List of highest-grossing openings for films

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.[citation needed]

Biggest worldwide openings

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.

Rank Film Year Opening (USD) Ref
1Avengers: Endgame2019$1,223,641,414
2Spider-Man: Brand New Day2026$932,091,572
3Avengers: Infinity War2018$640,521,291
4Spider-Man: No Way Home2021$600,506,041
5Zootopia 22025$560,333,554
6The Fate of The Furious2017$541,937,239
7Star Wars: The Force Awakens2015$528,966,675
8Jurassic World2015$525,504,128
9Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 22011$483,189,427
10Captain Marvel2019$456,718,598
11Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness2022$452,000,000
12Star Wars: The Last Jedi2017$450,821,889
13Deadpool & Wolverine2024$444,735,291
14Avatar: The Way of Water2022$441,703,887
15Ne Zha 22025$431,280,000
16Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice2016$422,507,347
17Detective Chinatown 32021$399,682,005
18The Battle at Lake Changjin II (Water Gate Bridge)2022$398,000,000
19Furious 72015$397,627,459
20Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince2009$394,022,354
21The Avengers2012$392,538,708
22Avengers: Age of Ultron2015$392,471,109
23Moana 22024$389,300,000 [citation needed]
24Jurassic World Dominion2022$386,000,000
25Transformers: Dark of the Moon2011$382,425,000
26Spider-Man 32007$381,660,892
27Captain America: Civil War2016$379,539,142
28The Super Mario Bros. Movie2023$377,200,000
29Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker2019$373,500,000
30Iron Man 32013$372,553,677
31The Super Mario Galaxy Movie2026$372,500,000
32Black Panther2018$371,367,531
33Frozen 22019$358,200,000
34Beauty and the Beast2017$357,026,593
35Barbie2023$356,322,044
36Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides2011$350,653,677
37Avatar: Fire and Ash2025$347,100,000
38Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End2007$343,972,864
39Lilo & Stitch2025$341,000,000
40The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 22012$340,667,634
41Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2007$332,715,157
42Black Panther: Wakanda Forever2022$331,600,000
43Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 12010$330,017,372
44Fast X2023$323,838,710 [citation needed]
45Jurassic World Rebirth2025$322,099,000
46A Minecraft Movie2025$313,700,000
47Toy Story 52026$312,000,000 [citation needed]
48Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith2005$303,949,700
49Transformers: Age of Extinction2014$302,138,390
50Thor: Love and Thunder2022$302,000,000

Individual markets

Biggest openings

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.

Rank Film Year Opening (USD) Ref
1Ne Zha 22025$431,280,000
2Detective Chinatown 32021$399,682,005
3The Battle at Lake Changjin II (Water Gate Bridge)2022$398,000,000
4Avengers: Endgame2019$330,528,623
5The Wandering Earth2019$298,110,095
6The Mermaid2016$274,049,983
7Zootopia 22025$271,724,258
8The Captain2019$251,966,468
9The Battle at Lake Changjin2021$235,000,000
10Too Cool to Kill2022$217,000,000

United States and Canada

Rank Film Year Opening (USD)
1Spider-Man: Brand New Day2026$360,091,572
2Avengers: Endgame2019$357,115,007
3Spider-Man: No Way Home2021$260,138,569
4Avengers: Infinity War2018$257,698,183
5Star Wars: The Force Awakens2015$247,966,675
6Star Wars: The Last Jedi2017$220,009,584
7Deadpool & Wolverine2024$211,435,291
8Jurassic World2015$208,806,270
9The Avengers2012$207,438,708
10Black Panther2018$202,003,951

Biggest opening day

United States and Canada

A list of the biggest opening days of release. Opening day grosses also include earnings from previews which have ranged from noon on the previous day to midnight, and can also include multiple days of previews.

