50 Fun Facts About Box Office

Which film, the costliest ever made at the time, was the first to gross over $1 billion worldwide?

Titanic passed the mark on March 1, 1998, during a run of 15 straight weeks at number one in North America. Critics had predicted the $200 million production would be a commercial failure.

Which 1939 film is the highest-grossing ever when box office totals are adjusted for inflation?

Gone with the Wind earned about $390 million over decades of re-releases, a total Guinness World Records valued at $3.44 billion in 2014 money.

Which 1975 thriller, backed by heavy TV advertising, is regarded as the first summer blockbuster?

Jaws opened on more than 450 screens at once, an unusually wide release for 1975, backed by $700,000 of national TV spots. Along with Star Wars, it set the summer-release model Hollywood has followed since.

Which 2002 romantic comedy took $241 million in North America without ever being number one?

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was an independent film made for $5 million. It stayed the highest-grossing film never to top the North American chart until the cartoon Sing in 2016.

Which independent film, shot in the woods for around $60,000, grossed nearly $250 million worldwide?

The Blair Witch Project was bought at the Sundance festival for $1.1 million and went on to gross $248.6 million. Its marketing listed the three actors as missing or deceased.

Hollywood's 'domestic' box office total combines the United States with which other country?

Canada and the United States are tracked together as a single market, which is why the trade press also calls a film's domestic total its North American box office.

Which 2023 release was the first directed solely by a woman to gross $1 billion at the box office?

Barbie crossed $1 billion on August 6, 2023, and finished as the year's highest-grossing film with about $1.45 billion. It also replaced Little Women as director Greta Gerwig's biggest hit.

Which 3D science-fiction epic was the first release to take more than $2 billion at the box office?

Avatar passed $2 billion on January 31, 2010, the same day it became the first film to earn $700 million in North America.

Which child star, later a US ambassador, was Hollywood's top box office draw in the mid-1930s?

Shirley Temple outdrew every adult star in Hollywood until 1938, the year she turned ten. As an adult she served as US ambassador to Ghana and to Czechoslovakia.

Which 1990 Christmas comedy spent twelve straight weekends as North America's number-one film?

Home Alone led the chart from its opening in November 1990 until the first weekend of February 1991. It remained North America's top-grossing live-action comedy until 2023.

Which superhero film's $1.2 billion worldwide debut nearly doubled the previous opening record?

Avengers: Endgame opened to $1.2 billion worldwide in April 2019, including a record $357.1 million in North America. The previous best, $640 million, had been set a year earlier by its predecessor, Infinity War.

Which DC Comics sequel was the first superhero film to gross $1 billion, after a 2009 reissue?

The Dark Knight crossed $1 billion in February 2009 thanks to a reissue timed for the run-up to the Oscars. It was only the fourth film of any kind to reach that mark.

Which comic-book film, released in October 2019, became the first R-rated film to gross $1 billion?

Joker set box office records for an October release on its way to the milestone. It stayed the highest-grossing R-rated film until Deadpool & Wolverine overtook it in 2024.

Which Star Wars film was the first release to gross more than $900 million in North America?

The Force Awakens passed $900 million in North America on February 5, 2016, less than two months after it opened. It had been the first film to reach $800 million there only four weeks earlier.

Which 1993 film took the all-time worldwide box office record from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?

Jurassic Park grossed more than $900 million on its first run and was the first film to take $500 million outside North America. A 2013 re-release later lifted it past $1 billion.

Which director's films were the year's top-grossing release five times between 1975 and 1993?

Steven Spielberg led the yearly chart in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1989 and 1993. Cecil B. DeMille had also done it five times, between 1932 and 1956.

Which Julie Andrews musical became the highest-grossing film in history in 1966?

The Sound of Music took the record in November 1966, some twenty months after its premiere, and kept it for five years. It had opened as a limited roadshow release in March 1965.

Which 1972 crime drama was, for a time, the highest-grossing film ever made?

The Godfather earned between $250 and $291 million and was the top release of 1972. Paramount had picked Francis Ford Coppola partly because he would work for a low fee.

Which Walt Disney film, derided as a folly during production, briefly became the highest-grossing sound film ever made?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs earned more than $8 million on its first release against a cost of $1.5 million. Walt Disney's wife and his brother Roy had both tried to talk him out of making it.

Which epic was the highest-grossing film of 1963 yet nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox?

Cleopatra cost an estimated $31 million, making it the most expensive film made up to that point. Fox had already posted an annual loss in 1961, blamed on the production's mounting costs.

Which 1980 Western made just $3.5 million in the US and led to the sale of United Artists?

Heaven's Gate cost $44 million, and the bad publicity drove United Artists' owner Transamerica out of film production. Director Michael Cimino's first preview cut ran five hours and twenty-five minutes.

Which Geena Davis pirate adventure flopped so badly in 1995 that Carolco Pictures ceased operations?

Cutthroat Island lost an estimated $147 million in inflation-adjusted terms. In April 2012 Guinness World Records listed it as the biggest box office bomb of all time.

Which Disney adventure set on Mars led the studio to take a $200 million writedown in 2012?

John Carter grossed $284 million worldwide, yet Disney took the writedown within two weeks of its release. It grew out of a studio effort to adapt Edgar Rice Burroughs' works that began in the late 2000s.

Which 2002 superhero film was the first release to take $100 million in a single opening weekend?

Spider-Man earned $114.8 million across its first three days in May 2002. Its budget had grown from a planned $70 million to around $100 million to pay for the web-swinging sequences.

