List of highest-grossing films in Germany

Last updated

This list charts the most successful films at cinemas in Germany by admissions. It also lists the most popular German productions in terms of box office sales, in euros and admissions. The Jungle Book , initially released in 1968 but with subsequent reissues, is Germany's biggest film of all time since 1963 in terms of admissions with 27.3 million tickets sold, nearly 10 million more than Titanic 's 18.8 million tickets sold. [1] It has grossed an estimated $108 million in Germany making it the third highest-grossing film of all time in Germany behind only Avatar (2009) ($137 million) and Titanic (1997) ($125 million). [2] Der Schuh des Manitu (2001) is the highest-grossing German production with a gross of €63 million and a record (since 1962) 11.7 million admissions. [3] The 1953 East German film Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck had the most admissions for a film from East Germany with almost 13 million. [4]

Contents

Most successful films by admissions

The table below lists the most successful films in Germany since 1963 in terms of admissions. The Jungle Book is Germany's biggest film of all time in terms of admissions with 27.3 million tickets sold, nearly 10 million more than Titanic 's 18.8 million tickets sold. [1]

RankTitleYearAdmissions [1]
1 The Jungle Book 196827,290,763
2 Titanic 199818,812,740
3 Once Upon a Time in the West 196913,012,746
4 Doctor Zhivago 196612,750,000
5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 200112,595,323
6 Trinity Is Still My Name 197212,267,000
7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 200111,930,785
8 The Lion King 199411,899,893
9 Der Schuh des Manitu 200111,721,183
10 Avatar 200911,311,518
11 The Aristocats 197111,294,126
12 Thunderball 196511,250,000
13 The Silence 196411,000,000
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 200210,753,596
15 Pretty Woman 199010,625,337
16 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 200310,442,102
17 Goldfinger 196510,250,000
18 Avatar: The Way of Water 202210,198,391
19 Treasure of the Silver Lake 196210,000,000
20 Apache Gold 196310,000,000
21 The Rescuers 19779,767,049
22 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 20029,728,779
23 Jurassic Park 19939,395,450
24 Independence Day 19969,272,424
25 Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 20049,165,932
26 The Intouchables 20129,162,715
27 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 20159,060,311
28 You Only Live Twice 19679,000,000
29 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 19998,962,516
30 Finding Nemo 20038,839,084

Highest-grossing films prior to 1963

The most successful films released prior to 1963 based on theatrical rentals in Deutschmarks to February 1984 were: [nb 1]

RankTitleYearRentals DM [5]
1 Ben-Hur 195932.0
2 Gone With the Wind 193930.0
3 The Bridge on the River Kwai 195724.0
4 From Here to Eternity 195320.0

List of highest-grossing German productions

RankTitleYearGross €
[3]
1 Der Schuh des Manitu 200165,131,251
2 Fack ju Göhte 2 201562,883,798
3 Honig im Kopf 201458,506,360
4 Fack ju Göhte 201354,812,272
5 Fack ju Göhte 3 201753,151,550
6 Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 200451,276,038
7Das perfekte Geheimnis201946,963,873
8 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 201541,957,829
9 Keinohrhasen 200740,480,446
10 7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald 200439,300,000 [6]

Most successful German productions by admissions

The following are the most successful German productions ranked by admissions in Germany since 1962, excluding those produced in East Germany between 1945-1990 (see separate list below).

RankTitleYearAdmissions
[3]
1 Der Schuh des Manitu 200111,721,183
2 Treasure of the Silver Lake 196210,000,000
3 Apache Gold 196310,000,000
4 Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 20049,165,932
5 Otto – Der Film 19858,776,026
6 Fack ju Göhte 2 20157,698,547
7 Old Shatterhand 19647,500,000
8 Fack ju Göhte 20137,383,322
9 Honig im Kopf 20147,274,964
10 Schulmädchen-Report 19707,000,000

Most successful films in East Germany based on admissions

Below is a list of the most successful films produced in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany (1945–49) and East Germany (1949-1990). Films prior to 1949 include admissions from West Berlin and the west zones.

