Top Grossing Animated Films of 2008

Disney/Pixar's WALL-E, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda

Dec 30, 2008

Which animated movies topped the box office in 2008, and which one bombed out the worst? Find out here, as well as a mini-preview of 2009.

Compared to previous years, studios didn't unload as many animated films in 2008. The bloom is off the rose when it comes to CGI animation; although it is still the medium of choice for family-oriented animated movies, the process is no longer the license to print money that it was in the late 1990's.

Not surprisingly, the top grossing films of the year came from the usual suspects: Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks Animation and Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky.

Disney/Pixar continued their unbroken winning streak with Andrew Stanton's WALL-E. According to Box Office Mojo, it topped the domestic charts, making $223.8 million in theatres. That made WALL-E the 5th highest grossing film of 2008, right behind live-actioners Hancock, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man, and The Dark Knight.

Rotten Tomatoes gave it an impressive 96% rating, meaning 208 out of 216 critics loved the movie. Among IMDb readers, WALL-E dethroned Hayao Miyazaki's classic Spirited Away as the most beloved animated film of all time (although 1,063 fans have have made a case for the 1981 Hungarian film Vuk).

Unfortunately, $223.8 million is a slightly less impressive number when one considers the film cost Disney/Pixar $180 million to make. But don't be crying too hard for Pixar: WALL-E is going to make a lot of money in home video sales for countless years to come.

DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda was right behind, earning $215,434,591 in domestic box office. Internationally, the panda booted the robot's butt, earning $631.9 million worldwide, compared to WALL-E's $507.3 million.

Coming in at #7 on the box office list was another DreamWorks Animation production: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. It pulled $174,8 million in domestic box office, for a worldwide total of $397.2 million.

Running well below that was Disney Animation's Bolt, which came in at #19. It earned $102.4 million in domestic box office. However, Bolt is still playing in theatres which means it could still add some more box office before it goes to home video.

Biggest Box Office Loser?

The animated film that bombed the worst in 2008 was Alliance Films' Delgo. Despite a $40 million budget, a 10-year incubation period, and the presence of stars like Malcolm McDowell, the late Anne Bancroft, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt, it flamed out spectacularly. Delgo only ran six days in theatres, and earned $694,782 in total receipts.

What's Coming in 2009?

Given the current economic instability, look for more family-oriented product from both the the major and independent studios. G and PG-rated films appeal to a wider spectrum of audience, so naturally studio bosses will want as many films as they can cram in that demographic. Animated films usually cost less to produce than their live-action brethren, and aren't crippled by the difficulties in getting their leading actors in the same room at the same time. Here are some of the highlights from the upcoming year.

Disney/Pixar and DreamWorks Entertainment return with one film each: Up and Monsters vs. Aliens respectively. Laika Entertainment throws their hat into the stop-motion ring with Coraline, based on the award-winning children's book by Neil Gaiman (Beowulf) and directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas).

Anime will get a massive boost in 2009. Imagi is unleashing two adaptations of classic properties: Gatchaman and Astro Boy. In addition, anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on a Cliff will get a domestic release after its boffo box office in Japan.

Sony has 2 films on deck that they hope will take on the big boys: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, loosely based on the 1982 children's novel by Judi and Ron Barrett, and the reverse alien-invasion flick Planet 51.

Of course 2009's biggest news is that Disney – the studio that made the first ever feature-length animated film – returns with the cel animated The Princess and the Frog. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (Aladdin), the Mouse House seeks their second "animation renaissance:" a return to the glory years of such films as Snow White, Pinocchio or . . . The Little Mermaid.

Which films will be future classics? Which will be pleasant surprises and which will die on arrival? Stay tuned and find out.

The copyright of the article Top Grossing Animated Films of 2008 in Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Top Grossing Animated Films of 2008 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

May 1, 2009 8:23 AM

Guest :

9 might be big, it's either produced or directed by Tim Burton. Tim worked on 2 stop motion animated flicks before (The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride) so 9 may be up his alley.

20th Century Fox also has Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs out in 2009.