Which Pixar sequel was the first animated film to gross $1 billion worldwide?

Toy Story 3 grossed $1.067 billion and was the highest-grossing film of 2010. It stayed the top-earning animated film until 2014.

Which hand-drawn Disney film took $763 million on its first run as 1994's top-grossing release?

The Lion King ended that first run as the second-highest-grossing film of all time. A photorealistic computer-animated remake later out-earned the original.

Which Disney musical passed $1 billion on its 101st day of release and was 2013's top-grossing film?

Frozen ended its run as the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time. Co-director Jennifer Lee was the first woman to direct a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature.

Which DreamWorks animated film earned over $900 million to become the highest-grossing release of 2004?

Shrek 2 took about $440 million of that in North America, where no animated film earned more until Finding Dory in 2016.

Which Tom Cruise film grossed over $546 million to finish as the highest-grossing release of 2000?

Mission: Impossible 2 gave Paramount the biggest opening weekend the studio had ever had. It also beat the first film's record debut for a film based on a TV series.

Which animated sequel grossed $1.699 billion to become the highest-grossing film of 2024?

Inside Out 2 overtook Incredibles 2 on July 10, 2024, to become Pixar's highest-grossing film. It also became the biggest animated film ever released, a record it lost within a year.

Which Chinese animated film was the first animated release to gross $2 billion worldwide, in 2025?

Ne Zha 2 grossed $2.2 billion worldwide on a production budget of about $80 million. More than 4,000 people across 138 animation companies worked on it.

Which anime film topped the 2020 worldwide box office, a first for a non-Hollywood production?

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train grossed over $512.7 million worldwide from more than 41 million tickets sold. With other big releases delayed by the pandemic, it had more screens available than usual.

Which Studio Ghibli film was Japan's highest-grossing film for 19 years, until 2020?

Spirited Away took a record ¥1.6 billion in its first three days, beating the mark set by Princess Mononoke, and went on to gross ¥31.68 billion in Japan.

Which Aamir Khan wrestling drama became the top-grossing Indian film after taking about $193 million in China?

Dangal opened in China in May 2017 on 9,000 screens, the widest release an Indian film had had in any territory. Its worldwide total is put at around ₹2,000 crore.

Which James Bond film, timed for 007's 50th screen anniversary, grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide?

Skyfall was the fourteenth film of any kind to pass the billion-dollar mark and the second-highest-grossing release of 2012. Sam Mendes directed it.

Which 2022 sequel, arriving 36 years after the original, grossed $1.5 billion worldwide?

Top Gun: Maverick became the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise's career and the second-biggest release of 2022. It earned $722 million of that in North America.

Which Christopher Nolan film passed Bohemian Rhapsody in 2023 as the top-grossing biographical film?

Oppenheimer grossed more than $970 million worldwide and finished as the third-highest-grossing film of 2023. It took the biopic record in September of that year.

Which 2023 animated release was the first adaptation of a video game to gross $1 billion worldwide?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed $1.360 billion, $574.9 million of it in North America. It was the top animated film of 2023 and the second-biggest release of the year overall.

Which film, paid for by its own director, was America's top R-rated release for 20 years from 2004?

The Passion of the Christ earned $370.8 million in the US after Mel Gibson and his company Icon Productions bore the $30 million production cost themselves.

Which studio released three billion-dollar films in 2015, a first, including Furious 7 and Minions?

Universal also reached $3 billion at the international box office faster that year than any studio had before, getting there by July 17.

Which 1975 cult film, a midnight-screening fixture, is the longest-running release in film history?

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was largely ignored at first, then became a hit once audiences began joining in at midnight showings in New York in 1976. It has never left limited release.

Which film series' eighth and final instalment was the highest-grossing film of 2011 worldwide?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 grossed over $1.3 billion, the most of any film in the series. It ranked third on the all-time chart during its run.

Which Will Smith film was the highest-grossing release of 1996, taking $817 million worldwide?

Independence Day stood second on the all-time chart when its run ended. It stayed Will Smith's highest-grossing film for more than 20 years, until 2019.

Which 1994 drama, long ranked number one by IMDb users, earned only $16 million on first release?

The Shawshank Redemption failed to recoup its $25 million budget in cinemas and was first judged a box office bomb. It reached the top of IMDb's user-voted Top 250 in 2008.

Which director's martial-arts epic was the first non-English film to gross $100 million in the US?

Ang Lee made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on a budget of $17 million. It also became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in North America.

Which epic was the highest-grossing film of 1959 and won a then-record eleven Academy Awards?

Ben-Hur was the fastest-grossing as well as the highest-grossing film of 1959. Planning its chariot race took nearly a year.

Which Dustin Hoffman drama was the highest-grossing film of 1988 and won four Oscars?

Rain Man grossed more than $354 million on a $25 million budget. It opened only second at the weekend box office, behind the comedy Twins.

Which Frank Capra Christmas classic fell well short of breaking even on its 1946 release?

It's a Wonderful Life needed $6.3 million to break even, about twice its production cost, and came nowhere near it. It earned five Academy Award nominations all the same.

Which Patrick Swayze film was the highest-grossing release of 1990 worldwide, taking $505 million?

Ghost cost no more than $23 million and stood third on the all-time chart during its run. In Britain it spent eight consecutive weeks at number one.

Which supernatural chiller, shot for $15,000, is often cited as the most profitable film ever made?

Paranormal Activity was made by Oren Peli as an independent feature and played festivals in 2007. Its return on investment is hard to verify because the figures are likely to leave out marketing costs.