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Globally, including most everywhere overseas, 2023 box office was led by a mix of Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Oppenheimer, curious bedfellows who nevertheless proved that cultural phenomena can come in different forms and set turnstiles spinning.
Both the global and international box office saw improvement in 2023 versus 2022 with an estimated $33.9 billion gross worldwide, including $17.1B from overseas markets (excluding China, which we’ll get to below). The good news is that this helped reduce the lag versus the average of the three pre-pandemic years to -15% for both datasets, and there was significant growth in some key offshore markets.
Conversely, we’re looking at a 2024 that’s expected to slide owing to work stoppages amid the dual strikes which sent several studio titles onto the 2025 calendar (note that for overseas local titles, it is difficult to predict as many markets set release dates late). A lack of Hollywood product up ahead means there’s continued concern about audiences losing the habit of going to the movies. As much as that became an issue during the emergence from Covid, the situation remains challenging.
“People are turning up for the blockbuster event movies, but they’re not turning up for your normal run-of-the-mill every week,” says a veteran international studio exec. “The frequency of moviegoing — the habit of moviegoing every week — that’s gone.” This gets exacerbated when there aren’t a lot of event titles which help increase foot traffic. “There is going to have to be recalibration, there’s going to have to be some sort of realism in terms of what films can make around the world now,” the exec suggests.
Not helping the situation in 2023, there was an increasing cold shoulder from Chinese audiences towards Hollywood product as the market’s own output has evolved. Although more studio movies were granted release during the year, they saw even more diminished returns. Whereas the studios in 2022 at least charted amid the higher end of all films in the market (which experienced cinema closures throughout that year), none of the Top 10 movies in 2023 were from Hollywood. “There’s a big message,” huffs an international distribution exec.
Leaving China aside for now (see select market snapshots below), and looking at highlights from 2023, international distribution execs are happy about bounce-back in Germany and (cautiously) Italy, as well as strong performances out of Latin America, and pockets of Southeast Asia including the extremely populous Indonesia. The Netherlands had a banner year, becoming the only market in the Top 15 estimated to be ahead of the 2017-2019 average (+3%).
On the other hand, Korea continues to struggle at 31% down versus the pre-pandemic three-year average and with frequency of cinemagoing having dropped significantly (see market snapshots below).
Overall momentum was good in Europe. Comments an international veteran, “In week two, and especially three, four and five when you’re still getting multiples in Europe that are around 3.5 to 4.2, that’s tremendous.” This person notes that longer windows versus the U.S. are a factor and that the results demonstrate “you don’t have to be a cultural moment every single time.”
One unwelcome cultural phenomenon was the flatlining of several Marvel and DC movies in 2023. An exec comments, “I do think there’s superhero fatigue and people do roll their eyes. But at the end of the day, it’s quality and quantity and if you get into the zeitgeist.”
Says another, “The worry of the business is that there is no floor anymore… One thing we talk about is big movies have the ability to do as much if not more than pre-pandemic. Barbie and Oppenheimer confirm that. I think there’s no ceiling, but there’s also no floor now. In the older days, you would have counted on a superhero movie doing a certain amount of money minimum.”
Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the exception, landing at No. 5 internationally; and while animation overall continues to be a head-scratcher, Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was No. 9 overseas. Also ranking in the Top 10 international were Universal’s Fast X, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Disney/Pixar’s Elemental, Warner Bros’ China co-production Meg 2: The Trench and WB’s Wonka which is still in release.
Below is a look at how the studios fared internationally in 2023, followed by select overseas market snapshots. Note that, as one distribution honcho put it to us: “It’s not a race to the finish, sometimes it takes until late January to fully assess international.”
STUDIO BREAKDOWNS
Universal
In 2023, and for the first time since 2015, Universal was the global international and domestic box office leader. Topping $4.9B worldwide (+26% on 2022) off such hits as The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.36B ww/$788M intl), Oppenheimer ($952M/$626M), Fast X ($709M/$563M) and Five Nights at Freddy’s ($290M/$152M), this marked the third time any studio has crossed $4B since 2019, and the fourth time ever for Uni. It also means Universal has passed $3B global seven out of the last 10 years.
