In 2024, total earnings at the box office across the United States and Canada amounted to around 8.56 billion U.S. dollars, down from 8.91 billion dollars in the previous year. Still, the 2024 figure was still under the revenue recorded in 2019. Light, camera, action – literally The initial recovery in the box office was followed by a return in market concentration. As of February 2023, the "Big Five" major film studios – Disney, Paramount, Sony/Columbia, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. – collectively held a market share of over 80 percent in the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, the action genre remained the most popular movie genre of the year. Diversity attracts moviegoers Over 60 percent of Gen Zers surveyed in the U.S. in May 2022 mentioned the movie offerings as the main reason to watch motion pictures in theaters. This suggests that new generations of moviegoers may be losing interest in some of the themes abundant in Hollywood productions. Between April 2018 and November 2021, the share of internet users in the U.S. who said they enjoyed superhero movies but were getting tired of so many of them went from 17 percent to 23 percent.

Between 1995 and 2025, a movie based on comics or graphic novels grossed, on average, about 88.36 million U.S. dollars across the United States and Canada – collectively known as the North American box office. Spin-offs followed as the second-most commercially successful film source material, with average box office revenue of around 86.32 million dollars.

During the weekend ending on November 8, 2024, the action movie "Venom: The Last Dance" was the highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada, collectively known as the North American movie market. Its box office revenue amounted to 16 million U.S. dollars. The North American box office after the pandemic The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak persists in the arguably most influential market worldwide. Box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada stood slightly below nine billion dollars in 2023 – more than three billion less than the value recorded in 2019. Perhaps unsurprisingly, cinema attendance experienced a very similar trajectory. The number of movie tickets sold in Canada and the U.S. amounted to little more than 825 million in 2023. Between 1980 and 2019, it had always surpassed a billion. The struggle of Canada's cinema When looking only at the northernmost country part of the North American movie market, the post-pandemic recovery was even slower. Box office gross in Canada amounted to around 600 million Canadian dollars in 2023, roughly only two thirds of the result seen in 2019. It is possible that the audience remained cautious after the coronavirus outbreak. As of mid-2021, nearly 70 percent of people aged 14 and above said in a survey that they did not go to a movie theater in Canada throughout the past 12 months.

As of March 2025, "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens" (2015) held the title of the most commercially successful movie in the United States and Canada, having grossed almost 937 million U.S. dollars at the so-called North American box office. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) follows closely behind with nearly 858.4 million dollars. Released in 2024, "Deadpool & Wolverine" surpassed "Barbie" (2023) and secured the twelfth position in the ranking with a lifetime gross of 636.75 million dollars.

In 2023, "Barbie" – distributed by Warner Bros. – was the highest-grossing movie at the box office in the United States and Canada, with a domestic revenue of about 636.23 million U.S. dollars. In second and third place, Universal Pictures' "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" grossed around 574.93 million and 381.31 million at the domestic box office, respectively.

Between 1995 and 2025, movies based on original screenplays earned more than 116 billion U.S. dollars at the so-called North American box office, which comprises Canada and the United States. This is almost as much as the second, third, fourth, fifth, and six-placed sources grossed altogether. Films based on games earned over 3.36 billion dollars within that period, surpassing play-based movies – which as of 2021 no longer made it to the top 10.

Throughout 2024, movie theaters across the United States and Canada sold about 823 million tickets, down from just over 830 million tickets in the previous year. Yet the 2023 figures corresponds to around two-thirds of the nearly 1.23 billion movie tickets sold in 2019.

Disney's "Inside Out 2" grossed almost 653 million U.S. dollars in the United States and Canada, making it the highest grossing movie of the year for the domestic market. In second position was "Deadpool & Wolverine", another Disney production, which became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever released.

