List of highest-grossing openings for films

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The following is a list of the highest-grossing opening weekends for films. The list is dominated by recent films due to inflation, steadily increasing production and marketing budgets, and modern films opening on more screens.

Biggest worldwide openings on record

This list charts films the 50 biggest worldwide openings. Since many films do not open on Fridays in many markets, the 'opening' is taken to be the

gross
between the first day of release and the first Sunday following the movie's release. Figures prior to the year 2002 are not available.

Since many American films do not open in all markets at the same time, the 'opening' gross varies depending on when it was released in the US-Canada market. For example, for films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which opened in the US-Canada market and in most other major markets during the same weekend, the 'opening' is the total gross of the film during that weekend. On the other hand, for films like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War which opened in several markets a week ahead of their respective releases in the US-Canada market, the 'opening' is the sum of the opening grosses in the markets where they were released first and the opening in the US-Canada market. In the latter case, the opening grosses from territories after the initial overseas opening are not included in the 'opening' of the film. In all cases, if a film opens in a market after its release in the US-Canada market, that opening is not included in the 'opening' of the film.

Rank Film Year Opening (USD)[1]
1 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $1,223,641,414
2 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $640,521,291
3 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 $600,506,041[2]
4 The Fate of the Furious 2017 $541,937,239
5 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 $528,966,675
6 Jurassic World 2015 $525,504,128
7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2011 $483,189,427
8 Captain Marvel 2019 $456,718,598
9 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022 $452,000,000[3][4]
10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 $450,821,889
11 Avatar: The Way of Water 2022 $441,703,887[5]
12 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016 $422,507,347
13 Detective Chinatown 3 2021 $398,000,000[6]
14 The Battle at Lake Changjin II (Water Gate Bridge) 2022 $398,000,000[7]
15 Furious 7 2015 $397,627,459
16 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009 $394,022,354
17 The Avengers 2012 $392,538,708
19 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 $392,471,109
18 Jurassic World Dominion 2022 $386,000,000[8]
20 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 2011 $382,425,000
21 Spider-Man 3 2007 $381,660,892
22 Captain America: Civil War 2016 $379,539,142
23 The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023 $377,200,000[9]
24 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2019 $373,500,000[10]
25 Iron Man 3 2013 $372,553,677
26 Black Panther 2018 $371,367,531
27 Frozen II 2019 $358,200,000[11][12]
28 Beauty and the Beast 2017 $357,026,593
29 Barbie 2023 $356,322,044[13]
30 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2011 $350,653,677
31 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2007 $343,972,864
32 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 2012 $340,667,634
33 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2007 $332,715,157
34 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2022 $331,600,000[14][15]
35 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 2010 $330,017,372
36 Fast X 2023 $323,838,710
37 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 2005 $303,949,700
38 Transformers: Age of Extinction 2014 $302,138,390
39 Thor: Love and Thunder 2022 $302,000,000[16]
40 Deadpool 2 2018 $300,386,357
41 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018 $298,924,610
42 The Wandering Earth 2019 $298,110,095[17]
43 Spider-Man: Far From Home 2019 $295,832,417[18]
44 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 2011 $291,022,261
45 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016 $290,049,210
46 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 2023 $282,100,000[19]
47 Justice League 2017 $278,842,239
48 The Twilight Saga: New Moon 2009 $274,939,137
49 The Mermaid 2016 $274,049,983[20]
50 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 2014 $273,897,634

Individual country records

Biggest openings in China

Since many films do not open on Fridays in many markets (such as China), the 'opening' is taken to be the gross between the first day of release and the first Sunday following the movie's release.

Rank Film Year Opening (USD)![21]
1 Detective Chinatown 3 2021 $398,000,000[6]
2 The Battle at Lake Changjin II (Water Gate Bridge) 2022 $398,000,000[7]
3 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $330,528,623[22]
4 The Wandering Earth 2019 $298,110,095[17]
5 The Mermaid 2016 $274,049,983[20]
6 The Captain 2019 $251,966,468[23]
7 The Battle at Lake Changjin 2021 $235,000,000[24]
8 Too Cool to Kill 2022 $217,000,000[25]
9 Crazy Alien 2019 $214,749,033[26]
10 Dying to Survive 2018 $200,837,145[27]

Biggest openings in the United States and Canada

Rank Film Year Opening (USD)![21]
1 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $357,115,007
2 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 $260,138,569
3 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $257,698,183
4 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 $247,966,675
5 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 $220,009,584
6 Jurassic World 2015 $208,806,270
7 The Avengers 2012 $207,438,708
8 Black Panther 2018 $202,003,951
9 The Lion King 2019 $191,770,759
10 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 $191,271,109

Biggest opening day in the United States

A list of the biggest opening days of release, including previews from midnight or the previous evening.

