The 2017 worldwide box office has jumped 3% to a record $39.92 billion with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” providing the final push.
Box office tracker comScore, which issued the number on Sunday, said the improvement was due to a variety of strong performances — including the Chinese blockbuster “Wolf Warrior 2,” which has grossed $870 million. The gain came despite a 2.3% slide at the U.S. box office, caused by the worst summer in a decade, as the international box office spiked 5%.
The final totals were $28.8 billion internationally and $11.12 billion in North America for the third consecutive $11 billion-plus year. The global box office had hit a record $38.9 billion in 2015 and then edged down slightly in 2016 to $38.8 billion, so Disney-Luscasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” provided nearly all of the gain for 2017.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is the fourth 2017 title to pass $1 billion worldwide, along with Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at $1.26 billion, Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious” at $1.24 billion, and Universal-Illumination’s “Despicable Me 3” at $1.03 billion. Disney-Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” and Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman” all took in more than $800 million each on a worldwide basis.
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“Going to the movies is truly a worldwide phenomenon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore’s senior media analyst. “The ‘big-screen’ experience was bolstered by a unique and compelling slate of titles in 2017 that sparked an exceptional level of enthusiasm by patrons who flocked to movie theaters around the globe.”