Rank Film Year Opening day Previews
1 Spider-Man: Brand New Day 2026 $169,843,039 $72 million from Wednesday evening and Thursday preview screenings
2 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $157,461,641 $60 million from Thursday evening preview screenings
3 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 $121,964,712 $50 million from Thursday evening preview screenings
4 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 $119,119,282 $57 million from Thursday evening preview screenings
5 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $106,334,939 $39 million from Thursday evening preview screenings
6 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 $104,684,491 $45 million from Thursday evening preview screenings
7 Deadpool & Wolverine 2024 $96,189,710 $38.5 million from Thursday preview screenings
8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2011 $91,071,119 $43.5 million from midnight preview screenings
9 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022 $90,720,784 $36 million from Thursday preview screenings
10 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2019 $89,615,288 $45 million from Thursday evening preview screenings

China

Rank Film Year Opening day Ref
1 Detective Chinatown 3 2021 $157,660,685
2 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $108,331,722
3 The Battle at Lake Changjin II 2022 $105,000,000
4 Monster Hunt 2 2018 $86,166,961 [original research]
5 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $70,567,331
6 The Fate of the Furious 2017 $69,699,875
7 Ne Zha 2 2025 $67,220,000
8 Furious 7 2015 $64,179,849
9 Crazy Alien 2019 $60,833,272

Record holders

Worldwide

These are the films that, when first released, set the opening three-day weekend record after going into wide release.

YearFilmOpening (USD in millions)
2001Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone$114.1
2002Spider-Man$125.9
2002Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones$179.3
2002The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers$189.9
2003The Matrix Revolutions$201.4
2003The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King$250.0
2005Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith$303.9
2007Spider-Man 3$381.7
2009Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince$394.0
2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2$483.2
2015Jurassic World$525.5
2015Star Wars: The Force Awakens$529.0
2017The Fate of the Furious$541.9
2018Avengers: Infinity War$640.5
2019Avengers: Endgame$1,223.6

United States and Canada

These are the films that, when first released, set the opening record in the United States and Canada.

Year Film Opening (USD) Ref
1963 King Kong vs. Godzilla $337,911 [dubious – discuss]
1967 You Only Live Twice $600,000 [dubious – discuss]
1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service $1,200,000
1971 Diamonds Are Forever $1,569,249
1974 The Man with the Golden Gun $3,441,228
1975Jaws$7,061,513
1977 The Deep $8,124,316
1978Jaws 2$9,866,023
1978 Star Wars (re-release)$10,166,336
1978 Every Which Way but Loose$10,272,294
1979Star Trek: The Motion Picture$11,926,421
1981Superman II$14,100,523
1982Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan$14,347,221
1982 Rocky III $16,015,408
1983Return of the Jedi$23,019,618
1984Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom$25,337,110
1987Beverly Hills Cop II$26,348,555
1989Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade$29,355,021
1989 Ghostbusters II$29,472,894
1989 Batman$40,505,884
1992Batman Returns$45,687,711
1993Jurassic Park$47,026,828
1995Batman Forever$52,784,433
1997The Lost World: Jurassic Park$72,132,785
2001Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone$90,294,621
2002Spider-Man$114,844,116
2006Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest$135,634,554
2007Spider-Man 3$151,116,516
2008The Dark Knight$158,411,483
2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2$169,189,427
2012The Avengers$207,438,708
2015Jurassic World$208,806,270
2015Star Wars: The Force Awakens$247,966,675
2018Avengers: Infinity War$257,815,482
2019Avengers: Endgame$357,115,007
2026 Spider-Man: Brand New Day $360,091,572

