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The pattern of audience footfalls seems to have shifted in the post-COVID theatrical landscape compared to the pre-pandemic era. While the global shutdown was an unprecedented challenge to cinema, the global film industry has made a strong recovery, delivering several record-breaking blockbusters in recent years.
From the MCU juggernaut Spider-Man: No Way Home and Tom Cruise’s aerial action spectacle Top Gun: Maverick to last year’s animated sensation Ne Zha 2, blockbusters like Deadpool and Wolverine, and more recently, James Cameron’s epic sci-fi threequel Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is still running in theaters, the post-pandemic period has generated some staggering box office numbers. But the question is: among the ten highest-grossing films of the post-COVID era, which film has generated the highest surplus beyond its box office break-even? Let’s analyze the numbers.
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Movies Worldwide (Post-Pandemic)
Below is a ranked list of the highest-grossing films released in the post-pandemic era, based on worldwide box office totals reported by Box Office Mojo:
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): $2.334 billion
- Ne Zha 2 (2025): $2.260 billion
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): $1.921 billion
- Zootopia 2 (2025): $1.803 billion*
- Inside Out 2 (2024): $1.699 billion
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022): $1.496 billion
- Barbie (2023): $1.447 billion
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025): $1.440 billion*
- The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023): $1.361 billion
- Deadpool and Wolverine (2024): $1.338 billion
*(at the time of writing)
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Production Budgets & Break-Even Points (Estimated)
Let’s calculate the break-even points using the 2.5x multiplier rule from their estimated production budget figures:
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): Budget: $400 million | Break-Even: $1 billion
- Ne Zha 2 (2025): Budget: $80 million | Break-Even: $200 million
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): Budget: $200 million | Break-Even: $500 million
- Zootopia 2 (2025): Budget: $150 million | Break-Even: $375 million
- Inside Out 2 (2024): Budget: $200 million | Break-Even: $500 million
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022): Budget: $177 million | Break-Even: $442.5 million
- Barbie (2023): Budget: $145 million | Break-Even: $362.5 million
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025): Budget: $400 million | Break-Even: $1 billion
- The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023): Budget: $100 million| Break-Even: $250 million
- Deadpool and Wolverine (2024): Budget: $200 million | Break-Even: $500 million
Surplus Profit Over Break-Even (Estimated)
Now, let’s calculate the estimated surplus profit of the top ten highest-grossing post-pandemic movies over their estimated break-even points:
- Ne Zha 2 (2025): $2.06 billion
- Zootopia 2 (2025): $1.428 billion
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): $1.421 billion
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): $1.334 billion
- Inside Out 2 (2024): $1.199 billion
- The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023): $1.111 billion
- Barbie (2023): $1.085 billion
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022): $1.054 billion
- Deadpool and Wolverine (2024): $838 million
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025): $440 million
Based on the above numbers and calculations, an interesting trend emerges: films with controlled production budgets have generated significantly higher surplus profits in the post-pandemic era. While mega-budget films like Avatar: The Way of Water delivered massive global grosses, comparatively lower-cost titles such as Ne Zha 2, Zootopia 2, and Spider-Man: No Way Home proved more efficient at converting box office revenue into surplus over break-even. This indicates how budget is such an important factor in determining theatrical success in the post-pandemic era.
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