The biggest blockbuster the year you graduated from high school: Gen Z edition
From 2015, Gen Z has graduated high school, and each year’s top domestic box office movies tell a fascinating story about what has happened to American motion pictures in the decade 2010-2020s. “Franchise sequels, superhero movies and animated sequels topped the decade,” Box Office Mojo, Wikipedia and Billboard say.
And it was a decade ruled by franchises so influential that every year-end box office success came through just a handful of studios.
Live up to your graduation year here!
Class of 2015: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
If you are a George Lucas franchise fan, you must know this movie was revived with one new owner, and grossed $936 million on film domestically, giving it the highest total ever for American cinema at the time, this according to Wikipedia.
Class of 2016: “Captain America: Civil War”
You could call this movie one of Marvel’s most mentally chaotic productions ever with over $408 million in financial gains, according to Box Office Mojo. 2016 was the year that MCU essentially ceased to be a franchise and became a powerhouse.
Class of 2017: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
Making over $517 million only in America, The Last Jedi finally passed Beauty and the Beast as the 2017 Top 1, CBS News reports. The combined Disney properties vied for the biggest gross of the year on Dec. 31.
Class of 2018: “Black Panther”
According to Wikipedia, Ryan Coogler’s film had grossed $700 million domestically and overall $700 million in 2018. It was both the first superhero nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and, when encountered, the highest-grossing solo superhero in American history.
Class of 2019: “Avengers: Endgame”
The final film in the MCU at home was a hit and grossed $858 million, according to Wikipedia, the highest single-film calendar year gross in U.S. box office history. Class of 2019 saw the close of a saga that had lasted eleven years and twenty-two films.
Class of 2020: “Bad Boys for Life”
The third Bad Boys was a box office hit in a pandemic-ruined calendar year that, according to Wikipedia, and was home to $206 million domestically, the lowest number one in 20 years. Then in 2020 came the class of strangeness in American film history.
Class of 2021: “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
Sony posted $573M to its multiverse chapter in calendar year, the highest amount so far in 2021, according to Wikipedia. It also had the historic opening weekend in American history that day.
Class of 2022: “Top Gun: Maverick”
Tom Cruise resumed the role 36 years later and made $719 million at home, according to Wikipedia. It went on to become the biggest box office movie of Cruise’s career, and a good reminder that original IP, or near original IP, can be king of the summer.
Class of 2023: “Barbie”
According to Box Office Mojo, Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster grossed $636 million domestically in 2023, the largest total year-on-year in gross. It was also the biggest-grossing film of all time made by a woman. The 2023 cohort subsequently arrived on the scene with a movie that transformed a plastic doll into an exploration of identity and expectation.
Class of 2024: “Inside Out 2”
Pixar’s rendering of the 2015 first hit $652 million in the U.S. at home and topped the annual chart in 2024, Billboard said. It overtook Inside Out in opening weekend and was the best-grossing animated movie of all time at the box office.
The bottom line
Ten years. All except one for franchise films in succession. The rare exception was a sequel, Bad Boys for Life. The Gen Z graduation box office is the most franchise-focused in the annals of American cinema, and that says very much just about the decade and the industry overall. Which film was yours?
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