A rundown of the top-grossing films of 2017

Given the usual hype and glamour displayed you may have missed that it has been a mixed year in the film industry. While studios understandably prefer to laud their success it has been a mostly mixed year. The overall box office figures are down, and were alarmingly so for most of the year; a late rally in the fall helped cover some ground lost from the worst summer in over a decade.

The entire industry grossed over $11 billion for the third time ever, while dropping -2.3% annum. One sign of the mixed results is that two titles earned over half-a-billion dollars, up from just one last year, while only seven in total cleared $300 million, down from nine in 2016. Disney was the studio leader, drawing more than $2 billion and earning $1 billion on just the top two titles of the year. Here are the top earning films of 2017.

1.  STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI – $517.14 Million

Literally edging out the top spot this final weekend. The expected hit was slightly off of the pace of “The Force Awakens”, but despite fanboy outrage has been drawing well throughout the holidays. Weekday totals have been coming in on par with numbers normally seen on weekends. The force is remaining strong for the Disney property.

2. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – $504 Million

The live-action version (save for copious CGI) of the animated hit exploded in the pre-summer slot and was adored for weeks. The massive $170 million opening was a record for March, and seventh highest of all time.

3.  WONDER WOMAN – $412.56 Million

Warner Brothers has some hard decisions to make in the wake of its paradox with DC Comics. The studio gambled by giving a female director, Patty Jenkins, full control and they were rewarded with a smash success. Meanwhile “Justice League” was shot by committee and suffered a losing fate.

4.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 2 – $389.81 Million

This frothy space opera from Marvel/Disney outperformed the original and was given the 13th biggest release ever, onto 4,347 screens. It is now the fifth-highest grossing Marvel title

5.  SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING  – $334.20 Million

Sony elected to go with its second reboot of this comic franchise and the studio hit upon gold. One of the select few smash hits of the mid-summer it displayed very strong staying power, spending eleven weeks in the top-10.

6.  IT – $327.48 Million

The dismal summer was rescued by this remarkable performance, as the Stephen King adaptation set a new record for a fall opening, September opening, horror titles, and became the fourth highest grossing R-rated film of all time.

7.  THOR: RAGNAROK – $311.37 Million

This is as much of a testament to Marvel’s touch with these films. Despite a well-established franchise, and appearances by the character in ensemble titles as well, this third entry becomes the most successful of the Thor titles.

8.  DESPICABLE ME 3 – $264.62 Million

Maybe showing some signs of fatigue in the series it still had some vibrancy, but it was also helped by being the first movie to ever be released on over 4,500 theaters.

9.  LOGAN – $226.27 Million

Among the stand alone Wolverine titles, this becomes the highest grosser. However there is all manner of questions going forward, as Hugh Jackman continuing in the role is a mystery, and what will take place once Disney’s merger with Fox is complete.

10.  FATE OF THE FURIOUS / JUSTICE LEAGUE – $225 Million

One is a long-running series with no sign of slowing. The other was a hoped-for universe launch that failed to generate the expected reaction. “Furious” is going so strong it added another Billion in overseas gross. Meanwhile “League” managed an opening on par with “Wonder Woman” ($94 million) while costing twice as much to make – a $300 million budget. Despite this massive return Warners will end up losing money on what was to be an assured hit.