In a year that’s seen consistent cancellations for most blockbusters, to a worldwide pandemic causing the second-largest cinema chain in the world losing over £1 Billion as a result, we thought it might be interesting to look at the films that did the best business at the box-office in 2020.
However, it has to be said that 2020 just hasn’t been Hollywood’s year.
In order to make things a little bit easier (for me), I’ll be using dollars for accurate reporting figures.
We have yet to see a movie turn over $1 billion worldwide in the current climate.
In 2019 a total of NINE releases reached this figure.
A massive SEVEN of these were under the Walt Disney banner. There were Marvel films.
(Figures correct as of 25th September 2020 – Boxofficemojo)
- Avengers: End Game $2,797b
- The Lion King $1,656b
- Frozen II $1,450b
- Spiderman Far From Home $1,131b
- Captain Marvel $1,128b
- Joker $1,074b
- Star Wars $1,074b
- Toy Story 4 $1,074b
- Aladdin $1,050b
2020 has no Marvel releases
Credit: Marvel Studios
Read more: Tenet IMAX Review
For the first time since 2009, there are no Marvel films so far in 2020.
In 2009, we had Obama elected to the White House.
Hannah Montana and Avatar become the highest-grossing film of all time.
In 2020, we have Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, a worldwide pandemic, and the Avatar sequels are still years away…
That eliminates the biggest box-office phenomenon for the past decade for the year.
So far, Disney only has two titles in the top ten for box office.
As we look to the end of the year, the movies that are currently scheduled for release are the following:
No Time To Die (Universal/United Artists)
Soul (Disney)
Wonder Woman 1984 (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Dune (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Death On The Nile (Disney/Fox)
Soul and Bond are still due in November at this stage, with the other three titles taking up releases just before or on Christmas week, so their box office will only really have a week or two to make ground for 2020.
In normal times, I think we could expect Soul in its current window to perform around $700-800 world-wide if not more, similar to the original title Inside Out.
For England, James
Credit: Universal Pictures
Read more: Has Nolan’s Tenet Killed Off The Rest Of 2020’s Cinema Releases?
The last two Bond movies under the Daniel Craig guise have performed very strongly, 2012’s Skyfall took over $1,108b worldwide, 2015’s Spectre finished with $880b globally.
As this is the final mission for Craig, we surely would have seen this cross the $1b barrier outside of a pandemic.
For a series that often takes 70-80% of its gross outside of America even with the current climate, it should stand a chance of delivering a stronger performance than Tenet.
Whilst we discussed Tenet’s reliance upon American markets (NY/LA) and the downfall of its marketing, along with a lack of a bonafide blockbuster star earlier this month, it still set a foundation for future releases.
James Bond has everything going for it, and if countries outside the US continue to manage mounting cases and keep Cinemas open it may just save the Cinema industry as we end out 2020.
Predictions would estimate even in the current climate – look at how Tenet performed – outside of America No Time To Die could deliver $400-500 million during COVID-19.
Might that make that top the worldwide box office come to the end of 2020?
It currently stands as follows:
- The Eight Hundred $425m
- Bad Boys For Life $424m
- Sonic The Hedgehog 308m
- Tenet $251m
- Dolittle $245m
If Tenet continues to play till Christmas, and when American markets open further it’s possible it will pip Sonic to the third position. But that’s a big IF.
Bad Boys Bad Boys Whatcha Gonna Do
Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
Read more: Warner Bros. Pictures Delays Christopher Nolan’s Tenet Release Date Again
The biggest surprise of the year is seeing Bad Boys For Life sit second in the overall box office position. Whilst the film was a hit with audiences and received box office success, it is unexpected.
They’ll certainly have been no analyst sitting at the end of 2019 predicting this year’s figures and putting Bad Boys near the top of the worldwide box office.
Almost 25 years after the original Bad Boys from Michael Bay was released, it’s certainly a bombshell.
2020 has thrown us surprise after surprise after surprise, and as we continue to see out the year, it’ll continue to surprise us.
What do you make of this feature?
Which movie do you think will end up topping the 2020 box-office?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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