List of highest-grossing openings for films

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 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 and Canada

A list of the biggest opening days of release, including previews from midnight or the previous evening.

Biggest opening day in China

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.

Notes

References

References

1. "Worldwide Openings". [[Box Office Mojo]].
2. 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".
3. Tartaglione, Nancy. (May 8, 2022). "'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' Opens $450M Global Portal, $265M From Overseas – International Box Office".
4. 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".
5. "Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)".
6. "Daily Box Office > China".
7. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2021-02-14). "'Detective Chinatown 3' Tops 'Avengers: Endgame' For Biggest Opening Weekend Ever In A Single Market With $398M, IMAX Crushes Records & Performance Perks Up Hollywood Hope – International Box Office".
8. "Water Gate Bridge: Chinese Weekend".
9. Tartaglione, Nancy. (June 11, 2022). "'Jurassic World Dominion' Roaring To $386M Global Through Sunday".
10. (2023-04-09). "'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".
11. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2019-12-22). "'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Awakens With $198M Overseas, $374M Global; 'Jumanji' Tops $300M WW – International Box Office".
12. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2019-11-25). "'Frozen 2' Even Hotter With $358M+ Global Bow; Biggest Animated Opening Ever WW & Overseas – International Box Office".
13. 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".
14. Rubin, Rebecca. (2023-07-23). "Greta Gerwig Makes Box Office History as 'Barbie' Scores Biggest Opening Weekend Ever for Female Director".
15. (2025-12-22). "‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Burns Bright at the Box Office with $347.1 Million Global Opening".
16. 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.".
17. Buckley, Thomas. (November 13, 2022). "Disney's 'Wakanda Forever' Reaps $181.3 Million, Lifting AMC".
18. Gant, Charles. (November 14, 2022). "'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' delivers second-best opening of 2022".
19. "Jurassic World Rebirth".
20. 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".
21. (2025-04-06). "‘A Minecraft Movie’ Takes Over World With $301M Global Opening – International Box Office".
22. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2022-07-10). "'Thor: Love And Thunder' Nails $302M Global Debut; 'Minions' Gru-ving To $400M WW – International Box Office".
23. "The Wandering Earth: Chinese Weekend".
24. "Opening Weekends". [[Box Office Mojo]].
25. "Avengers: Endgame - Chinese Weekend".
26. "The Mermaid: Chinese Weekend".
27. (2025-11-30). "List of highest-grossing openings for films". Wikipedia.
28. "The Captain: Chinese Weekend".
29. "The Battle at Lake Changjin: Chinese Weekend".
30. "Too Cool to Kill: Chinese Weekend".
31. "Top Single Day Grosses". [[Box Office Mojo]].
32. "Single-Day Box Office Ranking". endata.com.cn.
33. "USD to CNY Rates on 2/12/2021 - Exchange Rates".
34. "Water Gate Bridge".
35. "Worldwide Openings". [[Box Office Mojo]].
36. "Weekend Record Through the Years". [[Box Office Mojo]].
37. Murphy, A.D.. (21 June 1977). "'Deep' Opening a 52-year Col Peak at $8.1 mil". [[Variety (Magazine).
38. Lewis, Richard Warren. (July 3, 1977). "The Selling of 'The Deep'". [[The New York Times]].
39. "The Deep (1977) – Weekend Box Office Results". [[Box Office Mojo]].
40. "Star Wars (1977) – Weekend Box Office Results". [[Box Office Mojo]].
41. "Superman (1978) – Weekend Box Office Results". [[Box Office Mojo]].
42. Studio estimate published before final opening weekend numbers are known.