List of biggest opening weekends
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This is the list of the 200 films that had made the most by the end of their first weekend on release in the United States of America and Canada. This list includes movies in other weekends that had a limited opening.
What is notable about this list is that not many films released before the mid-to-late 1990s are on it. This is mainly because movies used to have small (by today's standards) opening weekends yet would go on to become blockbusters, whereas today, filmgoers tend to want to see the film when it first comes out, and for the most part, begin to lose interest in it after about its second weekend.
[edit] Biggest opening weekends
Main source: The Numbers
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) ($135,634,554)
- Spider-Man (2002) ($114,844,116)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) ($108,435,841)
- Shrek 2 (2004) ($108,037,878)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) ($102,750,665)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) ($102,335,066)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) ($93,687,367)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003) ($91,774,413)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) ($90,294,621)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) ($88,357,488)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004) ($88,156,227)
- X2 (2003) ($85,558,731)
- The Passion of the Christ (2004) ($83,848,082)
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) ($80,027,814)
- The Da Vinci Code (2006) ($77,073,388)
- Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) ($73,071,188)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) ($72,629,713)
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) ($72,135,785)
- The Incredibles (2004) ($70,467,623)
- Finding Nemo (2003) ($70,251,710)
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004) ($68,743,584)
- Planet of the Apes (2001) ($68,532,960)
- The Mummy Returns (2001) ($68,139,035)
- Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) ($68,033,544)
- Bruce Almighty (2003) ($67,953,330)
- Rush Hour 2 (2001) ($67,408,222)
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) ($65,556,312)
- War of the Worlds (2005) ($64,878,725)
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) ($64,810,970)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001) ($62,577,067)
- Hulk (2003) ($62,128,420)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) ($62,007,528)
- Cars (2006) ($60,119,509)
- Signs (2002) ($60,117,080)
- Pearl Harbor (2001) ($59,078,912)
- Hannibal (2001) ($58,003,121)
- Mission: Impossible II (2000) ($57,845,297)
- Toy Story 2 (1999) ($57,388,839)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) ($56,178,450)
- Fantastic Four (2005) ($56,061,504)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) ($55,820,330)
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) ($54,917,604)
- X-Men (2000) ($54,471,475)
- Scooby-Doo (2002) ($54,155,312)
- Batman Forever (1995) ($52,784,433)
- Superman Returns (2006) ($52,535,096)
- The Bourne Supremacy (2004) ($52,521,865)
- I, Robot (2004) ($52,179,887)
- Men in Black 2 (2002) ($52,148,751)
- Van Helsing (2004) ($51,748,040)
- 8 Mile (2002) ($51,240,555)
- Men in Black (1997) ($51,068,455)
- Jurassic Park III (2001) ($50,771,645)
- The Village (2004) ($50,746,142)
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) ($50,472,480)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) ($50,342,878)
- Independence Day (1996) ($50,228,264)
- Jurassic Park (1993) ($50,159,460)
- King Kong (2005) ($50,130,145)
- Batman Begins (2005) ($48,745,440)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003) ($48,475,154)
- Scary Movie 3 (2003) ($48,113,770)
- Mission: Impossible III (2006) ($47,743,273)
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) ($47,735,743)
- The Longest Yard (2005) ($47,606,480)
- Shark Tale (2004) ($47,604,606)
- Madagascar (2005) ($47,224,594)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ($47,211,490)
- Die Another Day (2002) ($47,072,020)
- Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) ($47,042,215)
- Troy (2004) ($46,865,412)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) ($46,630,690)
- Bad Boys II (2003) ($46,520,560)
- Ice Age (2002) ($46,312,454)
- Meet the Fockers (2004) ($46,120,980)
- Batman Returns (1992) ($45,687,710)
- Mission: Impossible (1996) ($45,436,830)
- American Pie 2 (2001) ($45,117,985)
- xXx (2002) ($44,506,103)
- Godzilla (1998) ($44,047,541)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) ($44,041,440)
- The Mummy (1999) ($43,369,635)
- Hitch (2005) ($43,142,214)
- Batman & Robin (1997) ($42,872,605)
- Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps (2000) ($42,518,830)
- Shrek (2001) ($42,347,760)
- Scary Movie (2000) ($42,346,669)
- Anger Management (2003) ($42,220,847)
- Big Daddy (1999) ($41,536,370)
- The Perfect Storm (2000) ($41,325,042)
- Deep Impact (1998) ($41,152,375)
- Twister (1996) ($41,059,405)
- The Lion King (1994) ($40,888,194)
- Batman (1989) ($40,505,884)
- Daredevil (2003) ($40,310,418)
- Scary Movie 4 (2006) ($40,222,875)
- Charlie's Angels (2000) ($40,128,550)
- The Fast and the Furious (2001) ($40,089,015)
- Chicken Little (2005) ($40,049,778)
- Click (2006) ($40,011,365)
- 50 First Dates (2004) ($39,852,237)
