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.
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.
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(July 2022) |
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] |
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 |
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 |
This section may contain citations that do not verify the text. The reason given is: The Chinese grosses are WP:Original research. The US dollar figure is generated by applying the conversion rate in the second source to the Remninbi figure in the first source. Currency conversions are not WP:Routine calculations.(December 2019) |
Rank | Movie name | Year | Opening day [28] [29] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Detective Chinatown 3 | 2021 | $157,660,685 [lower-alpha 1] |
2 | Avengers: Endgame | 2019 | $108,331,722 [lower-alpha 2] |
3 | The Battle at Lake Changjin II | 2022 | $105,000,000 [32] |
4 | Monster Hunt 2 | 2018 | $86,166,961 [lower-alpha 3] [ original research ] this is equivalent to $86,166,961.}} |
5 | Avengers: Infinity War | 2018 | $70,567,331 [lower-alpha 4] |
6 | The Fate of the Furious | 2017 | $69,699,875 [lower-alpha 5] |
7 | Furious 7 | 2015 | $64,179,849 [lower-alpha 6] |
8 | Crazy Alien | 2019 | $60,833,272 [lower-alpha 7] |
9 | F9 | 2021 | $58,829,377 [lower-alpha 8] |
10 | Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back | 2017 | $57,984,879 [lower-alpha 9] |
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 |
These are the films that, when first released, set the opening record in the United States and Canada.
2017 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of films released, and notable deaths.
Zootopia is a 2016 American animated buddy cop action comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, co-directed by Jared Bush, and produced by Clark Spencer, from a screenplay written by Bush and Phil Johnston, and a story by Howard, Moore, Bush, Johnston, Jim Reardon, Josie Trinidad, and Jennifer Lee. The film stars the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy Chong, J. K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, and Shakira. Taking place in the titular city where anthropomorphic mammals coexist, it tells a story of an unlikely partnership between a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist as they uncover a criminal conspiracy involving the disappearance of predators.
The Secret Life of Pets is a 2016 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, from a screenplay written by Brian Lynch and the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film stars the voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, and Albert Brooks.
Wolf Warrior 2 is a 2017 Chinese action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Wu Jing, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Hans Zhang, and Wu Gang. The film is a sequel to 2015's Wolf Warrior. It was released in China on 27 July 2017. The film tells a story of a loose cannon Chinese soldier named Leng Feng who takes on special missions around the world. In this sequel, he finds himself in an unnamed African country protecting medical aid workers from local rebels and vicious arms dealers.
The King's Man is a 2021 British-American spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from his story and a screenplay he wrote with Karl Gajdusek. The third installment in the British Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, in-turn based on a concept by Millar and Vaughn, it is a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). Its ensemble cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance. It focuses on several events during World War I and the birth of the Kingsman organization.
Sing 2 is a 2021 American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to Sing (2016), it was written and directed by Garth Jennings, co-directed by Christophe Lourdelet, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy. The story is set after the events of the previous film with Buster Moon and his group putting on a show in Redshore City while working to impress an entertainment mogul and enlist a reclusive rock star to perform with the group.
The Bad Guys is a 2022 American animated heist comedy film loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Pierre Perifel from a screenplay by Etan Cohen, and stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh. It tells the story of a criminal group of anthropomorphic animals who, upon being caught, pretend to attempt to reform themselves as model citizens, only for their leader to find himself genuinely drawn to changing his ways for good as a new villain has his own plans.
2021 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, and movie programming.
Detective Chinatown 3 is a 2021 Chinese comedy mystery buddy film directed and written by Chen Sicheng, starring Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran. It is a sequel to Detective Chinatown 2 (2018) and is the third installment in the Detective Chinatown series. It was released on 12 February 2021.
Downton Abbey: A New Era is a 2022 historical drama film and the sequel to the 2019 film Downton Abbey. The film was written by Julian Fellowes, the creator and writer of the television series of the same name, and was directed by Simon Curtis.
Only Fools Rush In is a 2022 road trip comedy-drama film written and directed by Han Han. It was released in China on 1 February 2022 and was received poorly by audiences.
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]
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%
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.
The global opening is $373.5M with plenty of lucrative holiday play ahead
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.
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.