With two months still to go in 2018, the box office has already hit an unprecedented high. ComScore and the National Association of Theater Owners announced on Tuesday that domestic grosses over the past 12 months have hit $12 billion, the first time it has ever reached that mark in such a time span.
The time span tallied went from this past weekend back to the final weekend of October 2017. During that time, several major blockbuster hits have hit theaters, starting with Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok” with $315 million from its release in November 2017.
After that, Marvel films from Disney and Fox continued to drive ticket sales with “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Deadpool 2,” and “Ant-Man & the Wasp,” all of which combined to gross $1.91 billion domestically. In total, films about superheroes have grossed $3.1 billion in the past year, roughly a quarter of all domestic grosses.
Other big contributors over the past year include “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” with $612 million, “Incredibles 2” with an animation record $607.9 million, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” with $416.7 million, and the biggest surprise, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” with $404.5 million.
“In the wake of the first $12 billion one year box office period ever, the potential for the first $12 billion calendar year in North America is strong as the Industry enjoys an 11% YTD advantage over 2017, a 6% advantage over the record year of 2016 and boasts an upcoming slate of blockbusters and awards season contenders that look to power the year to that elusive box office milestone,” said comScore’s Paul Dergarabedian in a statement.
The holiday blockbuster season is expected to kick off in earnest in two weeks with Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” which is expected to post a $65-75 million opening. Other major players in the holiday box office include Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” WB/DC’s “Aquaman,” and Paramount’s “Transformers” spinoff “Bumblebee.”