Of the Top 5 titles worldwide and internationally, Uni boasted three with Super Mario, Oppenheimer and Fast X. Uni’s overseas box office reached $2.97B (+32% year-on-year).
Universal prides itself on the diversity of its broad slate (24 films in 2023). Not having a superhero franchise, it has shown strength at creating its own brands and delivering different genres and budget levels for audiences across its labels.
The studio came into 2023 with M3GAN ($180.1M global/$85M intl) in January before taking things to a new level with Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie opening to what would become the biggest worldwide start of the year at $377M (also the biggest video game adaptation launch ever). It plumbed audiences the globe over as it went on to become the No. 2 animated title of all time.
In July, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer defied the odds of being a three-hour R-rated biopic facing off with Barbie. Ultimately, the Barbenheimer phenomenon benefited both movies as audiences were compelled to see each of them. Oppenheimer went on to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time and is firmly in the awards race.
Uni also boasts the biggest horror title of the year with October’s Blumhouse scarer Five Nights at Freddy’s. While Fast X did over $500M internationally in the spring, it was downshifted in China. It’s the top MPA movie of the year in the market, but of the Fast & Furious movies released there, it only bested 2013’s sixth installment. Still, as with all studios, the performance of Hollywood movies in the unreliable market can really only be blamed on the current situation there.
Leaving aside Super Mario, there’s some griping about animation overall across 2023, and some are scratching their heads at the trajectory of Illumination’s Migration. Chris Meledandri’s hitmaking studio rarely misses, and Migration still has a way to go with a similar staggered rollout to Puss in Boots 2, great reactions and some key markets including the UK not having yet opened. It’s important to recall that launching original animation is different now versus pre-pandemic.
Coming up this year, Uni’s slate includes Matthew Vaughn’s action thriller Argylle; Focus’ Drive Away Dolls, Back to Black and The Bikeriders; action comedy The Fall Guy; DWA’s Kung Fu Panda 4 and The Wild Robot; Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 and end-of-year fantasy musical Wicked.
Disney
Disney ceded its crown as global champ in 2023, grossing $4.827B worldwide (-1.5% on 2022) and $2.924B overseas (+1%) — these are the lowest swings for any studio.
The Mouse House had a relatively tough year, but before we get into that, let’s look at some of the highlights. Of all the Hollywood majors, it had the most titles in the Top 10 globally with four, led by Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($846M ww/$487M intl). At historic rates, it bested both of the previous installments as well as topping the first movie in China. It’s the highest grossing of the franchise at current rates, excluding Russia where studios stopped releasing movies in early 2022.
The live-action take on The Little Mermaid ($570M ww/$272M intl) is No. 7 on the global chart, but came in low overseas versus domestic as it faced a current of so-called review-bombing in such areas as France, Korea, Germany and beyond.. The film was expected to be more of a domestic play at the outset, however it was fairly astonishing to see the overseas reactions which sadly included racially-tinged commentary in some pockets of the world.
Pixar’s Elemental, for its part, got off to a slowish start in June, but showed real fire as it continued to play – especially overseas in staggered release. The $496M global final (No. 9 overall) includes $342M from international (or 69% of the total). The standout here was Korea at nearly $55M in what was a challenging market throughout the year, but audiences there sparked to it.
At No. 10 on the global chart, Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($477M ww/$262M intl) was a disappointment versus its predecessors, and as with so many Hollywood sequels across the year, paled in comparison in China – it was also the first day-and-date Marvel release there after a three-and-a-half year period.
The Marvels then failed to fly, finaling at $206M global/$121.4M international, ouch. Disney CEO Bob Iger has said the movie was not supervised in the way it should have been, and that quality over quantity is the way forward.
Another misfire included Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($384M ww/$209.5M intl), which couldn’t convert generally positive reactions after its world premiere in Cannes.
On deck in 2024, Disney is paving the way for June’s Inside Out 2 with rereleases of other Pixar titles in the early months of the year (which also helps exhibition fill in the gaps). Further on deck are Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Mufasa: The Lion King, Deadpool 3 and another Alien movie. Searchlight’s Venice Golden Lion winner and awards season charmer Poor Things will start more significant overseas release this month.
