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.
Evaluation of the year
In his article highlighting the best movies of 2019,
Richard Brody
Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999.
Education
Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...
of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' said, "It's the year of apocalyptic cinema of the highest order, the year in which three of our best filmmakers have responded with vast ambition, invention, and inspiration to the crises at hand, including the threats to American democracy, the catastrophic menaces arising from global warming, the corrosive cruelty of ethnic hatreds and nationalist prejudices, and the poisonous overconcentration of money and power. At the same time, it's a year of inside-movies practicalities, of special attention to the business at hand, because of the structural threats to the movie business from new and powerful players. The major crisis specific to cinema outleaps even the great merits of individual movies and invokes basic and comprehensive questions of which movies can be seen and how those movies are acknowledged. It's a terrific year for movies, but it would seem much less so if we only considered movies in wide release. Versions of that refrain come up every year, but what used to be merely a gap between the multiplexes and limited releases has now become an abyss."
Highest-grossing films
The top films released in 2019 by worldwide gross are as follows:
''
Avengers: Endgame'' became the fifth film to gross $2 billion worldwide and the
highest-grossing film of all time. ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...
'', ''
Frozen II
''Frozen 2'' (stylized as ''Frozen II'') is a 2019 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 58th animated film produced by the studi ...
'', ''
Spider-Man: Far From Home'', ''
Captain Marvel'', ''
Joker'', ''
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'', ''
Toy Story 4
''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' ( ...
'', and ''
Aladdin'' all grossed $1 billion, with the second, third, and eighth as the
first, second, and fifth highest-grossing animated films, respectively. ''Joker'' became the first R-rated film in history to surpass $1 billion.
2019 box office records
*The
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
became the
first film franchise to gross $18 billion, $19 billion, $20 billion, $21 billion, and $22 billion with the release of ''
Captain Marvel'', ''
Avengers: Endgame'', and ''
Spider-Man: Far From Home''.
* The ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' franchise became the
second film franchise to gross $10billion with the release of ''
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker''.
* China set the all-time biggest global one-month record in February 2019 with ($1.63 billion), as a result of
Chinese New Year season, surpassing the previous record set by China in
February 2018. The month's highest-grossing film was the domestic Chinese film ''The Wandering Earth'', while the highest-grossing foreign film that month was ''
Alita: Battle Angel''.
Studio records
*
Walt Disney Studios became the first studio in history to surpass $10 billion in worldwide box office grosses in a year.
* ''Spider-Man: Far From Home'' became Sony Pictures' highest-grossing film. The record would be surpassed by 2021's ''
Spider-Man: No Way Home''.
* With ''Toy Story 4'',
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
became the first animation studio to have four animated films (along with ''
Toy Story 3
''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 2'' (1999). It was d ...
'', ''
Finding Dory
''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Lindsey Collins and written by Stanton and Vict ...
'', and ''
Incredibles 2
''Incredibles 2'' is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and the second ...
'') each surpass $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and also the second animated film series to have two installments surpass $1 billion at the worldwide box office, after the ''
Despicable Me'' franchise in 2017.
Film records
* ''
The Wandering Earth
''The Wandering Earth'' () is a 2019 Chinese science fiction film directed by Frant Gwo, loosely based on the 2000 short story of the same name by Liu Cixin. The film stars Qu Chuxiao, Li Guangjie, Ng Man-tat, Zhao Jinmai, Wu Jing and Qu Ji ...
'' set the all-time opening record in China, grossing in its first seven days, which also made it the second biggest opening in any territory (after ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' in North America).
* ''
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
''Detective Pikachu'' (also known as ''Pokémon: Detective Pikachu'' and released as in Japan after the original game) is a 2019 comedy film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the ...
'' earned the best North American opening for a
film based on a video game, with a debut. By June 14, 2019, ''Detective Pikachu'' became the highest-grossing
video game film adaptation in North America, surpassing ''
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001).
* ''Avengers: Endgame'' set
numerous box office records,
including becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.
* ''
Capernaum
Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...
'' became the highest-grossing
Middle-Eastern film of all time, having earned more than worldwide (including in China) by 16 May 2019.
* ''
Aladdin'' became the highest-grossing release of all time in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, and had the year's biggest opening weekend for a
foreign film
World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive d ...
as well as this year's
highest-grossing foreign film in Japan to date. The film has also surpassed ''
Independence Day'' (1996) to become the highest-grossing film of
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
's career. The film also became the highest-grossing Disney film ever in South Korea, not including films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
* In June, ''
Toy Story 4
''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' ( ...
'' set the record for the
biggest opening for an animated film, with $244.5 million. However, the record was surpassed the following month by ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...
'', which grossed $246 million. The latter then became the fastest animated film to gross $1 billion worldwide, doing so in 21 days, surpassing ''
Incredibles 2
''Incredibles 2'' is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and the second ...
'' (46 days). ''The Lion King'' then surpassed ''
Frozen'' (2013) to become the
highest-grossing animated film and
highest-grossing musical film of all time in only 31 days. On the other hand, ''Toy Story 4'' surpassed ''
Toy Story 3
''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 2'' (1999). It was d ...
'' to become the highest-grossing film of the series.
* ''The Lion King'' set the record for the widest opening weekend and widest release ever for North American film history, with 4,725 and 4,802 theaters, respectively. On August 11, the film surpassed ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
'' (2017) as the highest-grossing remake of all time worldwide. On August 26, the film become the first animated film to grossed $1 billion at overseas box office outside North America.
**''The Lion King'' was also the first animated film since ''
Finding Nemo
''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was writ ...
'' in 2003 to be at the time the highest-grossing animated film of all time but not the highest-grossing film of its year overall.
* ''
Ne Zha
Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity.
Origins
According to Meir Shahar, Nez ...
