The following is a list of the highest-grossing opening weekends for films. The list is dominated by recent films due to
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
, steadily increasing production and marketing budgets, and modern films opening on more screens.
Biggest worldwide openings on record
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
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' is a 2011 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the second of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hal ...
'' 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.
Individual country records
Biggest openings in China
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.
Biggest openings in the United States and Canada
Biggest opening day in the United States
A list of the biggest opening days of release, including previews from midnight or the previous evening.
Biggest opening day in China
}
, -
, 5
, ''
Avengers: Infinity War''
,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, $70,567,331
, -
, 6
, ''
The Fate of the Furious
''The Fate of the Furious'' (alternatively known as ''F8'' and titled on-screen as ''Fast & Furious 8'' internationally) is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to '' Furious 7'' ...
''
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, $69,699,875
, -
, 7
, ''
Furious 7
''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...
''
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, $64,179,849
, -
, 8
, ''
Crazy Alien
''Crazy Alien'' () is a 2019 Chinese science-fiction comedy film directed by Ning Hao and written by Sun Xiaohang, Wu Nan, Dong Runnian, Liu Xiaodan and Pan Yiran. The film stars Huang Bo and Shen Teng in the lead roles. It was released in China ...
''
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, $60,833,272
, -
, 9
, ''
F9''
,
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, $58,829,377
, -
, 10
, ''
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back''
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, $57,984,879
Record holders
Previous opening weekend record holders worldwide
These are the films that, when first released, set the opening three-day weekend record after going into wide release.
Previous opening weekend record holders in the United States and Canada
These are the films that, when first released, set the opening record in the United States and Canada.
See also
*
List of fastest-grossing films
The success of a film is assessed by trade publications (such as Box Office Mojo and ''Variety (magazine), Variety'') primarily by its theatrical box office earnings. Although several other revenue streams also generate revenue (such as theatrical ...
*
List of fastest-selling products
This is a list of the fastest-selling product superlatives. The definition of "fastest-selling" typically refers to sales results in the first week of a product's release, (i.e., which product had the biggest launch). Sometimes, rather than compa ...
*
List of highest-grossing openings for animated films
The following is a list of the highest-grossing opening weekends for animated films. The list is dominated by recent films due to steadily increasing marketing budgets, and modern films opening on more screens. Another contributing factor is inflat ...
*
List of highest-grossing second weekends for films
The following is a list of the highest-grossing second weekends for films. Usually by the second weekend in the U.S. and Canada, studios can have an idea of what the final gross may be now that factors such as word-of-mouth and increased competiti ...
*
Second weekend in box office performance
In the United States, a film's box office gross in its second weekend of theatrical release is one of several factors used to predict overall box office performance. Most films experience a decline in box office gross in their second weekend, but a ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biggest opening weekends
Openings