Most of 2017 is behind us and, with the summer movie season over and gone, the majority of the major box office blockbusters have had their chance to be this year's fan favorite film. While there are a handful of contenders left, what we're mostly running out of is time. Is there enough time left for another film to win the 2017 box office before 2017 is over?
One thing that's for sure is that a few of the films in the box office top ten right now won't be there come December, and even fewer will keep the spot they've got at this moment. Here are our predictions for the 2017 box office top 10. Totals are rounded to the nearest million, or estimated based on a complicated formula of previous box office numbers of similar movies or other franchise entries, combined with seasonal box office trends, and then the throwing of a dart at a wall. Science! (All figures are domestic.)
10. Thor: Ragnarok - $200 million
Summer is still the best time for Marvel movies to shine but they've done fairly well for themselves in the fall as well. Last year Doctor Strange did about $230 million before the end of the calendar year. This was up from Thor: The Dark World's numbers which were closer to $200 million. We're going to assume that Thor: Ragnarok will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, which will have it sneaking into the top 10 before the year is out. It could very well find itself competing with its Disney cousin, Pixar's Coco, for this bottom slot.
9. The Fate of the Furious - $225 million
The eighth movie in the Fast and Furious franchise wasn't the highest grossing entry in the series domestically, showing that the Vin Diesel-led fast car movies might be on the decline. Still, the new entry was good enough to bring in $225 million in North America, which should be good enough for ninth place on the top 10 when it's all said and done. The movie fared significantly better on a global scale, where it currently sits in the number two spot, but domestically, it's going to just sneak into the top ten.
8. Logan - $226 million
2017 was the end of an era as Hugh Jackman said goodbye to the role that defined him for nearly two decades. He went out in style as Logan was able to successfully edge out the Fate of the Furious with less than a million total dollars separating the two. It wasn't the highest grossing comic book movie of the year, but we're guessing it will end up the highest grossing R-rated movie of the year. At this point, really nothing else a shot. Unless It does remarkably well, horror movies, as popular as they can be, rarely become top grossing films.
7. Despicable Me 3 - $255 million
It's still more than a little surprising just how popular the Despicable Me franchise is. While the films are much bigger overseas than they are in North America, you can't discount them locally either. Over $250 million is no small feat. It will almost certainly be the highest grossing animated film of the year. The only other film that really has a chance is Pixar's Coco, and while it will almost certainly be a successful film, we're not sure it will be able to overcome this juggernaut, as the subject matter in Coco has a somewhat regional focus.
6. Justice League - $300 million
It's hard to guess exactly how well Justice League will do by the end of 2017. That it will make the top 10 would seem to be a foregone conclusion, as the rest of the DCEU films have certainly done so, but half the characters in the film have no track record to speak of and DC has never released a superhero movie in November. Still, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did over $300 million opening in April, so we're guessing Justice League can do at least that much in November and December. Warner Bros. has had success in this window with the Harry Potter franchise, so it will likely do well here with the popular superhero genre.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming - $320 million
The MCU Spider-Man movie may be the third iteration of the character over the last few years, but $320 million in box office totals (and climbing) shows that fans are not tiring of the character quite yet. Tom Holland has been nearly universally praised for his take on the younger Peter Parker and the box office receipts show that fans are all-in too. It seems to be clear that the Sony/Marvel partnership was absolutely the right call for both studios as Spider-Man: Homecoming will hold on to a spot in the top five box office hits of the year. The only spot Sony will end up with.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - $389 million
However, when it comes to the highest grossing MCU movie of the year, that award belongs to the sophomore effort from the Guardians of the Galaxy. The characters came out of nowhere in 2014, but they've clearly established themselves now as the sequel was able to outdo the original entry by over $50 million. It will be interesting to see if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be able to keep that up. With Spider-Man and the Guardians in the top five, expect next year's Avengers: Infinity War, that will bring them together, to do huge numbers.
3. Wonder Woman $406 million
What is there to say about Wonder Woman that hasn't already been said? It won the summer of 2017 by putting up consistent numbers over a remarkably long period of time. The idea that female-led superhero movies can't be successful is an idea that, quite simply, no longer holds up. It wasn't the biggest box office movie of the year, but it may still have been 2017's biggest win for all the walls it knocked down. The origin story from the still relatively new DC Extended Universe outdid everything Marvel could throw at it. Such is the power of Wonder Woman.
2. Beauty and the Beast - $504 Million
Beauty and the Beast has been holding on to the box office crown for nearly all of 2017. With over a half million dollars in box office success, and that's just domestic, the live-action remake of the classic Disney animated film resonated as much, if not more, than the Best Picture nominated original did. It will continue to be the highest grossing film of the year until very close to the end of the year, but we're guessing that before 2017 is over, another movie will be able to edge it out of the top spot. The good news for Disney, is that they made that one, too.
1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - $510 million
Let's be clear. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is almost certainly going to gross more money than Beauty and the Beast when it's all said and done. The question is, can it achieve that feat before 2017 comes to a close? The movie only has about two weeks to make all the money, but Star Wars: The Force Awakens was able to gross over $600 million in that time so it's certainly possible. We don't see Episode VIII being quite as big as Episode VII, it hasn't been 15 years since we've seen a Star Wars movie anymore, but we're still guessing that Star Wars will sneak in and edge out Beauty and the Beast for the top spot before New Year's Day.
