Rueben's Ramblings

It was another interesting year at the movieplex this year with a very wide array of movies available, especially the juggernaut movies Wicked, Part 1 and Gladiator 2 that capped off the year, becoming known as “Glicked” (much like how Barbie and Oppenheimer became known as Barbenheimer last summer).

There was also the late 2023 release of the R-rated rom-com Anyone But You, starring ubiquitous stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. This movie became the highest-grossing R-rated rom-com in almost a decade, becoming more than a sleeper hit as the new year broke, crossing well over $100 million at the worldwide box office.

It was also the year of animated films with Despicable Me (it’s latest version: Despicable Me 4 was released in July) becoming the first animated franchise in movie history to cross over the $5 billion mark at the international box office while Inside Out 2 became the first animated film to hit $1 billion at the worldwide market.

The reverse could be said about the prequel series Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which stumbled badly at the box office, creating the worst record for the Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades and the sequel film Joker: Folie a Deux bombed as well, being set to lose at least $150 million to $200 million in its theatrical run.

Speaking of Joker (the 2019 movie starring Joaquin Phoenix), that movie had been the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history, but it was overshadowed by the Ryan Reynolds-Hugh Jackman-led Deadpool & Wolverine, which generated over $1 billion dollars in the box office during its first 23 days of release.

As for Deadpool & Wolverine, that was one of a handful of movies that I got to see at the theatre this year, as rising ticket costs and a general lack of extra time to go to the movies put a damper on what I was able to see this year.

I was fortunate enough to see The Fall Guy and Wicked, Part 1 in the theatre, and I highly recommend both!

I also got to see Argylle, starring Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard (among others), and while I know that movie didn’t perform all that well in the theatres, and received its fair share of less-than-flattering reviews, I found it to be a fun movie to watch (even if it was a little hard to believe at times).

Now let’s take a look at the top 30 box office winners from this year (up through Saturday, December 14 that is):

1. Inside Out 2 – 653 million
2. Deadpool & Wolverine – 637 million
3. Despicable Me 4 – 361 million
4. Wicked – 286 million
5. Moana 2 – 248 million
6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – 294 million
7. Dune: Part Two – 282 million
8. Twisters – 268 million
9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – 196 million
10. Kung Fu Panda 4 – 193.59 million
11. Bad Boys: Ride or Die – 193.57 million
12. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – 171 million
13. It Ends with Us – 149 million
14. Gladiator II – 146 million
15. The Wild Robot – 143 million
16. Venom: The Last Dance – 140 million
17. A Quiet Place: Day One – 139 million
18. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – 113 million
19. IF – 111 million
20. Alien: Romulus – 105 million
21. Bob Marley: One Love- 97 million
22. The Fall Guy – 92.9 million
23. Red One – 92.6 million
24. The Garfield Movie – 92 million
25. Wonka – 85 million
26. Longlegs – 74 million
27. Migration – 73 million
28. Mean Girls – 72 million
29. Smile 2 – 68.9 million
30. Civil War – 68.6 million

On the other spectrum are the movies that were either a disappointment in the box office due to poor ticket sales or, more importantly, had a horrible trailer that made me completely uninterested in seeing them.

They appear in alphabetical order below:

Abigail
Anora
Arcadian
Blink Twice
Brothers
Challengers
Imaginery
Joker: Folie à Deux
Kraven the Hunter
Kinds of Kindness
Lisa Frankenstein
Longlegs
Megalopolis
Monkey Man
Nightbitch
Poolman
Smile 2
Speak No Evil
Stopmotion
Terrifier 3
The End
The First Omen
Trap
Venom: The Last Dance

What movies did you enjoy seeing this year?

TOMORROW: Awards Season

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!