Throughout 2023, movie theaters in the United States and Canada managed to sell around 831 million tickets, which is a bit more than the 2022 figure of about 700 million tickets and a significant increase compared to the 2021 total of 444 million tickets. However, despite the growth, the 2023 figure still falls short of the nearly 1.23 billion movie tickets sold in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. Cinema's slow recovery after the coronavirus The pandemic also impacted on cinemas' finances. The revenue at the so-called North American box office – consisting of Canada and The U.S. – stood just below nine billion dollars in 2023. That value remained well under the figure recorded in 2019. The box office revenue in Canada alone struggled even more, adding up to 600 million Canadian dollars in 2023, barely more than half the value reported four years earlier. Newer audiences and how to attract them The coronavirus outbreak has not changed the fact that teenagers watched the highest number of movies per year in the U.S. The 12-17 age group watched, on average, 2.5 feature films at a movie theater in 2021, or five times more than moviegoers aged 60 and above. According to a mid-2021 survey, variety in titles is what most motivated GenZers to attend movie theaters. This suggests that diversity may still be the spice of life – at least on the big screen.

In 2024, movie theaters in Canada and the United States sold more than 259 million to films that, according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), contained some material that could be inappropriate for people under 13, also known as PG-13 movies. In 2022, a total of 455 million tickets were sold for the whole year.

Throughout 2024, the action movie genre accounted for almost 29 percent of the box office revenue in the United States and Canada, collectively known as the North American film market. Adventure, which historically tends to lead the market, ranked second with around 25 percent and comedy ranked third with around 10.02 percent in 2024.

In 2021, people who identified as Caucasian and/or White bought approximately 57 percent of all movie tickets sold in the United States and Canada. Hispanic and/or Latino consumers accounted for 23 percent of the purchases.

Between 1995 and 2024, adventure was the highest-grossing movie genre at the so-called North American box office, which consists of Canada and the United States (including the unincorporated territories of Guam and Puerto Rico). Adventure films recorded a box office revenue of more than 67 billion U.S. dollars within that period. Action movies followed with more than 60 billion dollars in revenue. Cinema: releases versus revenue Titles with adventure and action elements are also on the top on a global scale. "Avatar" (2009) and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) are the most commercially successful movies of all time, each grossing around 2.8 billion dollars worldwide. In terms of production, however, historically, the North American market has plenty of dramas, comedies, and documentaries. These were the top three genres of movie released in the U.S. and Canada between 1995 and the beginning of 2023. Will the cinema market fully recover? The film industry in the U.S. faced unparalleled challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic led to preventive lockdowns across the globe. It remains to be seen if the demand for movies on the big screen will reach the same levels recorded before the outbreak. The number of movie tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada increased by more than 60 percent between 2021 and 2022, when it surpassed 813 million. Still, the latter figure amounted to less than 70 percent of the nearly 1.23 billion tickets sold in 2019.

Between 1995 and 2024, an adventure movie grossed, on average, 57.34 million U.S. dollars at the North American box office – a term that excludes Mexico and includes Canada and the United States. The box office revenue of a documentary stood at an average of little less than a million dollars.

In 2021, the global box office revenue amounted to approximately 21.3 billion U.S. dollars, out of which more than half – 10.9 billion dollars – came from the Asia Pacific region. In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – collectively known as EMEA – the box office revenue added up to five billion dollars or almost one-fourth of the total. Despite the increase when compared to 2020, the 2021 figures remained distant from the 42.3-billion-dollar global revenue recorded in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak.

What is box office data used for? The term box office revenue refers to the total revenue generated through movie ticket sales. It is primarily used to measure and compare the commercial success of a film. Ticket sales may account for a large portion of the film industry’s total revenue – especially before the pandemic. They are also the main source of income for movie theaters.

Leading box office markets The United States and Canada – known as the North American movie market – were the leading box office market worldwide for several decades. But China, alongside other Asian markets, has also begun to make its mark on the global movie industry in recent years. Bollywood movies, in particular, are gaining popularity outside of India. While the Indian film industry released far more movies than China and the U.S. until the coronavirus outbreak, its box office revenues remained comparatively small.

In 2024, the global box office revenue amounted to approximately 30 billion U.S. dollars, out of which more than half – 15.4 billion dollars – came from the international market (without China). Despite being on the rise in comparison to 2022, box office revenues have yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels.

In 2021, the global box office revenue added up to approximately 21.3 billion U.S. dollars, up from 11.8 billion dollars a year earlier – an annual increase of 80.5 percent. Still, the 2021 result amounted to only little more than half of the 42.3-billion-dollar box office revenue recorded in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, the share of 3D films in the global revenue went from six percent in 2020 to 6.6 percent in 2021.