Rank Movie name Year Opening day[28][29]
1 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $157,461,641
2 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 $121,964,712
3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 $119,119,282
4 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $106,334,939
5 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 $104,684,491
6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2011 $91,071,119
7 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022 $90,720,784
8 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2019 $89,615,288
9 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 $84,424,532
10 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2022 $84,285,721

Biggest opening day in China

Rank Movie name Year Opening day[28][29]
1 Detective Chinatown 3 2021 $157,660,685 [a]
2 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $108,331,722[b]
3 The Battle at Lake Changjin II 2022 $105,000,000[32]
4 Monster Hunt 2 2018 $86,166,961[c][original research] this is equivalent to $86,166,961.}}
5 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $70,567,331[d]
6 The Fate of the Furious 2017 $69,699,875[e]
7 Furious 7 2015 $64,179,849[f]
8 Crazy Alien 2019 $60,833,272[g]
9 F9 2021 $58,829,377[h]
10 Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back 2017 $57,984,879[i]

Record holders

Previous opening weekend record holders worldwide

These are the films that, when first released, set the opening three-day weekend record after going into wide release.

Year Title Opening (USD in millions)[40][1]
2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone $114.1
2002 Spider-Man $125.9
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones $179.3
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $189.9
2003 The Matrix Revolutions $201.4
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $250.0
2005 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith $303.9
2007 Spider-Man 3 $381.7
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $394.0
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $483.2
2015 Jurassic World $525.5
Star Wars: The Force Awakens $529.0
2017 The Fate of the Furious $541.9
2018 Avengers: Infinity War $640.5
2019 Avengers: Endgame $1,223.6

Previous opening weekend record holders in the United States and Canada

These are the films that, when first released, set the opening record in the United States and Canada.

Year Title Opening (USD)[41][21]
1975 Jaws[nb 1] $7,061,513
1978 Jaws 2 $9,866,023
1978 Star Wars (re-release) $10,166,336
1978
Every Which Way but Loose[nb 2]
$10,272,294
1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture $11,926,421
1981 Superman II $14,100,523
1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan $14,347,221
1983 Return of the Jedi $23,019,618
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom $25,337,110
1987 Beverly Hills Cop II $26,348,555
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade $29,355,021
1989 Ghostbusters II $29,472,894
1989 Batman $40,505,884
1992 Batman Returns $45,687,711
1993 Jurassic Park $47,026,828
1995 Batman Forever $52,784,433
1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $72,132,785
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $90,294,621
2002 Spider-Man $114,844,116
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $135,634,554
2007 Spider-Man 3 $151,116,516
2008 The Dark Knight $158,411,483
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $169,189,427
2012 The Avengers $207,438,708
2015 Jurassic World $208,806,270
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $247,966,675
2018 Avengers: Infinity War $257,815,482
2019 Avengers: Endgame $357,115,007

See also

Notes

  1. ^ According to contemporaneous reports, The Deep opened to $8,124,316 on 800 screens on the weekend of June 17, 1977 beating the record set by Jaws.[42][43] Current websites only record data for 731 screen with a gross of $6.8 million.[44] Using the lower figure for The Deep, Jaws lost the overall weekend record to Star Wars in 1977 with a gross of $7,195,573 in its eleventh weekend.[45]
  2. ^ Every Which Way but Loose held the opening weekend record until the following year but it lost the overall weekend record on the last weekend in 1978 to Superman, which recorded a gross of $10,363,384 in its third weekend.[46]
  1. ^ According to EntGroup, Detective Chinatown 3 grossed CN¥1,018,220,000 on its opening day of 12 February 2021.[29] According to the 2021 exchange rate on the day of release,[30] this is equivalent to $157,660,685.
  2. ^ According to EntGroup, Avengers: Endgame grossed CN¥728,130,000 on its opening day of 24 April 2019.[29] According to the 2019 exchange rate on the day of release,[31] this is equivalent to $108,331,722.
  3. ^ According to EntGroup, Monster Hunt 2 grossed CN¥546,850,000 on its opening day of 16 February 2018.[29] According to the 2018 exchange rate on the day of release,[33] this is equivalent to $189,784,760.
  4. ^ According to EntGroup, Avengers: Infinity War grossed CN¥446,790,000 on its opening day of 11 May 2018.[29] According to the 2018 exchange rate on the day of release,[34] this is equivalent to $70,567,331.
  5. ^ According to EntGroup, The Fate of the Furious grossed CN¥479,800,000 on its opening day of 14 April 2017.[29] According to the 2017 exchange rate on the day of release,[35] this is equivalent to $69,699,875.
  6. ^ According to EntGroup, Furious 7 grossed CN¥398,820,000 on its opening day of 12 April 2015.[29] According to the 2015 exchange rate on the day of release,[36] this is equivalent to $64,179,849.
  7. ^ According to EntGroup, Crazy Alien grossed CN¥410,290,000 on its opening day of 5 February 2019.[29] According to the 2019 exchange rate on the day of release,[37] this is equivalent to $60,833,272.
  8. ^ According to EntGroup, F9 grossed CN¥398,820,000 on its opening day of 21 May 2021.[29] According to the 2021 exchange rate on the day of release,[38] this is equivalent to $58,829,377.
  9. ^ According to EntGroup, Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back grossed CN¥398,820,000 on its opening day of 28 January 2017.[29] According to the 2017 exchange rate on the day of release,[39] this is equivalent to $57,984,879.

