The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the world over the past two years, and movie theaters are no exception. Box office revenues are down significantly as some moviegoers have chosen to stay away from crowded indoor events. Yet, theaters are slowly but surely climbing their way back to some level of normalcy, with many films crossing $100 million in the U.S. alone. The big studios like Disney and Warner Bros. are continuing to lead the pack, even if their films are making slightly less than normal. Check out our photos below to see the U.S.’s 2021 box office hits.
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1. ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment $804 million
Tom Holland’s return as Peter Parker raked in a jaw-dropping $253 million on its opening weekend, earning it the #1 spot on the year-end list after only three days. This time around, Spidey and Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) are challenged by several villains from the multiverse, including Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro, Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus and Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.
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2. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’
Image Credit: Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios $224 million
The 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reigned supreme as the top money-maker at the U.S. box office for much of the calendar year. “Shang-Chi” tells the origin story of the eponymous superhero (Simu Liu), a gifted martial artist who must confront his past, which includes a power-hungry father.
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3. ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment $213 million
In this sequel to the 2018 blockbuster hit “Venom,” Tom Hardy reprises his role(s) as Eddie Brock and Venom, the alien symbiote he hosts, as he deals with a serial killer (Woody Harrelson) with his own alien-hosting situation. The film’s $90 million opening in early October made it the best opening weekend at the U.S. box office since March 2020.
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4. ‘Black Widow’
Image Credit: Jay Maidment/Marvel Studios $183 million
After over a decade in the MCU, Black Widow finally got her own film, which co-stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz alongside Scarlett Johansson. The film has leveled off at $183 million in its final weeks in theaters.
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5. ‘F9: The Fast Saga’
Image Credit: Universal Pictures $173 million
After four years, the Fast Saga returned with the ninth film in the franchise, in which Vin Diesel’s Dom and his team must take down a terrorist — who happens to be Dom’s brother. The film made the lowest amount of money for a Fast Saga film since 2009’s “Fast & Furious.”
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6. ‘Eternals’
Image Credit: Marvel/Disney $164 million
“Eternals” stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry and more as powerful alien beings living on Earth who all reunite following the infamous “blip” in the “Avengers” finale. This marks Chloe Zhao’s highly anticipated MCU directorial debut following her recent “Nomadland” Oscar wins for Best Picture and Best Director.
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7. ‘Sing 2’
Image Credit: Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures $162 million
This sequel to the popular 2016 animated film was a late-breaking hit, debuting on December 22 and earning most of its moolah during the 2022 calendar year. But it still counts as a 2021 release, eventually squeaking into the Top 7.
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8. ‘No Time to Die’
Image Credit: United Artists Releasing $160.8 million
The much-delayed 25th film in the James Bond franchise marks Daniel Craig’s final stint as 007. The action flick finds Bond recruited by the CIA to defeat a dangerous new villain, and moviegoers are eating it up, landing in the year’s top 10 after just a week in theaters.
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9. ‘A Quiet Place Part II’
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures $160.0 million
The second “Quiet Place” film made only slightly less than the first, an impressive feat considering it was released during the prime of the pandemic. The film follows Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her two children try to survive in a world terrorized by sound-sensitive creatures.
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10. ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment $129 million
Who you gonna call? A whopping 37 years after the original “Ghostbusters” movie hit theaters and 32 years after the sequel, it’s finally time for the third narrative installment, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” Reprising their roles in Sony’s film, which was delayed multiple times by the pandemic, are Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts, with the late Harold Ramis appearing via archival footage.
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11. ‘Free Guy’
Image Credit: 20th Century Studios $121 million
“Free Guy” is the only original film not based on previous IP in the top 10 of this year’s U.S. box office. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as a bank teller who comes to find out he’s actually a video game character.
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12. ‘Jungle Cruise’
Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios $116 million
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt team up for this adaptation of the Disneyland theme park ride of the same name. Blunt plays a scientist opposite Johnson as a steamboat skipper, who escorts her through treacherous jungles in search of the Tree of Life.
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13. ‘Dune’
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures $108 million
After originally being scheduled to premiere in November 2020, “Dune” finally hit theaters and HBO Max in mid-October 2021. The Warner Bros. sci-fi epic is directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted from Frank Herbert’s desolate 1965 novel. A-list cast members include Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac and Josh Brolin.
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14. ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. $100 million
The combined power of Godzilla and King Kong earned just under $100 million at the American box office, as one of the first major releases of the year in the midst of the pandemic. The film finds the two legendary monsters at war for the future of humanity.
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15. ‘Encanto’
Image Credit: Disney $96 million
Disney’s animated film centers around the Madrigals, a mystical family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in the Encanto, where every child is blessed with a unique gift — except, of course, for central character Mirabel. Hence, Mirabel’s extraordinary journey begins.
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16. ‘Halloween Kills’
Image Credit: Universal Pictures $92 million
Universal’s slasher flick is the direct sequel to “Halloween” (2018) and the 12th movie overall in the decades-long “Halloween” franchise. Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle are back once again as victim Laurie Strode and killer Michael Myers.
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17. ‘Cruella’
Image Credit: Laurie Sparham/Disney $86 million
Emma Stone stars in Disney’s latest reboot of their animated canon, with the actress playing Dalmatian hunter Cruella de Vil. Stone is expected to return for the sequel, which is in development now.
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18. ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. $70 million
LeBron James helps to bring the 1995 classic “Space Jam” to a new generation, in which the NBA great must unite with Looney Tunes to save his kidnapped son, who is trapped in the WB “Serververse.” It is the first theatrically released film in which the Looney Tunes appear since “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” in 2003.
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19. ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. $65 million
The success of the third “Conjuring” film proved there’s still life in the ever-expanding horror franchise. In the movie, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise their roles as paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, who investigate demonic possession.
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20. ‘Candyman’
Image Credit: Universal Pictures $61 million
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars in the reboot/sequel of “Candyman” from director Nia DaCosta and co-writer Jordan Peele. Two original actors from the 1992 film, Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle and Tony Todd as Daniel Robitaille, reprise their roles in brief cameos.