Cinema market: a challenging comeback The pandemic changed the film industry by emptying movie theaters and accelerating the increase in video streaming penetration. In the so-called North American movie market – which consists of Canada and the United States (including the unincorporated territories of Guam and Puerto Rico) – the box office revenue more than doubled between 2020 and 2021. But the latter figure amounted to less than 40 percent of the pre-COVID-19 result. Meanwhile, subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) platforms went even further. Netflix kept the top spot while new competitors such as Disney+ diversified the offering.

Big players on the big screen The global cinema segment spans way beyond North America, though. China alone sold more than 1.1 billion movie tickets throughout 2021, making it the leading market worldwide, right above the U.S. India ranked third with almost 380 million tickets sold that same year. With a vast film culture – even larger than its iconic Bollywood industry – India and its cinema feature a myriad of languages and advertising opportunities to its gargantuan audience.

As of February 2025, "Incredibles 2" (2018) was the highest-grossing animated feature film in the history of the North American box office, which consists of Canada and the United States. The movie – directed and written by Brad Bird – grossed almost 609 million U.S. dollars across the two countries. Disney distributed seven of the top 10 films in this category. Beyond Disney Despite being released under the Disney umbrella, the “Incredibles 2” movie is a Pixar production. After years of collaboration, Disney announced the purchase of the animation studio in 2006, making it an official subsidiary. However, ‘Shrek 2’ is the most successful animated feature movie at the North American box office that is not created or distributed by Disney. The Shrek franchise, which includes four main movies, two spin-offs, and a television series, is DreamWorks Animation’s most lucrative yet. Pokémon is the most successful anime movie franchise Despite not reaching the same heights as their American counterparts in the box office, Japanese anime movies are popular with North American audiences. The first Pokémon movie, 1999’s “Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back” grossed 85.75 million U.S. dollars at the box office and was the highest grossing Japanese anime movie as of February 2025. More than 30 percent of American adults were interested in seeing a film or a TV adaptation of the Pokémon franchise, slightly more than Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. Japanese animation is appreciated by all consumers of all ages in the United States. Millennials accounted for 42 percent of anime fans as of 2022, whereas a quarter of them were Gen Zers.

As of October 2024, "Deadpool & Wolverine" (2024) ranked as the all-time highest-grossing R-rated movie in the United States and Canada. The film generated more than 635 million U.S. dollars at the so-called North American box office. "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) and the first "Deadpool" (2016) followed with domestic revenues of around 371 million and 363 million dollars, respectively. "R" stands for "restricted". It means that, according to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), viewers under the age of 17 could watch the film only if accompanied by their parent or adult guardian. When it comes to PG-13-rated movies in the U.S. and Canada – which are films containing "[s]ome material [that] may be inappropriate for children under 13" – "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens" (2015) ranked first. The Rs in Warner Half of the top 10 R-rated films were produced by Warner Bros.: "American Sniper", "Joker" (2019), "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003), "The Hangover" (2009), and "The Hangover Part II" (2011). The studio saw its box office revenue decrease for three consecutive years before bouncing back in 2021. As of 2023, the figure added up to 1.4 billion dollars. That value is still inferior to the more than two billion dollars the studio recorded in 2017. Still, Warner Bros. box office market share stood at 15.79 percent in 2023, its peak since 2017, partly driven by the success of 2023's "Barbie". A twist in a trope with a twisted hero "Deadpool & Wolverine" (2024), the latest installment in the Deadpool franchise, became the highest grossing Deadpool movie less than two weeks after its release in theaters. These films rely on a genre Hollywood has explored for the sake of its bankability: superhero movies. Yet, Deadpool goes the extra mile by adding chaotic, openly nonsensical attributes to the trope. Once hugely popular, superhero movies currently have difficulties reaching pre-pandemic heights. Throughout 2023, they collectively grossed about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars domestically - one billion less than the previous year.

The animated movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie" was the highest-grossing PG-rated movie in the United States and Canada in 2023, with a box office revenue of nearly 575 million U.S. dollars. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," distributed by Sony Pictures, followed with more than 380 million dollars in revenue. "PG" stands for "parental guidance suggested," meaning that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) deemed the films to contain some material that may not be suitable for children. The titles displayed were also the most-viewed PG movies in the U.S. and Canada in 2023.