2023 Box Office Figures Increased by 31 Percent Compared to the Previous Year

Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Oppenheimer were among the films that contributed to the global box office revenue of $33.9 billion, according to estimates released on Thursday by leading U.K.-based analytics firm Gower Street.

This represents a 31% increase over 2022, but is 15% lower than the average of the three years before the pandemic (2015-2019). Movie ticket sales have not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, globally or domestically. According to Comscore, a leading U.S.-based firm, domestic box office revenue reached $9.05 billion in 2023, a 21% increase from 2022 and a post-pandemic record. Gower Street reports that international box office revenue has made an even stronger comeback, reaching $24.8 billion, a year-over-year increase of 35 percent.

Excluding China, foreign revenue was $17.1 billion in 2023, a 20% year over year increase, according to Gower. China exceeded expectations by delivering $7.71 billion, an 83% gain over 2022 and only 6% behind the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 average, according to Gower. China’s box office received a boost from Shining One Thing in recent days.

Looking ahead to 2024, Gower predicts that box office revenue could be 7% lower than 2023 levels due to strike-related delays and disruptions to the release calendar.

In 2022, worldwide box office revenue was $25.9 billion, compared to $21.3 billion in 2021. This is significantly less than pre-pandemic global revenue, which reached $42.3 billion in 2019.

The following two films grossed over $1 billion globally in 2023: Warner Bros.’ Barbie ($1.44 billion) and Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.36 billion), both of which broke numerous records. Universal’s Oppenheimer, a biographical drama, set a new record for the genre with $952 million in global revenue, placing third on the chart. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by Disney and Marvel came in fourth place with $845.6 million, almost as much as the sequel. Universal’s Fast X rounded out the top five with $704.8 million, driven by overseas numbers.

In 2023, the Asia Pacific region accounted for 39% of global box office revenue, with China contributing the vast majority at 32%, according to Gower. North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East each contributed 27%, while Latin America made up the remaining 8%.