The North American box office closed out the year with $11.4 billion in ticket sales, ComScore said Sunday. That marks a new record for the industry, bypassing the previous high-water mark of $11.1 billion, set in 2015.
ComScore, a data measurement company, didn't calculate admissions, but studio executives and analysts believe attendance will be essentially flat.
Nor do the figures account for inflation. Ticket prices hit new highs earlier in 2016, although an average full-year price for tickets has yet to be calculated.
Still, it was a record that few thought the industry would set. The year was faulted for lacking major franchises such as James Bond and the "Fast and the Furious" series.
It was a particularly strong year for Disney, which controlled more than a quarter of the domestic market share despite releasing fewer films than any of the other major studios.
It made the most of what it had. Disney launched four of the top five highest-grossing films, including "Finding Dory," the year's top film, with $486.3 million.
The latest Star Wars movie, "Rogue One," finished the year in second place, but it was only released on Dec. 16 in the United States and continues to enjoy strong sales.
The top films of 2016 were:
- Finding Dory ($486.3 million)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($408.2 million)
- Captain America: Civil War ($408.1 million)
- The Secret Life of Pets ($368.4 million)
- The Jungle Book ($364 million)