Warner Bros
The Burbank studio landed third in 2023 in terms of global box office with $3.941B, and hit $2.511B internationally. Respectively, those are massive increases of 61% and 67% on 2022.
It also has bragging rights to the No. 1 movie worldwide with the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie ($1.45B ww/$809.4M intl). The Margot Robbie-starrer stood its ground in the summer, opening head-to-head with Universal’s Oppenheimer, and to stratospheric effect as the Barbenheimer phenomenon took hold around the globe (even putting up decent numbers in China where it was not expected to perform).
Earlier, Creed III in March saw higher grosses (unadjusted) versus its two predecessors overseas with $120M from international ($276.1M ww). In late summer, WB unleashed its China co-production sequel Meg 2: The Trench which came in lower than the first movie (notably domestically), perhaps with the novelty wearing off, and did $315.5M overseas for $397.7M global. Warner also released The Nun II into its preferred early fall horror corridor, scaring up a terrific $268.1M global, including $181.8M from offshore for a strong 67.8% from international.
But, the remainder of the Zack Snyder-born DC universe seized during 2023 as Shazam:! Fury of the Gods ($134M ww/$76.4M intl) and The Flash ($271.3M ww/$163.2M intl) did not deliver the goods.
Warners should, however, be credited for leaning in at the end of the year, giving exhibitors product with Wonka (on its way to $500M+ worldwide) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (which, despite a critical splat, should hit $400M+ globally – though not anywhere near the original’s $1.15B).
Coming up in 2024, exhibition’s hopes rest on the studio’s Dune: Part Two to kickstart the global box office come late February overseas. After that, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire could benefit from renewed interest in Kaiju following Toho’s smash 2023 origins story Godzilla Minus One. In May, George Miller returns to the Mad Max saga with Furiosa. And in October, Joaquin Phoenix will be back in Joker: Folie à Deux alongside Lady Gaga. If the studio is feeling bullish on those last two titles, we could see festival play at Cannes and then Venice, respectively. Both previous installments successfully used those events as launchpads. Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 is on deck for September and in December, WB starts the journey of animated The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
Sony
The Culver City studio’s grosses slipped a notch in 2023 versus 2022, to $2.094B global (-1.2%) and $1.081B international (-13.5%), largely owing to shifting release dates and no tentpole titles save its biggest movie of the year, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($690.5M ww/$309.2M intl), which landed at No. 6 on the global chart.
The rest of Sony’s slate included horror pic Insiduous: The Red Door ($189M ww/$107M intl), adult fare such as Apple’s Napoleon ($213.4M ww/$152.2M intl) which opened above expectations and carried on with strong play throughout Europe, and The Equalizer 3 ($191M ww/$98.6M intl).
Up ahead, the studio is bullish on such titles as Ghostbusters – Frozen Empire in March, Bad Boys 4 in June (with Will Smith expected to travel in support), February’s Madame Web, August’s Kraven the Hunter and Venom 3 in November. Sony also has two more movies from Apple: the Scarlett Johansson/Channing Tatum project set for July, and September’s Wolfs with Brad Pitt and George Clooney and directed by Spider-Man’s Jon Watts.
Paramount
Coming off a high-flying 2022 that landed it in the Top 3 amongst studios globally for the first time in a decade, the Melrose Ave studio saw decreases in 2023. Worldwide, the gross was $2.027B (-22%) and internationally it registered $1.185B (-12.9%).
While wagging fingers will point to Tom Cruise-starrer Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’s $567.5M global, including $395.4M international, as a disappointment, something that’s not always noted is that despite expectations in the wake of Top Gun: Maverick, the well-reviewed actioner actually came in ahead of the last Mission movie internationally (excluding China).
Certainly Paramount would have liked to do more, but given the headwinds it faced — the loss of Imax as Oppenheimer swooped in during the sophomore session, and the Barbenheimer phenomenon overall — it’s no small feat to have brought M:I7 in ahead of M:I6 overseas. MI:8’s jump to May 2025 is the right move and gives it a three-week IMAX run. Don’t ever count Cruise out.
