The 10 biggest opening weekends in cinema history
The entire world is gearing up for one of the biggest opening weekends in cinematic history, as Barbie and Oppenheimer are set to go head to head on Friday, July 21st. The two big-budget blockbusters are sure to turn around huge numbers at the box office, with audiences planning their schedules around a double feature of the two contrasting films. As we approach release day, the healthy competition between the two films is only heightening.
Aside from competing with each other, Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan are also competing with years of blockbusting films with huge opening weekend numbers. Barbie, in particular, seems to be looking to push its way into the ranks with an intense, all-encompassing campaign that has almost overhyped the film. It’s marketing on a level only comparable to those surrounding films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Here, we’ve collated a list of the ten biggest opening weekends Barbie and Oppenheimer are looking to surpass next weekend, with box office numbers that push into the billions.
Coming in tenth place is Rian Johnson’s addition to the Star Wars series Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released in the winter of 2017 to Christmas crowds amounting to over $450million, making it the highest-grossing film of the year despite its late release date. Just ahead of it is Sam Raimi’s 2022 film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starring film garnered $452m in its opening weekend.
The only film to make the top ten list directed by a woman, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Captain Marvel takes the number eight spot. With box office takings of $456m, it only narrowly beats out the Doctor Strange sequel. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 earned $483m in its opening weekend, securing the number seven spot.
The long-awaited 2015 sequel Jurassic World pushes the numbers firmly over half a billion, with takings of $525m. It’s accompanied by another entry in the Star Wars franchise, J. J. Abrams’ action-packed Star Wars: The Force Awakens. With box office numbers of $528m, the film secures its place in the top five.
The Fate of the Furious, the seventh instalment in the Fast & Furious series, takes the number four spot with an impressive $541m. But the top three spots are all taken by entries to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man: No Way Home secures the bronze position with an impressive $600m.
The Avengers dominate the leaderboard, taking second and first place with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, respectively. Infinity War generated an impressive $640m, but the takings of its sequel dwarfed that number. Endgame gained an astonishing opening weekend number of $1.22billion.
The list is permeated by long-anticipated sequels and instalments into series beloved by audiences worldwide, with Marvel taking half of the top ten spots. With a big budget, nostalgia–fuelled content, and a marketing campaign like no other, Barbie is well-placed to enter the list.
The 10 biggest movie opening weekends:
- Avengers: Endgame ($1.22billion)
- Avengers: Infinity War ($640million)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home ($600m)
- The Fate of the Furious ($541m)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($528m)
- Jurassic World ($525m)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($483m)
- Captain Marvel ($456m)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($452m)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($450m)
