Even before Christmas Day sales are recorded, the U.S. box office has reportedly brought in a staggering $11.383 billion in 2018.
Despite streaming subscription services threatening box office revenue, blockbuster hits like Black Panther, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Deadpool 2 drove this year's numbers past the previous benchmark. The last record high was set in 2016 at $11.382 billion.
While the popularity of this year's films factored into the numbers—with movie admission increasing by 4%—the cost of movie admission went up this year, averaging $9.38 over the summer months, Varietyreports.
Disney owns five of the ten biggest domestic releases this year, as of Christmas Day. Black Panther accumulated $700 Million and Avengers: Infinity War followed suit by bringing in $678.8 million. Not far behind were Incredibles 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The success Disney experienced this year allowed for them to make $1 billion more than the next biggest studio.
Films like A Star Is Born, Crazy Rich Asians, and A Quiet Place, which over performed their estimates, also brought up the annual average. Their success managed to ease the impact of flops like Welcome to Marwen and Mortal Engines, both of which lost the studio approximately $175 million.
However, 2018 is far from over, with films like Vice, Aquaman, and Mary Poppins Returns expected to do well at the box office. Christian Bale's performance in Vice has already created Oscar-worthy best actor buzz and the movie hasn't yet been released to the general public.
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