Hollywood has hauled in more than 11.38 billion U.S. dollars this year in America. And superhero films have contributed the most.

Data shows that of the top five highest-grossing films in 2018, four were in the superhero genre. Disney's Black Panther garnered more than 700 million U.S. dollars domestically and an additional 646.8 million U.S. dollars internationally. The movie is now also the third highest-grossing movie in American history.

As for box office revenue, Disney accounted for 26.3 percent of all American ticket sales in 2018. For comparison, Universal Studios represented 14.9 percent of total U.S. ticket sales, while Warner Bros. accounted for 12 percent and Sony only seven percent.

Disney seems a powerhouse at the box office. The market anticipates that the company may be looking at beating its own record next year, as it plans to launch another Star Wars film, two animated features, and three live-action classics. 

"Disney owns so many hugely successful franchises," said Terri White, editor in chief of Empire magazine, "So much of cinema is kind of owned by them and, you know, they have kind of dominated cinema over the last few years." 

According to critics, 2019 will be a year of many more pleasant surprises. Besides the Star Wars film, the fourth and final Avengers movie, Avengers: Endgame, is expected to meet audiences beginning late April. And Disney films, The Lion King and Toy Story 4, will be released next summer.

Martin Scorsese has teamed up with Netflix to make his passion project, The Irishman. The movie will be available for streaming on Netflix, but will also get a theatrical release in 2019.

(CGTN's Qi Jie contributed to the story.)