List of highest-grossing independent films

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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-produced or co-distributed by major film studios, such as Inglourious Basterds and Paranormal Activity , are not included.

Contents

Highest-grossing films

  † Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 17 April 2026 in theaters around the world.
RankTitleDateWorldwide grossCountriesFilm distributorRef/s
1 The Passion of the Christ February 25, 2004$611,486,736United States Newmarket Films [2]
2 The Intouchables September 23, 2010$484,630,908France Gaumont [3]
3 Dances with Wolves November 9, 1990$424,208,805North America Orion Pictures [4]
4 The King's Speech September 6, 2010$423,999,102Australia
United Kingdom		 Momentum Pictures [2]
5 My Big Fat Greek Wedding April 19, 2002$368,744,044North America IFC Films [2]
6 American Beauty September 8, 1999$356,258,047 DreamWorks Pictures [1]
7 Se7en September 15, 1995$328,125,643 New Line Cinema [5]
8 The Silence of the Lambs February 14, 1991$275,726,716 Orion Pictures [6]
9 Parasite May 21, 2019$262,857,186South Korea CJ Entertainment [7]
10 Sound of Freedom July 4, 2023$250,570,396North America Angel Studios [8]
11 The Blair Witch Project January 23, 1999$248,639,099 Artisan Entertainment [2]
12 Silver Linings Playbook November 16, 2012$236,412,453 The Weinstein Company [9]
13 Fahrenheit 9/11 May 17, 2004$222,446,882 Lionsgate [2]
14 Good Will Hunting December 2, 1997$225,925,989 Miramax [2]
15 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets July 21, 2017$225,874,228France
United States
China
Germany
Belgium
United Arab Emirates		 STX Entertainment [10]
16 Pulp Fiction May 21, 1994$212,894,343North America Miramax [11]
17 Traffic December 27, 2000$207,515,725 USA Films [12]
18 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles March 30, 1990$202,084,756 New Line Cinema [13]
19 Kill Bill: Volume 1 October 10, 2003$180,899,045 Miramax [14]
20 The Hateful Eight December 25, 2015$156,480,177 The Weinstein Company [15]
21 Kill Bill: Volume 2 April 16, 2004$154,116,796 Miramax [16]
22 Everything Everywhere All at Once March 25, 2022$141,054,397 A24 [17]
23 Longlegs July 12, 2024$126,867,598United States Neon [18]
24 Civil War April 12, 2024$122,533,193United States
United Kingdom		 A24 (United States)
Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom)		 [19]
25 The Graduate December 20, 1967$104,677,456United States
South Korea
Australia
New Zealand		 Embassy Pictures (United States)
United Artists (International)		 [20]
26 Crash May 6, 2005$101,173,038North America Lionsgate [21]
27 Spotlight September 3, 2015$98,690,254United States Open Road Films [22]
28 Terrifier 3 October 11, 2024$94,436,616 Cineverse [23]
29 Hereditary June 7, 2018$90,190,521 A24 [24]
30 Fritz the Cat April 12, 1972$90,000,000North America Cinemation Industries [25]
31 Snowpiercer July 19, 2013$86,758,912United States
South Korea
France
Czech Republic		 RADiUS-TWC (United States)
CJ Entertainment (South Korea)
Le Pacte (France)
Bontonfilm (Czech Republic)		 [26]
32 The Amityville Horror July 27, 1979$86,432,000North America American International Pictures [27]
33 The Substance May 19, 2024$77,316,812United States
France
United Kingdom		 Mubi [28]
34 Halloween October 24, 1978$70,274,000United States
New Zealand
United Kingdom		 Compass International Pictures (United States)
Aquarius Releasing (International)		 [29]
35 Moonlight October 21, 2016$65,172,611United States A24 [30]
36 The Whale December 9, 2022$54,883,206 [31]
37 I, Tonya September 8, 2017$53,939,297 Neon [32]
38 Iron Lung †January 30, 2026$51,226,173United States
Finland
Netherlands
New Zealand
Australia
United Kingdom		Markiplier Studios [33] [34]
39 Midsommar July 3, 2019$48,059,189United States
Sweden		 A24 (North America)
Nordisk Film (Sweden)		 [35]
40 Nightcrawler September 5, 2014$47,425,835United States Open Road Films [36]
41 The Iron Claw December 22, 2023$45,745,981United Kingdom
United States		 A24 (North America)
Lionsgate (United Kingdom)		 [37]
42 Past Lives January 21, 2023$42,748,888United States

