Revenue is up nearly 3 percent worldwide, fueled by a 7 percent uptick at the North American box office.


Global box office revenue for 2018 is expected to hit an all-time high of $41.7 billion, fueled by a record haul in North America of $11.9 billion, Comscore said Thursday.


If Comscore's projections hold, domestic revenue will end up 7 percent ahead of 2017 ($11.1 billion) and 4 percent ahead of the record set in 2016, when combined ticket sales clocked in at a record $11.4 billion. Attendance for 2018 is up over last year by about 4 percent.


Foreign box office revenue is projected to come in at $29.8 billion, a 1 percent uptick over 2017 ($29.5 billion). Part of the reason for the relatively static result is fluctuating currency exchange rates.


Globally, revenue looks to be up 2.7 percent over 2017, when combined worldwide ticket sales landed at a record $40.6 billion.


This year marks one of the few times in recent memory that North America drove the growth spurt, versus international revenue.


Disney, which is on the verge of acquiring 20th Century Fox, commands an unprecedented 27 percent of the domestic market share. And its global ticket sales have already crossed $7 billion for the year, only the second time that any studio has done so (Disney was the first).


Overall, a well-received crop of tentpoles and other event pics appealing to a diverse audience helped to fuel the boom. Top earners include Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther — both from Disney/Marvel — Universal's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Disney/Pixar's Incredibles 2 and Sony's Venom.