It may not be quite Oscar season, but this past summer saw the U.S. box office deliver a variety of big hits and new stars on the silver screen. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally teamed up for "Deadpool and Wolverine," Reynolds' wife Blake Lively scored a hit of her own with "It Ends With Us," Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones revived "Twisters" and even Michael Keaton successfully brought back "Beetlejuice."
While all those hits performed well with critics and audiences alike, will they have the staying power of other recent films?
Utilizing Google Trends, PennStakes.com analyzed the most popular movies of Pennsylvania residents by looking at the search results of under “Film” for the last 5 years (10/1/2019 to 10/1/2024).
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Rank | Movie | Interest Over Time |
1 | Barbie (2023) | 11 |
2 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) | 6 |
3 | Elvis (2022) | 4 |
T-4 | Oppenheimer (2023) | 3 |
T-4 | Dune: Part One (2021) | 3 |
T-4 | Joker (2019) | 3 |
T-7 | Smile (2022) | 1 |
T-7 | The Batman (2022) | 1 |
T-7 | Old (2021) | 1 |
T-7 | M3GAN (2022) | 1 |
Margot Robbie's "Barbie" took the world by storm in the summer of 2023, in which she starred in alongside Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell and America Ferrera.
The film takes the number one spot in our rankings. While Robbie didn't get an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, it appears her passion project is well-positioned to win over hearts and minds in the long-term.
At No. 2 was last summer's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." Look for Mario, Luigi and Miss Peach to return to the big screen soon for the much anticipated sequel.
Austin Butler scored an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the legendary crooner in 2022's "Elvis," and his transformation remains one of the top performances across film over the last 5 years. Butler has since starred in the massive hit "Dune: Part II" as well as Jeff Nichols' "The Bikeriders."
Rounding out the top five were three films in a tie: "Joker," "Oppenheimer" and "Dune: Part One," all of which connected with audiences and Oscar voters.
Christopher Nolan took home Best Picture and Best Director for "Oppenheimer," while actors Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. took home Oscars of their own. While the film didn't quite rival the "Barbie" box office numbers, it's now considered Nolan's masterpiece. That's saying something for the man who helmed "The Dark Knight," "Inception," "Dunkirk" and "Memento."
Joaquin Phoenix won his first Oscar for his take on Arthur Fleck, and he'll return this October in the sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux," also starring Lady Gaga. While reviews so far aren't as positive as the original, Phoenix certainly managed to put his own stamp on The Joker role, following Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger.
As for "Dune: Part One," the film starring Timothee Chalamet was met with rave reviews. Frank Herbert's novel is considered perhaps the best sci-fi novel of all time, and previous adaptations were less than acclaimed. But behind Chalamet, Oscar Issac, Rebecca Ferguson and Josh Brolin, not to mention director Denis Villeneuve, the film grossed over $400 million worldwide and scored ten Oscar nominations. It also laid the groundwork for "Dune: Part II," which was equally successful earlier this year.
USA Today photo by Dan MacMedan.
Author
Thomas Leary is a news editor and writer for PennStakes.com. He previously spent six years at Sports Business Journal, where he helped identify emerging sectors across sports business, such as legalized gambling, and helped launch a digital newsletter division. Thomas lives in Charlotte, N.C.
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