Most successful movies of all time at the international box office as of 2024

As of March 2024, "Avatar" (2009) was the most commercially successful movie of all time, grossing about 2.92 billion U.S. dollars at box offices across the globe. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) and "Avatar: The Way of Water " (2022) followed, with revenues of around 2.8 billion and 2.32 billion dollars, respectively.

Franchises and the pandemic impact

In 2021, worldwide box office revenue grew by over 80 percent and reached 21.3 billion dollars. Yet the figure amounts to less than 51 percent of the value recorded in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet the success of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021) suggests that the performance of major movie franchises at the box office may continue strong in a post-pandemic scenario. The format, which includes cases like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, has been a safe bet for Hollywood as it tends to pursue fans already interested in films part of consolidated brands.

U.S. & Canada as a movie market

Moviegoers in Canada and the U.S. usually turn to the largest players of this industry. North American cinema circuits such as AMC, Cineworld, Cinemark, and Cineplex have over 1.5 thousand sites spread across the two countries. Historically, movie genres like adventure and action attract most of the audience in the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, niches such as horror, romantic comedy (romcoms), and musicals rely largely on the most enthusiastic fans of each segment.