It’s still early in the year, and the 2026 movie landscape is waiting for a breakout hit. While audiences are still going to the movies, largely thanks to the continued success of films released last year – including Avatar: Fire and Ash, Marty Supreme, Zootopia 2, and The Housemaid – new releases like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Mercy, and Greenland 2: Migration haven’t generated much excitement so far.
As a moviegoer, I’ve noticed a pattern: studios typically release their blockbusters in the spring, summer, and around the holidays. And 2026 is no different – all the big titles are scheduled for those peak seasons, when we’re all more likely to head to the cinema. While it might seem like 2026 is off to a slow start at the box office, I’m actually predicting it could surprisingly surpass the record set back in 2019 – a year we all thought was unbeatable!
2019 Holds The Record For The Most $1 Billion Movies Released
2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic forced theaters to close, showed just how popular movies still were. An incredible nine films earned over a billion dollars at the box office that year, including Avengers: Endgame, which briefly held the title of the highest-grossing movie ever.
The full list of 2019’s $1 billion movies is below:
| Movie | Box Office |
|---|---|
| Avengers: Endgame | $2,799,439,100 |
| The Lion King | $1,662,020,819 |
| Frozen II | $1,453,683,476 |
| Spider-Man: Far From Home | $1,132,723,226 |
| Captain Marvel | $1,131,416,446 |
| Joker | $1,078,958,629 |
| Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | $1,077,022,372 |
| Toy Story 4 | $1,073,841,394 |
| Aladdin | $1,054,304,000 |
This represented a remarkably high number of blockbuster hits in a single year. Before this, the record was five movies earning over a billion dollars, which last occurred in both 2015 and 2018. However, after the pandemic, reaching that billion-dollar mark became more difficult. There was only one such movie in 2021, two in 2023, and three each in 2022 and 2024. 2025 offered a positive sign, with four billion-dollar movies – the most since 2019 – suggesting a potential return to stronger box office performance.
2026 Has 10 Movies With Realistic $1 Billion Box Office Hauls
If all goes well, movies could surpass $1 billion in revenue again in 2026. Several films are almost guaranteed to reach that milestone this year, including Avengers: Doomsday, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. These are all continuations of hugely successful franchises that have already broken the billion-dollar mark and are predicted to do so again.
As a huge movie fan, I’m guessing Disney’s really hoping The Mandalorian and Grogu, plus the live-action Moana, will both hit that $1 billion mark in 2026. Historically, Star Wars films have been massive earners for them – everything except Solo has crossed that billion-dollar threshold. And Moana 2 already proved it can happen, raking in that much money just last year!
It’s very possible that the new Minions movie will be a huge success, just like previous films in the Despicable Me series. Similarly, Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie, The Odyssey, is generating so much excitement that it’s likely to perform exceptionally well at the box office too.
I think both Dune: Part Three and Jumanji 3 could potentially earn over $1 billion at the box office. The recent Dune film was a big success, and that positive momentum could continue into the final movie of the trilogy. Plus, the Jumanji series starring Dwayne Johnson has come close to reaching this mark before, and a strong marketing push from Sony could help it get there.
Around ten films currently seem poised to earn over $1 billion at the box office in 2026. However, if some of those don’t perform as well as expected, films like Mortal Kombat II, Masters of the Universe, Supergirl, Disclosure Day, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping could potentially exceed expectations. Additionally, any major blockbuster films released in China this year could also contribute to the overall number of billion-dollar earners.
If at least ten films released this year earn over a billion dollars, 2019’s box office record will be broken.
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2026-01-28 19:52