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]
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]
The most successful films released prior to 1963 based on theatrical rentals in Deutschmarks to February 1984 were: [nb 1]
Rank | Title | Year | Rentals DM [5] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ben-Hur | 1959 | 32.0 |
2 | Gone With the Wind | 1939 | 30.0 |
3 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1957 | 24.0 |
4 | From Here to Eternity | 1953 | 20.0 |
Rank | Title | Year | Gross € [3] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Der Schuh des Manitu | 2001 | 65,131,251 |
2 | Fack ju Göhte 2 | 2015 | 62,883,798 |
3 | Honig im Kopf | 2014 | 58,506,360 |
4 | Fack ju Göhte | 2013 | 54,812,272 |
5 | Fack ju Göhte 3 | 2017 | 53,151,550 |
6 | Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 | 2004 | 51,276,038 |
7 | Das perfekte Geheimnis | 2019 | 46,963,873 |
8 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 | 2015 | 41,957,829 |
9 | Keinohrhasen | 2007 | 40,480,446 |
10 | 7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald | 2004 | 39,300,000 [6] |
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).
Rank | Title | Year | Admissions [3] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Der Schuh des Manitu | 2001 | 11,721,183 |
2 | Treasure of the Silver Lake | 1962 | 10,000,000 |
3 | Apache Gold | 1963 | 10,000,000 |
4 | Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 | 2004 | 9,165,932 |
5 | Otto – Der Film | 1985 | 8,776,026 |
6 | Fack ju Göhte 2 | 2015 | 7,698,547 |
7 | Old Shatterhand | 1964 | 7,500,000 |
8 | Fack ju Göhte | 2013 | 7,383,322 |
9 | Honig im Kopf | 2014 | 7,274,964 |
10 | Schulmädchen-Report | 1970 | 7,000,000 |
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.
Rank | Title | Year | Admissions [4] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck | 1953 | 12,998,352 |
2 | Ehe im Schatten | 1947 | 12,888,153 |
3 | Heart of Stone | 1950 | 9,779,526 |
4 | The Sons of Great Bear | 1966 | 9,422,395 |
5 | Raid | 1947 | 8,090,000 |
6 | Snow White | 1961 | 7,597,495 |
7 | Street Acquaintances | 1948 | 6,469,627 |
8 | The Murderers Are Among Us | 1946 | 6,468,921 |
9 | The Merry Wives of Windsor | 1950 | 6,090,329 |
10 | My Wife Makes Music | 1958 | 6,052,050 |
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.
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.
Der bewegte Mann is a 1994 German comedy film directed by Sönke Wortmann and starring Til Schweiger, Rufus Beck, Joachim Król and Katja Riemann.
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.
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.
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.
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.