Other big titles for Par in 2023 included Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ($439M ww/$281.9M intl) while some of the studio’s movies across 2023 were more domestic leaning (think Scream VI and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem), but it had a gem in the pups of Paw Patrol with The Mighty Movie doing nearly 68% of its business overseas for $137M of the $202.2M global total. Those are 31.7% and 40.4% increases, respectively, versus the first film (at unadjusted rates).
The 2024 lineup looks more than promising and aims to deliver something for everyone, kicking off with Mean Girls (though admittedly more of a domestic and Anglo-Saxon market play), followed by the highly-anticipated Bob Marley: One Love in February, John Krasinski’s IF in May, A Quiet Place: Day One in June, the animated Transformers One in September, Smile 2 in October, Gladiator 2 in November and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in time for the end-of-year holidays.
Lionsgate
Exceeding $1B for the first time in five years, Lionsgate is back on our global chart for 2023 with $1.1B. Internationally, it saw grosses of $525.5M off of powerhouse franchise installments that broke through the clutter: John Wick: Chapter 4 ($441.2M ww/$254.1M intl), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes ($326.1M ww/$166.3M intl) and Saw X ($112M ww/$58.3M intl).
The studio is the largest supplier of films for independent global distributors which is a financial model that can benefit both sides. Many are longtime output partners who rely on these big theatrical franchisable properties, some existing and some new IP, and Lionsgate looks to deliver again in 2024.
It’s teaming with Blumhouse on March horror Imaginary, then has Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare in April and will twirl John Wick spinoff Ballerina in June. Videogame adaptation Borderlands in due in August, Saw XI in September, White Bird in October and Alexandre Aja directing Halle Berry in thriller Never Let Go could slot into the year.
MARKET SNAPSHOTS
CHINA
China box office surged 83% in 2023, exceeding RMB 54.9B ($7.7B+). That’s lower than the highs of 2018 and 2019, but good for the fourth-biggest year on record; it is also estimated to be 7% down on the three-year pre-pandemic average.The main takeaway here, however, is that all of the Top 10 films were local titles. Whereas generally local films help all others to rise, the same can’t be said of China. Homegrown films accounted for 83.8% of the annual box office.
USC professor and China expert Stanley Rosen tells us, “I believe they know that they need Hollywood films to still come into the market, selectively of course, and they know that Hollywood’s boom times are over… China now has their own franchises. There is still a market for imported films, but with the gap between the quality of domestic and foreign films closing, it doesn’t appear that this situation will improve for Hollywood going forward.”
A studio exec adds, “The sentiment is we’re going to get as many movies as deserve to be released in the market and they’re all going to pretty much underperform. We’re not making movies for China, not counting on huge grosses in China. It’s a bonus if you make some money there but it’s back to what it was 10 years ago when the market took off.”
Yet another longtime distribution exec believes conditions are better there than in the past couple of years because release date notifications are making for more appropriate lead times. Still, says this person, “We had a wealth of riches coming out of China leading up to the last decade with enormous hype. Now we have to be smart about how we navigate the market.”
JAPAN
Japan remained the No. 2 offshore market for 2023 at an estimated $1.48B, essentially flat with 2022 and -6% versus the three-year pre-pandemic average. It continued to do great business with local titles like The First Slam Dunk (released late 2022), Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine, How Do You Live? and Godzilla Minus One.
For Hollywood, the shift that occurred coming out of the pandemic and saw audiences in their 20s, the most active demo, move away from studio films is still being felt. At present, we hear, Hollywood needs to depend more on the older audience, and it’s a market that is aging up. We certainly saw that with Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, and in 2023, among the biggest U.S. movies were Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and the holdover from Avatar: The Way of Water. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the top import with its deep ties to the culture.
UK
The UK did an estimated $1.35B in 2023, improving 8% from 2022, according to comScore, and posting the first post-pandemic year to exceed £1B. That’s still -22% versus the three-year pre-pandemic average, and some would have liked to see a higher increase, but the market was also coming off a strong 2022.