RankTitleYearAdmissions [4]
1 Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck 195312,998,352
2 Ehe im Schatten 194712,888,153
3 Heart of Stone 19509,779,526
4 The Sons of Great Bear 19669,422,395
5 Raid 19478,090,000
6 Snow White 19617,597,495
7 Street Acquaintances 19486,469,627
8 The Murderers Are Among Us 19466,468,921
9 The Merry Wives of Windsor 19506,090,329
10 My Wife Makes Music 19586,052,050

See also

Notes

  1. For comparison with the table above, Variety reported the following films released after 1963 with rentals of over 18 million Deutschmarks by February 1984:
    Doctor Zhivago 39 million DM
    The Jungle Book 33 million DM
    E.T. the Extra-terrestrial 25 million DM
    The Rescuers 22 million DM
    From Here to Eternity 20 million DM
    Once Upon A Time in the West 18 million DM
    Jaws 18 million DM
    Octopussy 18 million DM [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (1967 film) 1967 animated Disney film

The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Based very loosely on Rudyard Kipling's 1894 book of the same title, it is the final animated feature film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. It was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, and Vance Gerry. Featuring the voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, and Bruce Reitherman, the film's plot follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends, Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, try to convince him to leave the jungle before the ruthless tiger Shere Khan arrives.

<i>Old Shatterhand</i> (film) 1964 film

The film Old Shatterhand is a successful Eurowestern based on the character Old Shatterhand, written by German novelist Karl May and part of the Winnetou series. It is a West German CCC Film production co-produced with French, Italian, and Yugoslav companies and filmed in 70mm. Financed with roughly DM 5,000,000, the film was the most expensive Karl May western. Composer Riz Ortolani used a chorus for his film score.

<i>Der bewegte Mann</i> 1994 German comedy film

Der bewegte Mann is a 1994 German comedy film directed by Sönke Wortmann and starring Til Schweiger, Rufus Beck, Joachim Król and Katja Riemann.

<i>Genghis Khan</i> (1965 film) 1965 film by Henry Levin

Genghis Khan is a 1965 biographical adventure film directed by Henry Levin and starring Omar Sharif, depicting a fictionalized account of the life and conquests of the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. Distributed in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1965 by Columbia Pictures, the film also features James Mason, Stephen Boyd, Eli Wallach, Françoise Dorléac and Telly Savalas.

<i>Last of the Renegades</i> 1964 film

Last of the Renegades is a 1964 German-Italian Western film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Pierre Brice, Lex Barker, and Anthony Steel. It is based on a Karl May novel, and was part of a series of adaptations produced by Rialto Film. The film is a sequel to Apache Gold.

<i>Apache Gold</i> 1963 film

Apache Gold, also known as Winnetou the Warrior, is a 1963 Western film directed by Harald Reinl. It is based on the story of Winnetou, a fictional Native-American Apache hero from the Winnetou series of German novels. It was a major commercial success, selling about 77 million tickets at the worldwide box office.

<i>Treasure of the Silver Lake</i> 1962 Western film directed by Harald Reinl

The Treasure of the Silver Lake is a 1962 Western film directed by Harald Reinl, loosely based on German author Karl May's 1891 novel of the same name. It was the first in a highly-successful series of films based on May's works by the West German studios Rialto and Constantin Film, starring American actor Lex Barker as the frontiersman Old Shatterhand and French actor Pierre Brice as the Apache warrior Winnetou.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Besucher Deutschland". InsideKino (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. Scott Roxborough (11 January 2016). "German Box Office: 'Star Wars' Becomes Fourth Highest-Grossing Film of All Time". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "InsideKino – Besucher deutscher Filme in Deutschland" (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Die Erfolgreichsten DDR-Film In der DDR". InsideKino (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 "All-Time German Rental Champs". Variety . 7 March 1984. p. 336.
  6. "Seven Dwarves - German gross $48,726,183 (Average exchange rate $1.24=1 Euro)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 8 May 2020.