- The Waterboy (1998) ($39,414,071)
- The Break-Up (2006) ($39,172,785)
- Ocean's Twelve (2004) ($39,153,380)
- The Grudge (2004) ($39,128,715)
- Dinosaur (2000) ($38,854,851)
- Over the Hedge (2006) ($38,457,003)
- The Cat in the Hat (2003) ($38,329,160)
- Alien vs. Predator (2004) ($38,291,056)
- Ocean's Eleven (2001) ($38,107,822)
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) ($37,804,076)
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) ($37,634,221)
- The Flintstones (1994) ($37,182,745)
- Mr. Deeds (2002) (37,162,787)
- Air Force One (1997) ($37,132,505)
- SWAT (2003) ($37,062,535)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) ($37,031,537)
- Red Dragon (2002) ($36,540,945)
- Freddy vs. Jason (2003) ($36,428,066)
- Interview with the Vampire (1994) ($36,389,705)
- Armageddon (1998) ($36,089,972)
- The Scorpion King (2002) ($36,075,875)
- Robots (2005) ($36,045,301)
- Star Wars (1997; Special Edition re-release of 1977 film) ($35,906,661)
- Minority Report (2002) ($35,677,125)
- Sweet Home Alabama (2002) ($35,648,740)
- The World is Not Enough (1999) ($35,519,007)
- Lilo and Stitch (2002) ($35,260,212)
- National Treasure (2004) ($35,142,554)
- The Ring Two (2005) ($35,065,237)
- Runaway Bride (1999) ($35,055,556)
- Gladiator (2000) ($34,819,017)
- Scream 3 (2000) ($34,713,342)
- Tarzan (1999) ($34,221,968)
- Ransom (1996) ($34,216,088)
- Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) ($34,048,124)
- Wedding Crashers (2005) ($33,900,720)
- What Women Want (2000) ($33,614,543)
- Saw III (2006) ($33,610,391)
- 101 Dalmatians (1996) ($33,504,025)
- The Haunting (1999) ($33,435,140)
- Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (2003) ($33,417,739)
- American Wedding (2003) ($33,369,440)
- A Bug's Life (1998) ($33,258,052)
- Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) ($33,243,086)
- Rush Hour (1998) ($33,001,803)
- Scream 2 (1997) ($32,926,342)
- Blade II (2002) ($32,528,016)
- The Firm (1993) ($32,476,785)
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) ($32,018,216)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) ($31,765,506)
- Saw II (2005) ($31,725,652)
- The Truman Show (1998) ($31,542,121)
- Liar Liar (1997) ($31,423,025)
- The Sum of All Fears (2002) ($31,178,526)
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) ($31,126,882)
- Elf (2003) ($31,113,501)
- Bringing Down the House (2003) ($31,101,026)
- Pokemon: The First Movie (1999) ($31,036,678)
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996) ($30,716,131)
- The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) ($30,675,314)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998) ($30,576,104)
- The Pacifier (2005) ($30,552,694)
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) ($30,521,679)
- Unbreakable (2000) ($30,330,771)
- America's Sweethearts (2001) ($30,181,877)
- The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) ($30,138,758)
- Catch Me if You Can (2002) ($30,082,000)
- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) ($30,070,196)
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) ($30,061,756)
- Sleepy Hollow (1999) ($30,060,467)
- Panic Room (2002) ($30,056,751)
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) (30,054,300)
- Madea's Family Reunion (2006) ($30,030,661)
- Constantine (2005) ($29,769,098)
- What Lies Beneath (2000) ($29,702,959)
- Pocahontas (1995) ($29,531,619)
- Ghostbusters II (1989) ($29,472,894)
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) ($29,438,331)
- AI: Artificial Intelligence (2000) ($29,352,630)
- The Blair Witch Project ($29,207,381)
- Toy Story (1995) ($29,140,617)
- Sin City (2005) ($29,120,273)
- Dr. Dolittle (1998) ($29,014,324)
- The Santa Clause 2 (2002) ($29,008,696)
- Jackass: Number Two (2006) ($29,002,002)
- Inside Man (2006) ($28,954,945)
- Cast Away (2000) ($28,883,406)
- Titanic (1997) ($28,638,131)
- Meet the Parents (2000) ($28,623,300)
- Black Hawk Down (2001) ($28,611,736)
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) ($28,416,365)
- Nacho Libre (2006) ($28,309,599)
- Erin Brockovich (2000) ($28,136,465)
- Starsky & Hutch (2004) ($28,103,367)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) ($28,094,014)
- Back to the Future Part II (1989) ($27,835,125)
- The Matrix (1999) ($27,788,331)
- Big Momma's House 2 (2000) ($27,736,056)
- Jarhead (2005) ($27,726,210)
[edit] Opening weekend record holders
These are the films that, when first released, set the opening weekend record.
- 1933
- King Kong ($90,000)
- 1939
- Gone With the Wind ($945,000)
- 1965
- The Sound of Music ($3,212,764)
- 1975
- Jaws ($7,061,513)
- 1978
- Jaws 2 ($9,866,023)
- 1979
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture ($11,926,421)
- 1981
- Superman II ($14,100,523)
- 1982
- Rocky III ($16,015,408)
- 1983
- Return of the Jedi ($23,019,618)
- 1984
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ($25,337,100)
- 1985
- Rambo: First Blood Part II ($25,520,843)
- 1987
- Beverly Hills Cop II ($26,348,555)
- 1989
- Batman ($40,505,884)
- 1992
- Batman Returns ($45,687,710)
- 1993
- Jurassic Park ($50,159,460)
- 1995
- Batman Forever ($52,784,433)
- 1997
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($72,132,785)
- 2001
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ($90,294,621)
- 2002
- Spider-Man ($114,844,116)
- 2006
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($135,634,554)