2018 Box Office Top Ten

This is something I've been blogging about for years.  This year (rather late) I decided to movie it here, just to give readers some insight into what interests me.  I used to make ridiculously extensive lists, but I'm going to limit it this time, as the title indicates, to just the top ten, and then again, because I figured it'd be interesting to do it for the US and international box office results.  All numbers are derived from Box Office Mojo, as of today (7/14/19).

US 2018 Box Office Top Ten

1. Black Panther ($700 million) This was a surprise phenomenon that sort of caught on with cultural developments, went well beyond merely the typical MCU response. 
2. Avengers: Infinity War ($678 million) Having now seen Endgame, I think I prefer the setup, with Captain America's dramatic return being the highlight.
3. Incredibles 2 ($608 million) I'm the rare movie fan who doesn't obsess over every Pixar movie, and who didn't get swept up in the hoopla for the first one (which everyone claimed "was what the Fantastic Four ought to look like in the movies").  I still haven't gotten around to seeing this one.
4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($417 million) I actually haven't seen any of the films in this franchise past the first one.  I did read the Michael Crichton books back in the day, however.  Crichton is a rare common factor between me and my dad, and I remain a big fan.
5. Aquaman ($335 million) I adored Justice League and thought Jason Momoa's performance in it was the highlight, so I was eager to catch this one.  It was amusing, but there's room for improvement.
6. Deadpool 2 ($318 million) I wasn't wild about the first one, but this one (and I loved how there was a "family friendly version," called Once Upon a Deadpool, released later) I really got behind.  Highlights include Domino (best superpower ever!) and the Brad Pitt cameo.
7. Dr. Seuss' The Grinch ($270 million) I'm a huge fan of Jim Carrey, so I admit partisanship with the live action version, but the vocal performance from Benedict Cumberbatch was an intriguing hook for me.
8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout ($220 million) Henry Cavill steals this one, even if he ultimately can't beat Tom Cruise.  But that's kind of to be expected, right?
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp ($216 million) I think the Ant-Man films are going to age incredibly well, possibly better than most of the rest of the MCU.  Wait for the Luis recap!
10. Bohemian Rhapsody ($216 million) I still haven't seen it, but it's still funny to me that the Rami Malek performance that was the consistent source of buzz for this one kind of got lost in the shuffle of everyone complaining that the movie wasn't faithful enough to Queen history. 

International Box Office Top Ten

1. Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048 billion)
2. Black Panther ($1,346 billion)
3. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (1,309 billion)
4. Incredibles 2 ($1,242 billion)
5. Aquaman ($1,148 billion)
6. Bohemian Rhapsody ($903 million)
7. Venom ($856 million) Tom Hardy is another of my favorite actors, and I'm happy he got this successful spotlight.
8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout ($791 million)
9. Deadpool 2 ($778 million)
10. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald ($653 million) Made more than 75% of its international haul outside of the States, which is a fairly common figure when movies are bigger hits this way.  I keep saying this is one of my favorite Harry Potter franchise films, and I absolutely mean it.  Johnny Depp's Grindelwald is a perfect representation of the poisonous kind of politics we're currently enduring, with a chilling finale matched only by Ralph Fiennes's debut as Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which remains my favorite of the film franchise.