Warner Bros has reached a significant milestone in 2023, becoming the first studio to surpass billion at the global box office this year. This achievement marks the first time the studio has crossed this threshold since 2019, and it comes with a notable reduction in the number of theatrical releases—11 this year compared to 20 six years ago. The studio’s impressive performance includes a domestic gross of .795 billion and an international tally of .2 billion. This weekend, the highly anticipated film One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is projected to debut with a global box office of million.
Successes Under New Leadership
The revitalization of the DC franchise under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran has proven fruitful, particularly with the release of Superman. Additionally, the strategic decisions made by Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy at the Warner Bros Motion Picture Group have resulted in successful original titles such as Sinners and F1, as well as the new intellectual property A Minecraft Movie.
This year has seen Warner Bros dominate the box office, with nine films opening at No. 1 and achieving a remarkable 15 weekends at the top both domestically and globally. No other studio has matched these accomplishments in 2023. Notably, seven consecutive films have opened to over million, a feat unmatched by any studio since Disney’s five titles last year.
Record-Breaking Performances
Warner Bros’ genre label, New Line, has also made headlines, achieving five consecutive weekends at No. 1—a record for the label. The horror genre has thrived under Richard Brener’s leadership, with the studio generating over billion from horror films alone this year, including franchise highs from the latest installments of Final Destination and The Conjuring.
In addition to these successes, Warner Bros has set unique box office records, including being the only studio since 2009 to have two films gross over million on the same weekend with Sinners and Minecraft.
Warner Bros has also excelled as a distributor, leading the box office in April with billion worldwide, followed by July with 8 million and August with 8 million. As of September, the studio commands an impressive 36% of the domestic gross.
Top Releases of 2023
Here are Warner Bros’ top theatrical releases at the global box office for 2023 year-to-date, all of which have surpassed the 0 million mark:
- A Minecraft Movie – 7.8 million
- F1: The Movie (Apple Original Films) – 4.3 million
- Superman – 5.3 million
- The Conjuring: Last Rites – 3.2 million
- Sinners – 6.6 million
- Final Destination Bloodlines – 3 million
- Weapons – 3.9 million
- Mickey 17 – 3.3 million
As the year progresses, Disney is also expected to reach the billion mark with upcoming releases such as Tron: Ares, Zootopia 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash.