South Korea

 A24 (United States)
CJ ENM (South Korea)		 [38]
43 The Witch February 19, 2016$40,423,945United States
Canada		 A24 (United States)
Elevation Pictures (Canada)		 [39]
44 Grizzly May 16, 1976$39,000,000United States
Hungary		 Film Ventures International (United States)
Columbia Pictures (Hungary)		 [40]
45 Together January 26, 2025$34,573,161United States
Australia		 Neon (United States)
Kismet Movies (Australia)		 [41]
46 Priscilla September 4, 2023$33,106,888United States A24 [42]
47 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre October 11, 1974$30,926,225United States
Russia
New Zealand
Australia		 Bryanston Distributing Company [43]
48 Night of the Living Dead October 1, 1968$30,240,082United States
New Zealand
United Kingdom		 Continental Distributing [44] [45]
49 It Follows May 17, 2014$23,236,296United States RADiUS-TWC [46]
50 The Farewell January 25, 2019$23,076,657 A24 [47]

Highest-grossing independent films by year

YearTitleWorldwide grossBudgetRef
1967 The Graduate $104,677,456$3,000,000 [20]
1968 Night of the Living Dead $30,200,000$114,000–$125,000 [44] [45]
1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre $30,900,000$80,000–140,000 [43]
1976 Grizzly $39,000,000$750,000 [40]
1978 Halloween $70,274,000$300,000–325,000 [29]
2004 The Passion of the Christ $611,486,736$30,000,000 [2]
2005 Crash $101,173,038$6,500,000 [21]
2010 The Intouchables $484,630,908$10,800,000 [3]
2012 Silver Linings Playbook $236,412,453$21,000,000 [9]
2013 Snowpiercer $86,758,912$40,000,000 [26]
2015 The Hateful Eight $156,480,177$44–64,000,000 [15]
2016 Moonlight $65,172,611$1.5–4,000,000 [30]
2017 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $225,874,228$180,000,000 [10]
2018 Hereditary $90,190,521$10,000,000 [24]
2019 Parasite $262,857,186$11,400,000 [7]
2022 Everything Everywhere All at Once $141,054,397$14.3–25,000,000 [48] [49] [50]
2023 Sound of Freedom $250,570,396$14,500,000 [8]
2024 Longlegs $127,961,936$10,000,000 [51]
2025 Marty Supreme $180,410,386$60–70,000,000 [52]
2026 The Drama †$81,779,678$28,000,000 [53]

Timeline of highest-grossing independent film

FilmEstablishedLength HeldRecord-setting grossRef
The Graduate 196723 Years$104,677,456 [20]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 19901 Year$202,084,756 [13]
Dances with Wolves 199113 Years$424,208,805 [54]
The Passion of the Christ 2004Ongoing$612,054,506 [55]

Biggest independent film opening weekends

The following is a list of independent films which have opened to more than $10 million.

RankFilmYearOpening weekendRef
1 The Passion of the Christ 2004$83,848,082 [56]
2 Civil War 2024$25,537,368 [57]
3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990$25,398,367 [58]
4 Kill Bill: Volume 2 2004$25,104,949 [59]
5 Fahrenheit 9/11 $23,920,637 [60]
6 The Amityville Horror 2005$23,507,007 [61]
7 Longlegs 2024$22,400,119 [62]
8 Kill Bill: Volume 1 2003$22,089,322 [63]
9 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze 1991$20,030,473 [64]
10 Sound of Freedom 2023$19,680,879 [65]
11 Terrifier 3 2024$18,928,113 [66]
12 Iron Lung 2026$18,190,786 [33] [34]
13 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 2017$17,007,624 [67]
14 Se7en 1995$13,949,807 [68]
15 RoboCop 2 1990$14,145,411 [69]
16 The Silence of the Lambs 1991$13,766,814 [6]
17 Hereditary 2018$13,575,173 [70]
18 Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare 1991$12,966,525 [71]
19 A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master 1988$12,883,403 [72]
20 Nightcrawler 2014$10,441,000 [73]
21 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey 1991$10,241,268 [74]

