If we were asked to characterize the year 2024 for the film industry, it could probably be summed up in just two words — “sequel triumph.” In March, the much-anticipated “Dune 2” launched with a decent box office, and later its success was matched and even surpassed by the third “Deadpool” and the sequel to “Inside Out”. Overall, among the top 20 highest-grossing films of the year, only two were original, the rest were based on existing IPs.
It’s worth noting that not all sequels were equally well received, hello “Joker” sequel and “Gladiator” (though, in the first case, director Todd Phillips announced he’s done with the franchise, in the second Ridley Scott is determined to squeeze the most out of the story and announced a third film). This year we published several rankings (with critic ratings, box office, and industry representatives’ favorites), to which we now want to add our own editorial one.
Disclaimer: we don’t claim to be experts or original, we just honestly shared our editorial votes to pick what we’d recommend to friends after watching ourselves. In our top picks, we highlighted three separate categories — for a film, a TV show, and an animated film, since 2024 brought us more than enough interesting works.
Both in terms of box office and reviews, Denis Villeneuve’s film was justly praised for its stunning visuals and ability to craft an engaging narrative despite the complex source material.
“If you liked the first part of ‘Dune,’ you’ll definitely go see the second without any pleading. If not, giving Villeneuve’s work a chance is still worth it. It’s a unique movie in many respects, and you instantly forget almost all its flaws the moment another stunning view of Arrakis appears on screen,” from ITC.UA’s review.
Overall, the film grossed $714 million and held the crown for several months as the highest-grossing film of the year. “Dune 3” (“Dune: Messiah”) will be coming, and Villeneuve promised to start working on it as soon as possible. The events of the movie will unfold 12 years after the second film, all main actors—Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Florence Pugh—will return, and they will be joined by Anya Taylor-Joy, who briefly appeared in the second part as Paul’s older sister.
In this category, the editorial votes were divided, so it’s fair to mention the other two competitors — the sci-fi drama “The Wild Robot” and the sci-fi detective “Mars Express”
The ultimate leader in the voting turned out to be the box office hit of 2024 (and overall in animation) — “Inside Out 2”, which tells the story of teenager Riley and her emotions. Despite Disney landing in a scandal right after the film’s release, it didn’t stop it from earning almost $1.7 billion in theaters.
Another sequel is reportedly in the works, and a spin-off series just debuted on Disney+ yesterday.
Successful video game adaptations on television are a rare breed, but “Fallout” managed to repeat last year’s success of “The Last of Us”. Fans of the games will be pleased with the abundance of Easter eggs and the thoroughly recreated universe, while newcomers will find it an interesting vibrant entertainment. Interestingly, alongside the series’ success, interest in the game series also rose: according to Bethesda, during the show’s broadcast 5 million people played Fallout in one day, with one million of those playing Fallout 76, which was once deemed doomed six years ago due to low attendance.
“Another top-notch video game adaptation that should please many Fallout fans. Give this team all the bottle caps in the world so they can hurry up and start on the second season,” wrote ITC.UA reviewer Denis Fedoruk.
Filming for the second season of “Fallout” is now in full swing, with the premiere expected at the end of 2025 — early 2026. Showrunner Graham Wagner previously hinted that the series will have five seasons.