Movie theaters are one of the businesses that took a hit because of COVID-19. This was first, of course, because audiences — especially before the rollout of vaccines — were understandably reluctant to sit in an enclosed space with hundreds of people, many of whom might well be laughing (if the film was funny) or, let’s face it, talking (no matter what the film was), thus spewing germs into the air.
In addition, there were simply fewer films showing up on screen. Almost 90 major studio productions were reportedly affected by the pandemic. In many cases, filming was suspended or, in the case of potentially high-profit movies that were already completed, debuts were delayed. Some projects even got canceled altogether, and others never saw theaters at all, going straight to VOD (video on demand) release.
Still, things could have been worse. The New York Times reported in July of 2022 that ticket sales had declined only 10% between June 2019 and June 2022 — not insubstantial, but not catastrophic. And things soon started to improve. Recovery was largely driven, not surprisingly, by highly anticipated sequels like “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Minions: The Rose of Gru.” Last year, the twin blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” helped even more — reportedly earning a combined $2.5 billion in box office receipts worldwide, and films like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” kept the momentum going. Total U.S. ticket sales rose 20% between 2022 and 2023, according to Fast Company, adding up to just over $9 billion — though that was still $2 billion less than they had been pre-COVID.
Sometimes “little” motion pictures that aren’t part of popular franchises and that may or may not boast blue-chip casts (think “Anyone But You” or “Cocaine Bear”) make a big impact. However, the films that are most anticipated — the ones fans look forward to, even sometimes marking their release dates and buying tickets in advance so they can be sure to be among the first to enjoy them — tend to be spinoffs of ones they’ve loved before, or else those that have gotten huge hype for their featured players or themes. (These are the oldest, longest-running movie franchises in America.)
To determine the most anticipated movies of the rest of 2024, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on Wikipedia pageview activity. Movies releasing in June 2024 or later were ranked based on average daily pageviews for their Wikipedia pages from January 1, 2024 to May 16, 2024. Cast information is from IMDb.
You’ll find plenty of old franchise friends here, with names like Transformers, Lord of the Rings, Despicable Me, Sonic the Hedgehog, Bad Boys, and both Deadpool and Wolverine (together in the same film). Look, too, for Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder reprising their “Beetlejuice” roles; the first part of a two-film version of the smash Broadway musical “Wicked” (starring Ariana Grande); animated Disney entries following the further adventures of Mustafa (the Lion King) and Moana; and, speaking of films affected by the pandemic, a sci-fi action flick called “Borderlands,” starring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart, that finished principal shooting in 2021 but is only now just arriving on screen.
Scroll down to learn the identity of the most anticipated movies of the rest of 2024:
25. Nosferatu (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,245 per day
- Release date: December 25, 2024
- Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
24. The Crow (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,318 per day
- Release date: August 23, 2024
- Cast: Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs, Danny Huston
23. Transformers One (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,477 per day
- Release date: September 20, 2024
- Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key
22. The Watchers (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,557 per day
- Release date: June 7, 2024
- Cast: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, Olwen Fouéré
21. Gladiator II (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,616 per day
- Release date: November 22, 2024
- Cast: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn
20. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
ANNECY, FRANCE - JUNE 11: (L-R) Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki attend the Netflix Original Anime Studio Focus Session at the Imperial Hotel on June 11, 2019 in Annecy, France. (Photo by Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images for Netflix)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,875 per day
- Release date: December 13, 2024
- Cast: Brian Cox, Miranda Otto
19. Moana 2 (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,606 per day
- Release date: November 27, 2024
- Cast: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
18. Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,850 per day
- Release date: December 20, 2024
- Cast: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Seth Rogen
17. A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,944 per day
- Release date: June 28, 2024
- Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou
16. Borderlands (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,949 per day
- Release date: August 9, 2024
- Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt
15. Kinds of Kindness (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,960 per day
- Release date: June 21, 2024
- Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley
14. Trap (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,984 per day
- Release date: August 9, 2024
- Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Allison Pill
13. Venom: The Last Dance (2024)
HOLLYWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 16: (EDITORS NOTE: Image taken in B\W not available in Color).Actor Tom Hardy arrives at the Premiere Of 20th Century Fox And Regency Enterprises The Revenant at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 16, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,002 per day
- Release date: October 25, 2024
- Cast: Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Clark Backo, Chiwetel Ejiofor
12. Kraven the Hunter (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,219 per day
- Release date: December 13, 2024
- Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola
11. Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,407 per day
- Release date: July 12, 2024
10. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,648 per day
- Release date: June 7, 2024
- Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig
9. MaXXXine (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,696 per day
- Release date: July 5, 2024
- Cast: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan
8. Despicable Me 4 (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,937 per day
- Release date: July 3, 2024
- Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King
7. Twisters (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,129 per day
- Release date: July 19, 2024
- Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea
6. Wicked (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,431 per day
- Release date: November 27, 2024
- Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey
5. Inside Out 2 (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,496 per day
- Release date: June 14, 2024
- Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale
4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 19: Ben Schwartz attends Billy Crystal Sits Down With SiriusXM Unmasked Host Ron Bennington at SiriusXM Hollywood Studios on February 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusxM)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 8,161 per day
- Release date: December 20, 2024
- Cast: James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Krysten Ritter
3. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 8,220 per day
- Release date: September 6, 2024
- Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega
2. Alien: Romulus (2024)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 13: Archie Renaux attends The Greatest Beer Run Ever Premiere during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 13, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 8,365 per day
- Release date: August 16, 2024
- Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced
1. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
N/A
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 22,044 per day
- Release date: July 26, 2024
- Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin