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)! [22] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ne Zha 2 | 2025 | $431,280,000 [6] |
2 | Detective Chinatown 3 | 2021 | $398,000,000 [7] |
3 | The Battle at Lake Changjin II (Water Gate Bridge) | 2022 | $398,000,000 [8] |
4 | Avengers: Endgame | 2019 | $330,528,623 [23] |
5 | The Wandering Earth | 2019 | $298,110,095 [18] |
6 | The Mermaid | 2016 | $274,049,983 [24] |
7 | The Captain | 2019 | $251,966,468 [25] |
8 | The Battle at Lake Changjin | 2021 | $235,000,000 [26] |
9 | Too Cool to Kill | 2022 | $217,000,000 [27] |
10 | Crazy Alien | 2019 | $214,749,033 [28] |
Rank | Film | Year | Opening (USD)! [22] |
---|---|---|---|
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 | Deadpool & Wolverine | 2024 | $211,435,291 |
7 | Jurassic World | 2015 | $208,806,270 |
8 | The Avengers | 2012 | $207,438,708 |
9 | Black Panther | 2018 | $202,003,951 |
10 | The Lion King | 2019 | $191,770,759 |
A list of the biggest opening days of release, including previews from midnight or the previous evening.
Rank | Movie name | Year | Opening day [29] [30] |
---|---|---|---|
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 | Deadpool & Wolverine | 2024 | $96,189,710 |
7 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | 2011 | $91,071,119 |
8 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | 2022 | $90,720,784 |
9 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | 2019 | $89,615,288 |
10 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | 2015 | $84,424,532 |
![]() | 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 [29] [30] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Detective Chinatown 3 | 2021 | $157,660,685 [a] |
2 | Avengers: Endgame | 2019 | $108,331,722 [b] |
3 | The Battle at Lake Changjin II | 2022 | $105,000,000 [33] |
4 | Monster Hunt 2 | 2018 | $86,166,961 [c] [ original research ] this is equivalent to $86,166,961.}} |
5 | Avengers: Infinity War | 2018 | $70,567,331 [d] |
6 | The Fate of the Furious | 2017 | $69,699,875 [e] |
7 | Ne Zha 2 | 2025 | $67,220,000 [6] |
8 | Furious 7 | 2015 | $64,179,849 [f] |
9 | Crazy Alien | 2019 | $60,833,272 [g] |
10 | F9 | 2021 | $58,829,377 [h] |
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.
American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive-produced by Jason Hall, based on the memoir of the same name by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film follows the life of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense. While Kyle was celebrated for his military successes, his tours of duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life. It stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya, with Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Kevin Lacz, Navid Negahban, and Keir O'Donnell in supporting roles.
2019 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, critics' lists of the best films of 2019, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, and movie programming. Avengers: Endgame was the year's highest grossing film and became the highest-grossing film of all-time until Avatar regained the top spot in 2021. United Artists celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Zootopia is a 2016 American animated buddy cop comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore from a screenplay by Jared Bush and Phil Johnston. 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. The film follows a rookie police officer rabbit and a con artist fox as they work together to uncover a conspiracy involving the disappearance of predators.
The Secret Life of Pets is a 2016 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. 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. The film's plot follows the relationship between a spoiled terrier named Max and a giant, unruly dog named Duke. It also follows what other pets do when their owners are gone for the day.
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.
Sing 2 is a 2021 American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. 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 follows 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.
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.
Downton Abbey: A New Era is a 2022 historical drama film directed by Simon Curtis from a screenplay by Julian Fellowes. It is the sequel to Downton Abbey (2019) and the second film in the Downton Abbey franchise. Set in 1928, it follows the Crawley family on a journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess's newly inherited villa.
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.