The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. The reason given is: possibly written by ESL editor.(July 2023) |
The following page lists the highest-grossing films that were distributed by independent, arthouse, and mini-major studios. The Passion of the Christ is the highest-grossing independent film of all time. [1] Independent films that were co-distributed by major film studios, such as Inglourious Basterds and Paranormal Activity , are not included.
Rank | Title | Date | Worldwide gross | Countries | Film distributor | Ref/s |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Passion of the Christ | February 25, 2004 | $611,486,736 | Australia | Icon Productions | [2] |
2 | The Intouchables | September 23, 2010 | $484,630,908 | France | Gaumont | [3] |
3 | Dances with Wolves | November 9, 1990 | $424,208,805 | North America | Orion Pictures | [4] |
4 | The King's Speech | September 6, 2010 | $423,999,102 | Australia United Kingdom | Momentum Pictures | [2] |
5 | Slumdog Millionaire | August 30, 2008 | $378,410,113 | United Kingdom | Pathé Distribution | [2] |
6 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding | April 19, 2002 | $368,744,044 | North America | IFC Films | [2] |
7 | American Beauty | September 8, 1999 | $356,258,047 | North America | DreamWorks Pictures | [1] |
8 | Black Swan | September 1, 2010 | $329,398,046 | North America | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [5] |
9 | Se7en | September 15, 1995 | $328,125,643 | North America | New Line Cinema | [6] |
10 | The Silence of the Lambs | February 14, 1991 | $275,726,716 | North America | Orion Pictures | [7] |
11 | Parasite | May 21, 2019 | $262,857,186 | South Korea | CJ Entertainment (South Korea) Neon (North America) | [8] |
12 | The Full Monty | August 15, 1997 | $261,249,383 | United Kingdom | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [2] |
13 | Sound of Freedom | July 4, 2023 | $250,570,396 | North America | Angel Studios | [9] |
14 | The Blair Witch Project | January 23, 1999 | $248,639,099 | North America | Artisan Entertainment | [2] |
15 | Silver Linings Playbook | November 16, 2012 | $236,412,453 | North America | The Weinstein Company | [10] |
16 | Juno | September 1, 2007 | $231,450,102 | North America | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [2] |
17 | Fahrenheit 9/11 | May 17, 2004 | $222,446,882 | North America | FLIC Distributors | [2] |
18 | Good Will Hunting | December 2, 1997 | $225,925,989 | North America | Miramax | [2] |
19 | Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | July 21, 2017 | $225,874,228 | France United States China Germany Belgium United Arab Emirates | STX Entertainment | [11] |
20 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | May 18, 2000 | $213,514,672 | Taiwan | Sony Pictures Classics | [12] |
21 | Pulp Fiction | May 21, 1994 | $212,894,343 | North America | Miramax | [13] |
22 | Traffic | December 27, 2000 | $207,515,725 | North America | Focus Features | [14] |
23 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | March 30, 1990 | $202,084,756 | North America | Golden Harvest | [15] |
24 | The Shape of Water | December 1, 2017 | $195,333,312 | North America | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [16] |
25 | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | October 10, 2003 | $180,899,045 | North America | Miramax | [17] |
26 | Brokeback Mountain | December 9, 2005 | $178,062,759 | North America | Focus Features | [18] |
27 | The Grand Budapest Hotel | March 7, 2014 | $173,082,189 | North America Germany | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [19] |
28 | No Country for Old Men | November 9, 2007 | $171,627,166 | North America | Miramax (North America) Paramount Vantage (International) | [20] |
29 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | November 19, 1975 | $163,281,275 | North America | United Artists | [1] |
30 | The Hateful Eight | December 25, 2015 | $156,480,177 | North America | The Weinstein Company | [21] |
31 | Kill Bill: Volume 2 | April 16, 2004 | $154,116,796 | North America | Miramax | [22] |
32 | Everything Everywhere All at Once | March 25, 2022 | $141,054,397 | North America | A24 | [23] |
33 | Coraline | February 6, 2009 | $124,596,837 | North America | Focus Features | [24] |
34 | Civil War | April 12, 2024 | $122,533,193 | United States United Kingdom | A24 (United States) Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom) | [25] |
35 | Lost in Translation | September 12, 2003 | $117,085,297 | North America Japan | Focus Features | [26] |
36 | Sideways | October 22, 2004 | $109,726,800 | North America | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [26] |
37 | Longlegs † | July 12, 2024 | $104,446,698 | United States | Neon | [27] |
38 | Birdman | October 17, 2014 | $103,215,094 | North America | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [28] |
39 | Crash | May 6, 2005 | $101,173,038 | North America | Lionsgate | [26] |
40 | Little Miss Sunshine | July 26, 2006 | $101,058,954 | North America | Fox Searchlight Pictures | [29] |
41 | Fritz the Cat | April 12, 1972 | $90,000,000 | North America | Cinemation Industries | [30] |
42 | The Amityville Horror | July 27, 1979 | $86,432,000 | North America | American International Pictures | [31] |
43 | Hereditary | June 7, 2018 | $82,729,816 | United States | A24 | [32] |
44 | Moonlight | October 21, 2016 | $65,172,611 | [33] | ||
45 | The Whale | December 9, 2022 | $54,883,206 | [34] | ||
46 | Whiplash | January 16, 2014 | $48,982,041 | North America | Sony Pictures Classics (North America) Stage 6 Films (International) | [35] |
47 | Midsommar | July 3, 2019 | $48,059,189 | United States Sweden | A24 (North America) Nordisk Film (Sweden) | [36] |
48 | The Witch | February 19, 2016 | $40,423,945 | United States Canada | A24 (United States) Elevation Pictures (Canada) | [37] |
49 | The Iron Claw | December 22, 2023 | $40,667,158 | United Kingdom United States | A24 (North America) Lionsgate (United Kingdom) | [38] |
50 | Past Lives | June 2, 2023 | $21,548,356 | United States | A24 | [39] |
Year | Title | Worldwide gross | Budget | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Civil War | $122,533,193 | 50 million | [40] |
2023 | Sound of Freedom | $250,570,396 | 14.5 million | [9] |
2022 | Everything Everywhere All at Once | $141,054,397 | $14.3–25 million | [41] [42] [43] |
1978 | Halloween | $70 million | $300,000–325,000 | Halloween (1978 film) |
1976 | Grizzly | $39 million | $750,000 | Grizzly (film) |
1974 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | $30.9 million | $80,000–140,000 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |
1968 | Night of the Living Dead | $30,236,452 | $114,000–$125,000 | Night of the Living Dead |
Film | Established | Record-setting gross | Ref |
Dances with Wolves | 1990 | $424,208,805 | [44] |
The Passion of the Christ | 2004 | $611,486,736 | [45] |
2005 | $612,054,506 |
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a 2022 American absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who produced it with Anthony and Joe Russo and Jonathan Wang. The film incorporates elements from several genres and film media, including surreal comedy, science fiction, fantasy, martial arts films, immigrant narrative, and animation. Michelle Yeoh stars as Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who, while audited by the IRS, discovers that she must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from destroying the multiverse. The film also stars Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and James Hong.