Release date: March 29, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.6/10
18. Ocean’s Eight
> Domestic box office: $139.4 million
> Starring: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway
> Release date: June 8, 2018
> IMDb rating: 6.2/10
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17. The Meg
> Domestic box office: $143.0 million
> Starring: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson
> Release date: August 10, 2018
> IMDb rating: 5.8/10
16. Bohemian Rhapsody
> Domestic box office: $152.0 million
> Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
> Release date: November 2, 2018
> IMDb rating: 8.4/10
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15. Halloween
> Domestic box office: $159.1 million
> Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak
> Release date: October 19, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.1/10
14. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
> Domestic box office: $167.5 million
> Starring: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez
> Release date: July 13, 2018
> IMDb rating: 6.3/10
13. Crazy Rich Asians
> Domestic box office: $173.8 million
> Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh
> Release date: August 15, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.2/10
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12. The Grinch
> Domestic box office: $180.4 million
> Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones
> Release date: November 9, 2018
> IMDb rating: 6.4/10
11. A Quiet Place
> Domestic box office: $188.0 million
> Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds
> Release date: April 6, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.6/10
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10. A Star is Born
> Domestic box office: $191.0 million
> Starring: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott
> Release date: October 5, 2018
> IMDb rating: 8.2/10
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9. Venom
> Domestic box office: $211.7 million
> Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
> Release date: October 5, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7/10
8. Solo: A Star Wars Story
> Domestic box office: $213.8 million
> Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke
> Release date: May 25, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7/10
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7. Ant-Man and the Wasp
> Domestic box office: $216.6 million
> Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña
> Release date: July 6, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.2/10
6. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
> Domestic box office: $220.2 million
> Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames
> Release date: July 27, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.9/10
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5. Deadpool 2
> Domestic box office: $318.5 million
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin
> Release date: May 18, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.8/10
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4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
> Domestic box office: $416.8 million
> Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall
> Release date: June 22, 2018
> IMDb rating: 6.2/10
3. Incredibles 2
> Domestic box office: $608.5 million
> Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell
> Release date: June 15, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.9/10
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2. Avengers: Infinity War
> Domestic box office: $678.8 million
> Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo
> Release date: April 27, 2018
> IMDb rating: 8.5/10
1. Black Panther
> Domestic box office: $700.1 million
> Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o
> Release date: February 16, 2018
> IMDb rating: 7.4/10
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