Topline
Big stars, major studios, wide theatrical releases and hundreds of millions of dollars grossed weren’t enough to win over critics of these commercially successful films that were each panned for their respective plot holes, uninspired storytelling and, in one case, being a blatantly “cynical cash grab.”
Tom Hardy poses at the premiere of the film "Venom: The Last Dance" on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
Key Facts
"Venom: The Last Dance," the last installment in the Venom trilogy and fifth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, grossed $139.5 million domestically to become the year's 16th best performing film, but only 41% of Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a positive rating.
"The Last Dance" had the worst opening weekend of any Venom movie but stayed on top at the box office for three consecutive weeks before dropping off, despite its lackluster critical reception.
"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" earned only a 42% critics score as the lowest-rated film in the franchise’s 40-year history, but it still drew viewers to the box office with a $113.3 million domestic gross.
The best performing biopic of 2024 with $97 million grossed domestically, "Bob Marley: One Love," was liked by 44% of critics."The Garfield Movie,” which is rumored to have a sequel on the way, has a 37% critics score and grossed $92 million domestically.
Amazon Prime’s original Christmas movie "Red One" was slammed by reviewers across the board to become one of the worst-rated movies among the year’s top 25 domestic earners with a 30% critics score.
Of the top-10 highest grossing films of the year, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" (ninth highest-earning with $196.3 million domestically) and “Despicable Me 4” (in the No. 3 spot with a $361 million domestic gross) impressed the fewest critics—they have scores of 54% and 56%, respectively.
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Big Number
91%. That’s the audience score for “Bob Marley: One Love” on Rotten Tomatoes, the best audience score among the worst-rated commercial successes of the year. “Red One” had an audience score of 90%.
Contra
Most of this year's most successful films were also enjoyed by critics. "Inside Out 2," the best performing film of the year, has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes critics score and grossed $652.9 million domestically, breaking records as the highest-grossing animated film of all time and the fastest animated film to ever hit $1 billion globally. "Dune: Part Two," which grossed $282 million domestically in the seventh spot for the year, was liked by 92% of critics and "Wicked," which is still showing in theatres, has an 88% critics score and is the fourth highest-grossing film of the year with $359 domestically.
Key Background
This year’s box office didn’t have the standout movie movements of 2023—when the tangential release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” broke records and dominated the nation’s lexicon—and 2024 struggled to overcome the impacts of months of Hollywood strikes last year, but still performed better than any analysts expected. The strikes meant there were almost no big-budget blockbusters on screens early in the year; the first half of 2024 fell 23% behind 2023’s earnings pace; and the 2024 summer box office was down 10.3% over 2023, despite the releases of the year's three biggest films. But thanks to "Wicked" and "Moana 2," which delivered the biggest Thanksgiving weekend in box office history to become the fourth and fifth highest-grossing films of 2024, the year could end just 3% behind 2024 in domestic gross.
What To Watch For
The release of big-budget films originally slated for 2024. Disney's live-action "Snow White," Pixar's "Elio," "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts" and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps” are all now set for 2025 releases.
