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Disney wins the 2024 box office as year-end receipts offer a welcome boost

Full-year ticket sales were down just 3.4% from 2023, reaching $8.74 billion, a far cry from the nearly 27% shortage seen at the midway point of 2024.

"While 2024 was one of the most challenging ever for theatres, the massive comeback that began in June due to the residual impact of the strikes and resultant production delays that threw the release slate into disarray in the early part of the year is nothing short of remarkable," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. "Expectations entering the year were saddled with the weight of release delays caused by industry strikes, on top of the ongoing adjustment to modern consumer habits that have taken hold in a world of shorter theatrical windows and increased demand for state-of-the-art experiences inside cinemas themselves," said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. Handler said the superhero genre is seeking "a bit of redemption," noting that Marvel has three major releases in 2025: "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts*" and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps."

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