'' set the record for the biggest opening for an animated film in China, with $91.5 million, this was also the highest for a non-Hollywood animated film. It later became the first non-Hollywood animated film to earn $500 million (in 17 days), $600 million (in 25 days), and $700 million (in 46 days) and the first animated film not released by
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, or
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
to do so.
* ''Joker'' became the highest-grossing
R-rated film of all time, and the first R-rated film to pass the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office.
* In November, ''
Frozen II
''Frozen 2'' (stylized as ''Frozen II'') is a 2019 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 58th animated film produced by the studi ...
'' surpassed the record set by ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...
'' earlier in July, as the biggest opening weekend for an animated and musical film with $358.5 million worldwide.
* 2019 is the first year to have nine films cross the billion-dollar milestone, surpassing
2015's and
2018's record of five billion-dollar films. Additionally,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
(not counting
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
or
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
) saw four films cross $1 billion, the studio's highest amount in any calendar year.
Events
* March 20 –
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
completes
its acquisition of the assets of
21st Century Fox, which includes
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and its subsidiaries.
* April 26 – ''
Avengers: Endgame'' is released in theatres worldwide, breaking many box-office records, including becoming the second
highest grossing movie of all time.
* November 23 – After disorder following screening of the gang-themed UK film ''
Blue Story
''Blue Story'' is a 2019 British musical crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) through the medium of rap and starring Stephen Odubola and Micheal Ward, with Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Khali Best, Karla-Simone Sp ...
'' (released the previous day) at
Star City, in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England, UK cinema chains cancel all screenings of the film.
* December 4 -
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
agreed to merge back into one entity after 13 years.
Both companies came to an agreement on the management team for the merger. The reunited company's new name is
ViacomCBS
Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...
.
Award ceremonies
Festivals
List of some of the film festivals for 2019 that have been accredited by the
International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
Awards
List of 2019 films
The list of films released in 2019, arranged by country, are as follows:
*
List of American films of 2019
This is a list of American films released in 2019.
Box office
The highest-grossing American films released in 2019, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows:
January–March
April–June
July–September
October ...
*
List of Argentine films of 2019
A list of Argentine films released in 2019 in film, 2019.
2019 films
January–March
April–June
July–September
October–December
2019 box office
Since January 1 until March 9, Argentine films sold less th ...
*
List of Australian films of 2019
This is a list of Australian films scheduled for release in 2019.
Film releases
See also
* 2019 in Australia
* 2019 in Australian television
* List of 2019 box office number-one films in Australia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian ...
*
List of Bangladeshi films of 2019
This article lists feature-length films and full-length documentaries that were at least partly produced by the Bangladeshi film industry and were released in Bangladesh in 2019. Short films and made-for-TV films are not included. Films are order ...
*
List of British films of 2019
*
List of Canadian films of 2019
This is a list of Canadian films released in 2019:
Films
See also
* 2019 in Canada
* 2019 in Canadian television
Notes
References
External linksFeature Films Released In 2019 With Country of Origin Canadaat IMDb
{{incomplete list, d ...
*
List of Chinese films of 2019
The following is a list of Chinese films scheduled for release in 2019.
Highest-grossing films
These are the top 10 grossing Chinese films that were released in China in 2019:
Films
January – March
April – June
July – September
...
*
List of Filipino films of 2019
*
List of French films of 2019
A list of French-produced films scheduled for release in 2019.
Films
Notes
External links
French films of 2019
at the Internet Movie Database
Lists of 2019 films by country or language, French
Lists of French films by year, 2019
2019 ...
*
List of Hong Kong films of 2019
A list of Hong Kong films released in 2019:
See also
*2019 in Hong Kong
References
External links
IMDB list of Hong Kong films
{{2019 films
2019
Films
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kon ...
*
List of Indian films of 2019
This is the list of Indian films that are released in 2019
Box office collection
The list of highest-grossing Indian films released in 2019, by worldwide box office gross revenue, are as follows:
Lists of Indian films of 2019
* Li ...
*
List of Indonesian films
A list of films produced in Indonesia by year of release. For films produced before 1950, see List of films of the Dutch East Indies.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
See also
* Cinema of Indonesia
References
E ...
*
List of Japanese films of 2019
This is a list of Japanese films that were released, or are scheduled to release in 2019.
Highest-grossing films
The following is a list of the 10 highest-grossing Japanese films released at the Japanese box office during 2019.
Film releases
...
*
List of Malaysian films of 2019
This is a list of Malaysian films produced and released in 2019. Most of these films are produced in the Malay language, but there also a significant number of them that are produced in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Tamil.
2019
January – ...
*
List of Maldivian films of 2019
*
List of Pakistani films of 2019
This is a list of Pakistani films released in 2019.
Highest grossing films
The top films released in 2019 by worldwide gross are as follows:
:''Background color indicates the current releases''
Events
Award ceremonies
Releases
Januar ...
*
List of Portuguese films of 2019
A list of Cinema of Portugal, Portuguese films that were first released in 2019.
See also
* 2019 in Portugal
References
{{2019 films
Lists of Portuguese films by year
Lists of 2019 films by country or language
2019 in Portugal ...
*
List of Russian films of 2019
A list of films produced in Russia in 2019 (see 2019 in film).
Film releases
Cultural Russian films
* ''Anna (2019 feature film), Anna'' is a 2019 French action thriller film directed by Luc Besson and starring Sasha Luss.
* ''The Prisone ...
*
List of South Korean films of 2019
The following is a list of South Korean films released in 2019.
Box office
The highest-grossing South Korean films released in 2019, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows:
Released
References
External links
*
{{DEF ...
*
List of Turkish films
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
Deaths
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 In Film
Film by year
Film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
Mass media timelines by year