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ According to contemporaneous reports, The Deep opened to $8,124,316 on 800 screens on the weekend of June 17, 1977 beating the record set by Jaws. Current websites only record data for 731 screens with a gross of $6.8 million. Using the lower figure for The Deep, Jaws lost the overall weekend record to Star Wars in 1977 with a gross of $7,195,573 in its eleventh weekend.
  2. ↑ Every Which Way but Loose held the opening weekend record until the following year but it lost the overall weekend record on the last weekend in 1978 to Superman, which recorded a gross of $10,363,384 in its third weekend.
  1. ↑ According to EntGroup, Detective Chinatown 3 grossed CN¥1,018,220,000 on its opening day of 12 February 2021. According to the 2021 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $157,660,685.
  2. ↑ According to EntGroup, Avengers: Endgame grossed CN¥728,130,000 on its opening day of 24 April 2019. According to the 2019 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $108,331,722.
  3. ↑ According to EntGroup, Monster Hunt 2 grossed CN¥546,850,000 on its opening day of 16 February 2018. According to the 2018 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $86,166,961.
  4. ↑ According to EntGroup, Avengers: Infinity War grossed CN¥446,790,000 on its opening day of 11 May 2018. According to the 2018 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $70,567,331.
  5. ↑ According to EntGroup, The Fate of the Furious grossed CN¥479,800,000 on its opening day of 14 April 2017. According to the 2017 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $69,699,875.
  6. ↑ According to EntGroup, Furious 7 grossed CN¥398,820,000 on its opening day of 12 April 2015. According to the 2015 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $64,179,849.
  7. ↑ According to EntGroup, Crazy Alien grossed CN¥410,290,000 on its opening day of 5 February 2019. According to the 2019 exchange rate on the day of release, this is equivalent to $60,833,272.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 "Worldwide Openings". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "'Spider-Man: Brand New Day': All The Box Office Records Broken". Deadline Hollywood. 2026-08-03. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  3. ↑ "Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2026-08-04. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  4. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-12-19). "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Is Even More Amazing With $601M Global Debut For 3rd Biggest WW Bow Ever; $341M Snared Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  5. ↑ Mcclintock, Pamela (December 1, 2025). "Box Office: 'Zootopia 2' Rules Thanksgiving With $158M U.S. Opening, Record-Smashing $560M Globally". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  6. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (May 8, 2022). "'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' Opens $450M Global Portal, $265M From Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 8, 2022. 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]
  7. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 9, 2022). "'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' Kick-Starts Summer Box Office With $187M Opening; Best Debut Ever For Sam Raimi – Monday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 14, 2022. 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%
  8. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2024-07-28). "'Deadpool & Wolverine' On A Tear With $438M+ Global Opening, Biggest R-Rated Debut Ever – International Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  9. ↑ "Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2022-12-20. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "Daily Box Office > China". entgroup.cn.
  11. 1 2 "Detective Chinatown 3 (唐人街探案3) - International". The Numbers. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  12. 1 2 "Water Gate Bridge: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  13. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 11, 2022). "'Jurassic World Dominion' Roaring To $386M Global Through Sunday". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  14. ↑ "'Super Mario Bros' Hits High Scores: Record Opening For Animated Pic At $377M+ WW, 5-Day U.S. Record $204M+; 'Air' Soars To $20M – Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2023-04-09. 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.
  15. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2019-12-22). "'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Awakens With $198M Overseas, $374M Global; 'Jumanji' Tops $300M WW – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-07. The global opening is $373.5M with plenty of lucrative holiday play ahead
  16. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2026-04-05). "Box Office: 'Super Mario Galaxy Movie' Opens to Record $372M Global". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  17. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2019-11-25). "'Frozen 2' Even Hotter With $358M+ Global Bow; Biggest Animated Opening Ever WW & Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-07. 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.
  18. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2019-11-25). "How Disney Turned 'Frozen 2' Into Biggest Global Toon Debut Of All-Time With $358M+, November Animated Pic U.S. Record $130M". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-07. 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.
