Every 2020 Movie That Could Make A Billion Dollars
Marvel, Minions, Bond, The Rock... who's gonna rule the box-office?
Even though it's still a result that any studio on the planet would gladly accept, the billion-dollar club has lost a little bit of its shine over the last five or ten years.
In 2009, only a small handful of films had achieved that number, and it was considered a mind-blowing achievement that could only be generated by a perfect storm of factors. But today - with over forty flicks having made it - it's no longer a surprise, and for a lot of blockbuster releases, is almost considered an expectation.
For this reason, the 2020 movie calendar is shaping up to be one of the most interesting we've had in years, because for the first time in a while, there isn't a clear front-runner when it comes to who will take the box-office crown, and there isn't even a single movie that you can look at as a guaranteed billion-dollar grosser.
There is no Avengers film, no Star Wars, no Jurassic Park, and we could very well reach 2021 with zero new additions to the billion-dollar club. Still, there are plenty of hopefuls, and each of the following movies has a chance of joining it - let's start with the least likely, then work our way up to the safer bets.
11. Mulan
As 2019 just proved, Disney's live-action remakes can go either way in terms of box-office results. The Lion King made a billion dollars (as expected), but in a surprising twist, Aladdin also joined the club. On the downside, Dumbo underperformed, failing to even crack the $400 million mark worldwide.
There were a few reasons for this outcome: Dumbo - although not terrible - was the worst movie of the three, and because the original animated version premiered almost 80 years ago, the young adults and kids of today - who drive the majority of ticket sales - are not as familiar with it as they are with Aladdin and The Lion King, which were both '90s movies.
So let's assume that Mulan is a well-received flick and has no trouble exceeding Dumbo's gross - what could push it to the lofty heights of a billion?
Addressing that point about nostalgia, Mulan falls more in the Lion King/Aladdin camp in terms of resonance with today's audiences. Another '90s movie, a massive chunk of young moviegoers will have grown up watching it, which should make the size of its pop-culture footprint far bigger than Dumbo's.
But the key here might be China. The film's subject matter is intrinsically tied to the country, and Disney is reportedly putting a lot of effort into winning over audiences there. If it strikes just the right chord, it could snag an extra $100 - $200 million from that country alone, which may be enough to sneak it over a billion.