ComScore in its UK note wrote, “There is no strong sign of the cost-of-living crisis affecting cinemagoing.” However, more than one international executive suggested to us that the economy is a factor.
What’s more, says an industry exec, “Hits are even bigger and everything else just falls away. Those titles that need to be seen are what are breaking out; even if a movie is not terrific, there is FOMO.”
Says another, “I don’t feel down about the UK, it just hasn’t been the greatest year in terms of full product.”The Top 10 in the UK reflects similar tastes to those of North American audiences. However, when there is a British element — think Oppenheimer or Wonka (Nos. 2 and 4 for 2023) — those films will excel. After Wonka, the top British movie was The Great Escaper at $6.7M.
FRANCE
France saw a 19% spike in admissions versus 2022, according to figures from the National Cinema Center, still running about 13% behind the average of the three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019). In dollar grosses, Gower Street estimates the year at $1.35B which would be -11% versus the three-year pre-pandemic average.
Studio films topped the chart in 2023, led by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Barbie and the runoff of Avatar: The Way of Water. The only local title to sneak into the Top 5 was Guillaume Canet’s Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom. That reverses a 2022 phenomenon that saw no French movies in the Top 10 for the first time in 33 years.
GERMANY
A bright spot for many, Germany ended 2023 with an estimated $1.01B, a roughly 38% increase in dollar terms versus 2022 and just 7% behind the three-year pre-pandemic average. Says an international exec, “You’re seeing another market that started slowly out of Covid and is now seeing bounce-back in adult-driven stuff. Germany is one that has me feeling confident.”The Top 10 was made up of Hollywood movies, with the biggest local title Constantin’s summer crime comedy Rehragout-Rendezvous.
KOREA
While no one is really concerned about France or Germany, Korea is still struggling. With an estimated $970M across 2023, the typically buoyant market saw about 6% growth versus 2022, but remains 31% down versus the pre-pandemic three-year average.
There was a lack of local locomotives, save for May’s The Roundup: No Way Out ($79.3M) and late-year entry 12.12: The Day ($87.4M).
We’re told that a culprit here may be that significant local talent — including producers, directors and actors — has moved to streaming. “That’s where the money is and the potential to get international acclaim,” says an industry watcher.
Still, we also hear that while cinemas are packed, there are fewer movies and frequency is down. Time was, the annual per capita was 4.4 versus 2.5 now. “People are willing to go, they just weren’t going enough,” says one international distribution maven.
MEXICO
In a huge jump, Mexico spiked roughly 55% versus 2022, grossing an estimated $940M in 2023 and at an estimated -9% versus the three-year pre-pandemic average. The market is one of the rare ones to have maintained the habit of moviegoing. “It’s not just a family market; they love going to the movies – family, couples, everything,” notes a studio exec. Hollywood movies dominated, but Eugenio Derbez-starrer Radical was tops among local titles at over $12M.
ITALY
Italy is notable as it saw over 60% growth versus 2022 (-16% versus the three-year pre-pandemic average), partly fueled by the top three Hollywood movies, but also by a strong local title in There’s Still Tomorrow. Yet, we’re told the market remains sluggish at upgrading cinemas which is an issue going forward. And, exclaims one international distribution exec, “Without the top four movies, they’d be right back down with all the other markets. It was an unusual year.”
Still, there has been an effort on the part of the government, and with the studios and local distributors, to forcefully program the summer — a typically rough patch for moviegoing in the market. A similar initiative was enacted pre-pandemic with positive results.
INDIA
While the major tracking firms don’t have full data on India which has no centralized reporting system and calculates figures in both net and gross, it’s notable that the market saw a resurgence of Bollywood titles, and a comeback of sorts for Shah Rukh Khan. According to Pink Villa, no Bollywood film had emerged as the highest grosser of the year since Dangal in 2016, often overshadowed by South Indian movies and sometimes Hollywood. In a reversal from 2022, where no Hindi films made it into the Top 5 local chart, 2023 saw four from Bollywood. SRK-starrer Jawan was No. 1, and his Pathaan No. 2.