See also

Notes

References

  1. 1 2 "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 11 – 24/7 Wall St" . Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barker, Stephen (2020-10-17). "The 10 Highest-Grossing Independent Films Of All Time". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  3. 1 2 "Les Intouchables (2012) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  4. ↑ "Dances with Wolves (1990) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. ↑ "Se7en (1995) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  6. 1 2 "The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  7. 1 2 "Parasite". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  8. 1 2 "Sound of Freedom", Box Office Mojo , July 17, 2023, retrieved December 6, 2023
  9. 1 2 "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 6 – 24/7 Wall St" . Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  10. 1 2 "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  11. ↑ "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 9 – 24/7 Wall St" . Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  12. ↑ "Traffic". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  13. 1 2 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  14. ↑ "Kill Bill: Vol. 1". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  15. 1 2 "The Hateful Eight". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  16. ↑ "Kill Bill: Vol. 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  17. ↑ "Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  18. ↑ "Longlegs". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  19. ↑ "Civil War". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  20. 1 2 3 "The Graduate". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  21. 1 2 "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 4 – 24/7 Wall St" . Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  22. ↑ "Spotlight". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  23. ↑ "Terrifier 3". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  24. 1 2 "Hereditary". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  25. ↑ "Ralph Bakshi". The A.V. Club. 2000-12-06. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  26. 1 2 "Snowpiercer". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  27. ↑ "The Amityville Horror". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  28. ↑ "The Substance". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  29. 1 2 "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  30. 1 2 "Moonlight". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  31. ↑ "The Whale". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  32. ↑ "I, Tonya". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  33. 1 2 "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
  34. 1 2 "Iron Lung". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-01.
  35. ↑ "Midsommar". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  36. ↑ "Nightcrawler". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  37. ↑ "The Iron Claw (2023) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  38. ↑ "Past Lives". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  39. ↑ "The Witch". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  40. 1 2 Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. Internet Archive. Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press. ISBN   978-0-8357-1776-2.
  41. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  42. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  43. 1 2 "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  44. 1 2 Hughes, Mark. "The Top Ten Best Low-Budget Horror Movies Of All Time". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-11-16. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  45. 1 2 "Night of the Living Dead". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  46. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  47. ↑ "The Farewell". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  48. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (July 31, 2022). "'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Is A24's First Movie to Hit $100 Million Globally". Variety. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  49. ↑ Buchanan, Kyle (October 21, 2022). "Everything Everywhere, All Through Awards Season?". The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  50. ↑ "Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  51. ↑ "Longlegs", Box Office Mojo , July 12, 2024, retrieved April 20, 2026
  52. ↑ "Marty Supreme", Box Office Mojo , December 25, 2025, retrieved April 20, 2026
  53. ↑ "The Drama", Box Office Mojo , December 25, 2025, retrieved April 20, 2026
  54. ↑ "Dances with Wolves".
  55. ↑ "The Passion of the Christ".
  56. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  57. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  58. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  59. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  60. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  61. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  62. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  63. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  64. ↑ "Domestic 1991 Weekend 12". Box Office Mojo.
  65. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  66. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  67. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  68. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  69. ↑ "Robocop 2". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  70. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  71. ↑ "Domestic 1991 Weekend 37". Box Office Mojo.
  72. ↑ "'Nightmare' Wakes Up Nat'l B.O.". Daily Variety . August 23, 1988. p. 1.
  73. ↑ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  74. ↑ "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved February 1, 2014.
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