2024 has not been a normal year for the box office. Movies’ earnings have been at some all time lows, films that should have performed highly have flopped, and others that would usually go under the radar have received surprising spotlight. This year’s strange box office has caused significant turmoil and panic for professionals worrying for the wellbeing of the movie industry in general. So, what exactly has been happening? And what are the reasons behind the phenomenon?

Overall, the box office has made about 4 billion domestically. For context, by this time last year, domestic gross was about 890 million dollars higher (as of July 18th, 2024). This dip in profit was a cause for alarm for many, but the real setback occurred during Memorial Day weekend. Traditionally, the four-day weekend is a high-earning period and a good measure for the year to come. But this Memorial Day weekend hit a startling historical low. Theaters gathered only roughly 128 million, which is the lowest number in nearly three decades. Despite the fact that most anticipated 2024 to be a bit of a lower-earning year—for reasons which will be discussed later on—no one was really predicting just how much of a decline would occur. Then the question remains: Why exactly is this happening? The answer isn’t simple, as there are multiple layers to the situation. 

Firstly, 2024 was always expected to be more of a depleted year. With the 148-day long Writers Strike and nearly four month long Actors Strike in 2023, many films had their production schedules affected. Several film release dates were pushed back, such as Deadpool & Wolverine, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Elio, and Challengers. Because of the strikes, this year simply wasn’t going to be as full as years past. 

Along with the influence of the strikes, the Memorial Day movie lineup wasn’t as captivating or newsworthy as it usually is. The two major films were Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie. While both of these movies had moderate success, they weren’t spotlight films in comparison to previous years. For instance, 2023’s star Memorial Day weekend movie was Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and 2022 was equipped with the Tom-Cruise-blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. The two top contending movies for this year didn’t hit the heights that the films listed above did. 

Both of these circumstances, in addition to the increase of quick releases to streaming, and several profit flops—such as Madame Web, IF, and The Fall Guy—led to a year that has so far displayed an underwhelming box office gross amount. 

However, the low earning box office results of the year so far could shift as the year progresses. One significant detail of the situation is that most summers have a front-loaded release list, while 2024 is doing the opposite: putting most of its biggest films towards the end of the season. This year’s earlier summer movies were films like The Fall Guy, The Idea of You, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and IF. Importantly, there were no Marvel movies in the beginning of the summer, something the industry has become accustomed too. But the later summer films could turn the tide. Already, Inside Out 2, A Quiet Place: Day One, and Despicable Me 4 are doing very well—Inside Out 2 especially, as it’s become the second highest grossing animated movie ever, only following Frozen II. Deadpool & Wolverine could further this trend if it performs as well as expected.

2024 has been an odd year for the movie industry. There have been shocking lows, disappointing flops, and surprisingly poor attendance for certain films. But the box office seems to be looking up now as the summer draws closer to a finish. Several movies are receiving strong standings and upcoming releases show promise. It seems that fans can be cautiously optimistic that this year will continue in its upward streak and hopefully overcome the rough start.