The following is a list of the highest-grossing opening weekends for 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 inflation not being taken into account. Jaws, the first "summer blockbuster", introduced the screen saturation strategy.
Contents |
This list charts films that had openings in excess of $200 million worldwide. Since 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. Figures prior to the year 2002 are not available.
A list of films that grossed in excess of $100 million between the first Friday and first Sunday of release.
| Rank | Film | Year | Opening Three Day Weekend[2] | Inflation-adjusted (2012 USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | 2011 | $169,189,427 | $169,189,427 |
| 2 | The Dark Knight | 2008 | $158,411,483 | $161,705,577 |
| 3 | Spider-Man 3 | 2007 | $151,116,516 | $160,148,935 |
| 4 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | 2009 | $142,839,137 | $146,308,914 |
| 5 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 | 2011 | $138,122,261 | $138,122,261 |
| 6 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | 2006 | $135,634,554 | $147,838,293 |
| 7 | Iron Man 2 | 2010 | $128,122,480 | $128,122,480 |
| 8 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | 2010 | $125,017,372 | $125,017,372 |
| 9 | Shrek the Third | 2007 | $121,629,270 | $128,899,201 |
| 10 | Alice in Wonderland | 2010 | $116,101,023 | $116,101,023 |
| 11 | Spider-Man | 2002 | $114,844,116 | $140,208,722 |
| 12 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | 2007 | $114,732,820 | $121,590,541 |
| 13 | Toy Story 3 | 2010 | $110,307,189 | $110,307,189 |
| 14 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 2009 | $108,966,307 | $111,613,262 |
| 15 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | 2005 | $108,435,841 | $121,971,779 |
| 16 | Shrek 2 | 2004 | $108,037,878 | $125,627,216 |
| 17 | X-Men: The Last Stand | 2006 | $102,750,665 | $111,995,671 |
| 18 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | 2005 | $102,685,961 | $115,504,147 |
| 19 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | 2008 | $100,137,835 | $102,220,155 |
These are the films that, when first released, set the opening weekend record.
| Year | Title | Opening weekend | Inflation-adjusted (2012 USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Jaws | $7,061,513 | $28,815,529 |
| 1977 | Star Wars | $7,195,573 | $26,078,501 |
| 1978 | Jaws 2 | $9,866,023 | $33,213,255 |
| 1978 | Every Which Way but Loose | $10,272,294 | $34,580,937 |
| 1978 | Superman | $10,363,384 (third weekend) | $34,887,584 |
| 1979 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | $11,926,421 | $36,086,475 |
| 1981 | Superman II | $14,100,523 | $34,050,382 |
| 1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | $14,347,221 | $32,644,766 |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | $23,019,618 | $50,744,989 |
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | $25,337,110 | $53,573,613 |
| 1987 | Beverly Hills Cop II | $26,348,555 | $50,916,802 |
| 1989 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | $29,355,021 | $52,005,744 |
| 1989 | Ghostbusters II | $29,472,894 | $52,214,570 |
| 1989 | Batman | $40,505,884 | $71,760,761 |
| 1992 | Batman Returns | $45,687,711 | $71,504,583 |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | $47,026,828 | $71,491,212 |
| 1995 | Batman Forever | $52,784,433 | $76,060,460 |
| 1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | $72,132,785 | $98,687,492 |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | $90,294,621 | $112,046,410 |
| 2002 | Spider-Man | $114,844,116 | $140,208,722 |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | $135,634,554 | $147,838,293 |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | $151,116,516 | $160,148,935 |
| 2008 | The Dark Knight | $158,411,483 | $161,705,577 |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | $169,189,427 | $169,189,427 |
A list of films that grossed in excess of $50 million on the first day of release.
| Rank | Movie name | Year | Opening day[3] | Inflation-adjusted (2012 USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | 2011 | $91,071,119 | $91,071,119 |
| 2 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | 2009 | $72,703,754 | $74,469,837 |
| 3 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 | 2011 | $71,642,526 | $71,642,526 |
| 4 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | 2010 | $68,533,840 | $68,533,840 |
| 5 | The Dark Knight | 2008 | $67,165,092 | $68,561,759 |
| 6 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 2009 | $62,016,476 | $63,522,949 |
| 7 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | 2010 | $61,684,550 | $61,684,550 |
| 8 | Spider-Man 3 | 2007 | $59,841,919 | $63,418,744 |
| 9 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | 2009 | $58,175,412 | $59,588,580 |
| 10 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | 2006 | $55,830,600 | $60,853,966 |
| 11 | Iron Man 2 | 2010 | $51,239,677 | $51,239,677 |
| 12 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | 2005 | $50,013,859 | $56,257,039 |