  19. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (2023-07-23). "Greta Gerwig Makes Box Office History as 'Barbie' Scores Biggest Opening Weekend Ever for Female Director". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  20. ↑ "'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Burns Bright at the Box Office with $347.1 Million Global Opening". The Walt Disney Company. 2025-12-22. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  21. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2025-05-25). "'Lilo & Stitch' Surfs To Galactic $341.7M Global Opening; 'Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning' Lights The Fuse With Franchise-Best $204M WW Launch – International Box Office. If counting just the domestic Friday-Saturday-Sunday, the worldwide total is $305.7M. Domestic opening actuals ended up at 146M, while international actuals ended up at 159.7M". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  22. ↑ Buckley, Thomas (November 13, 2022). "Disney's 'Wakanda Forever' Reaps $181.3 Million, Lifting AMC". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  23. ↑ Gant, Charles (November 14, 2022). "'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' delivers second-best opening of 2022". Screen International. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Jurassic World Rebirth". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  25. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2025-04-07). "'A Minecraft Movie' Mushrooms To $163M, Higher Than 'Barbie's Opening & Record For Video Game Pic As Warner Bros Brings Box Office Back – Update". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-04-12.
  26. ↑ "'A Minecraft Movie' Takes Over World With $301M Global Opening – International Box Office". Deadline. 2025-04-06. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
  27. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2022-07-10). "'Thor: Love And Thunder' Nails $302M Global Debut; 'Minions' Gru-ving To $400M WW – International Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  28. 1 2 3 4 "Opening Weekends". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  29. ↑ "Avengers: Endgame - Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  30. ↑ "The Wandering Earth: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  31. ↑ "The Mermaid: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  32. ↑ "List of highest-grossing openings for films", Wikipedia, 2025-11-30, retrieved 2025-11-30
  33. ↑ "The Captain: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  34. ↑ "The Battle at Lake Changjin: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  35. ↑ "Too Cool to Kill: Chinese Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  36. ↑ "5 Biggest Thursday Night Preview Grosses In Box Office History, Ranked". Yahoo Entertainment. 2026-07-30. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  37. 1 2 "Top Single Day Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Single-Day Box Office Ranking". endata.com.cn. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  39. ↑ Moreau, Jordan (2026-07-31). "'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Sets Box Office Record With $72 Million in Previews, Beating 'Avengers: Endgame'". Variety. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 "5 Biggest Thursday Night Preview Grosses In Box Office History, Ranked". Yahoo Entertainment. 2026-07-30. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  41. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (2024-07-26). "Box Office: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Reaps Record $38.5M in Previews, Best Ever for an R-Rated Film, and More". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  42. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (2024-07-26). "Box Office: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Reaps Record $38.5M in Previews, Best Ever for an R-Rated Film, and More". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  43. ↑ Lang, Brent (2022-05-06). "Box Office: 'Doctor Strange 2' Opens to Astonishing $36 Million in Previews". Variety. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  44. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (2019-12-20). "Box Office: 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Blasts Off With Big $40M in Thursday Previews". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
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  54. ↑ "'Kong-Godzilla' Draws". Exhibitors Daily Review. Vol. 94. Exhibitors Trade Review, Inc. 1963. p. 4. Universal's "King Kong Versus Godzilla" grossed $337,911 on its first five days in 58 of the circuit and independent houses in the Metropolitan New York area, including $177,320 in the 26 RKO Theatres.
  55. ↑ "Premiere & Press". MI6-HQ.com. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  56. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films [Week Ending December 24]". Variety. 31 December 1969.
  57. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 29, 1971. p. 9.
  58. ↑ "$3 Mil 'Golden' B.O.". Daily Variety. December 27, 1974. p. 11.
  59. ↑ Murphy, A.D. (21 June 1977). "'Deep' Opening a 52-year Col Peak at $8.1 mil". Variety.
  60. ↑ Lewis, Richard Warren (July 3, 1977). "The Selling of 'The Deep'". The New York Times. p. 45. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  61. ↑ "The Deep (1977) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  62. ↑ "Star Wars (1977) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  63. 1 2 "Weekend Record Through the Years". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
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  65. ↑ "Box Office History for Rocky Movies". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved January 3, 2012.