While 2016 has been a pretty bloody average year in many respects, major Hollywood studios definitely have cause to crack out the champers and/or celebrate with a couple of cheeky lines in the toilet.
It turns out that lots and lots of us have been flocking to blockbusters for a bit of cinematic escapism, and in the United States, box office revenue has just surpassed $US 10 billion for the year, the fastest this milestone has ever been reached.
Per America’s National Association of Theatre Owners, the previous record for the topping the $10 billion mark was hit on December 7, 2013, and before that, on December 8, 2012.
It has been a particularly big year for animated kids’ films, thanks to the Disney release Finding Dory, which took in a domestic gross of $486.2 million in the states.
Disney’s Captain America: Civil War ($408.1 million), and The Jungle Book ($346 million) were also big winners in the US. Rounding out current top five releases are The Secret Life Of Pets ($367 million) and Deadpool ($363.1 million).
In Australia, the top five movies of the year so far are Finding Dory, Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Captain America: Civil War and The Jungle Book, which have pulled in a combined $AU 143,495,516 at the local box office.
Worldwide, the top five movies of 2016 are Finding Dory, Captain American: Civil War, The Secret Life Of Pets, The Jungle Book and Zootopia. Between them, they have taken a staggering $US 5,043.7 billion.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them hasn’t quite done Harry Potter-worthy numbers, but is currently sitting at a respectable worldwide gross of $US 356.8 million.
There are a number of key upcoming releases that will likely drive box office numbers much, much higher – foremost among them is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which opens in mid-December.
Universal is also expecting big things from Sing, an animated film about a musical koala played by Matthew McConaughey and a soundtrack that includes Taylor Swift and Katy Perry songs.
Disney’s adventure Moana, which has just opened in the US and comes out here on Boxing Day, will likely bring in a massive amount of cash, too.
In summary, then, 2016 has mostly sucked, unless you happen to be a Disney animated film, or this guy:
Source: Variety / Box Office Mojo.
Photo: Fox.