References

  1. ^ a b "Worldwide Openings". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  2. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-12-19). "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Is Even More Amazing With $601M Global Debut For 3rd Biggest WW Bow Ever; $341M Snared Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  3. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (May 8, 2022). "'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' Opens $450M Global Portal, $265M From Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 8, 2022. In 49 material offshore markets, the Benedict Cumberbatch/Elizabeth Olsen-starrer conjured $265M for an estimated $450M worldwide debut including domestic [Note: the "domestic" figure of $185 million was later revised to $187 million]
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 9, 2022). "'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' Kick-Starts Summer Box Office With $187M Opening; Best Debut Ever For Sam Raimi – Monday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 14, 2022. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came in ahead of Disney's $185M weekend projection with $187M this morning after a $39M Sunday, -32%
  5. ^ "Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2022-12-20. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-02-14). "'Detective Chinatown 3' Tops 'Avengers: Endgame' For Biggest Opening Weekend Ever In A Single Market With $398M, IMAX Crushes Records & Performance Perks Up Hollywood Hope – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  7. ^ a b "Water Gate Bridge: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  8. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 11, 2022). "'Jurassic World Dominion' Roaring To $386M Global Through Sunday". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "'Super Mario Bros' Hits High Scores: Record Opening For Animated Pic At $377M+ WW, 5-Day U.S. Record $204M+; 'Air' Soars To $20M – Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2023-04-09. If overseas is still at $173M by tomorrow AM, then the new global opening record for an animated movie set by Super Mario Bros stands at $377.2M.
  10. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2019-12-22). "'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Awakens With $198M Overseas, $374M Global; 'Jumanji' Tops $300M WW – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-07. The global opening is $373.5M with plenty of lucrative holiday play ahead
  11. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2019-11-25). "'Frozen 2' Even Hotter With $358M+ Global Bow; Biggest Animated Opening Ever WW & Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-07. The studio reports that the international box office debut has risen $5M from yesterday's estimate to hit $228.2M, while global is now looking at $358.2M, including a higher estimated $130M domestic bow.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2019-11-25). "How Disney Turned 'Frozen 2' Into Biggest Global Toon Debut Of All-Time With $358M+, November Animated Pic U.S. Record $130M". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-07. Worldwide, Frozen 2 is a record opening for an animated pic, hands downs with a revised upward take of $228.2M international, $358.2M global.
  13. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2023-07-23). "Greta Gerwig Makes Box Office History as 'Barbie' Scores Biggest Opening Weekend Ever for Female Director". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  14. ^ Buckley, Thomas (November 13, 2022). "Disney's 'Wakanda Forever' Reaps $181.3 Million, Lifting AMC". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Gant, Charles (November 14, 2022). "'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' delivers second-best opening of 2022". Screen International. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2022-07-10). "'Thor: Love And Thunder' Nails $302M Global Debut; 'Minions' Gru-ving To $400M WW – International Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  17. ^ a b "The Wandering Earth: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  18. ^ "Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ a b "The Mermaid: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  21. ^ a b c "Opening Weekends". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  22. ^ "Avengers: Endgame - Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  23. ^ "The Captain: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  24. ^ "The Battle at Lake Changjin: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  25. ^ "Too Cool to Kill: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  26. ^ "Crazy Alien: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  27. ^ "Dying to Survive: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  28. ^ a b "Top Single Day Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Single-Day Box Office Ranking". endata.com.cn. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  30. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 2/12/2021 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  31. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 4/24/2019 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  32. ^ "Water Gate Bridge". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  33. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 2/16/2018 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  34. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 5/11/2018 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  35. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 4/14/2017 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  36. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 4/12/2015 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  37. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 2/5/2019 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  38. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 5/21/2021 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  39. ^ "USD to CNY Rates on 1/29/2017 - Exchange Rates". Exchange-Rates.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  40. ^ "Worldwide Openings" (sorted on date). Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  41. ^ "Weekend Record Through the Years". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  42. Variety
    .
  43. ^ Lewis, Richard Warren (July 3, 1977). "The Selling of 'The Deep'". The New York Times. p. 45. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  44. ^ "The Deep (1977) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  45. ^ "Star Wars (1977) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  46. ^ "Superman (1978) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.