The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie franchise made history once again with the release of the record-smashing film “Avengers: Endgame.” The movie had the highest grossing debut of all time, grossing $357 million domestically — 90% of the overall weekend market share — and a whopping $1.2 billion globally its opening weekend.
For comparison, the movie with the second highest grossing opening weekend is “Avengers: Infinity War” — one of the best Marvel movies according to a 24/7 Tempo ranking — and it grossed a total of nearly $258 million domestically during its debut last year. Of the 25 movies with the highest grossing debuts, nine are MCU films.
In today’s movie marketplace, one massively profitable blockbuster can gross more than hundreds of smaller movies combined. Studios consistently release big budget films, even if many flop, because the rewards of a successful movie of this caliber are so great. With the exception of three titles — the oldest of which is 2007’s “Spider-Man 3” — all of the 25 top grossing movie weekends have been released since 2010. More than ever before, we are living in the age of the blockbuster.
Most of these blockbusters also belong to popular movie franchises. When a fanbase already exists, moviegoers will turn out for sequels, eager to watch the new entry of their favorite series as soon as it comes out. Marvel, Star Wars, and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World are among the most popular franchises driving huge opening weekends.
Click here to see the movies with the biggest weekends ever.
To identify the movies with the biggest opening weekends, 24/7 Tempo reviewed all time domestic opening weekend movie theater ticket sales for U.S. films from movie ticket tracking website Box Office Mojo as of April 29, 2019.
25. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
> Opening weekend: $142.8 million
> Total domestic box office: $296.6 million
> Date: November 20, 2009
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24. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
> Opening weekend: $146.5 million
> Total domestic box office: $389.8 million
> Date: May 5, 2017
23. Furious 7
> Opening weekend: $147.2 million
> Total domestic box office: $353.0 million
> Date: April 3, 2015
22. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
> Opening weekend: $148.0 million
> Total domestic box office: $417.7 million
> Date: June 22, 2018
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21. Spider-Man 3
> Opening weekend: $151.1 million
> Total domestic box office: $336.5 million
> Date: May 4, 2007
20. The Hunger Games
> Opening weekend: $152.5 million
> Total domestic box office: $408.0 million
> Date: March 23, 2012
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19. Captain Marvel
> Opening weekend: $153.4 million
> Total domestic box office: $413.6 million
> Date: March 8, 2019
18. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
> Opening weekend: $155.1 million
> Total domestic box office: $532.2 million
> Date: December 16, 2016
17. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
> Opening weekend: $158.1 million
> Total domestic box office: $424.7 million
> Date: November 22, 2013
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16. The Dark Knight
> Opening weekend: $158.4 million
> Total domestic box office: $533.3 million
> Date: July 18, 2008
15. The Dark Knight Rises
> Opening weekend: $160.9 million
> Total domestic box office: $448.1 million
> Date: July 20, 2012
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14. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
> Opening weekend: $166.0 million
> Total domestic box office: $330.4 million
> Date: March 25, 2016
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13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
> Opening weekend: $169.2 million
> Total domestic box office: $381.0 million
> Date: July 15, 2011
12. Iron Man 3
> Opening weekend: $174.1 million
> Total domestic box office: $409.0 million
> Date: May 3, 2013
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11. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
> Opening weekend: $174.8 million
> Total domestic box office: $504.0 million
> Date: March 17, 2017
10. Captain America: Civil War
> Opening weekend: $179.1 million
> Total domestic box office: $408.1 million
> Date: May 6, 2016
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9. Incredibles 2
> Opening weekend: $182.7 million
> Total domestic box office: $608.6 million
> Date: June 15, 2018
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8. Avengers: Age of Ultron
> Opening weekend: $191.3 million
> Total domestic box office: $459.0 million
> Date: May 1, 2015
7. Black Panther
> Opening weekend: $202.0 million
> Total domestic box office: $700.1 million
> Date: February 16, 2018
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6. Marvel’s The Avengers
> Opening weekend: $207.4 million
> Total domestic box office: $623.4 million
> Date: May 4, 2012
5. Jurassic World
> Opening weekend: $208.8 million
> Total domestic box office: $652.3 million
> Date: June 12, 2015
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4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
> Opening weekend: $220.0 million
> Total domestic box office: $620.2 million
> Date: December 15, 2017
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3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
> Opening weekend: $248.0 million
> Total domestic box office: $936.7 million
> Date: December 18, 2015
2. Avengers: Infinity War
> Opening weekend: $257.7 million
> Total domestic box office: $678.8 million
> Date: April 27, 2018
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1. Avengers: Endgame
> Opening weekend: $357.1 million
> Total domestic box office: $357.1 million
> Date: April 26, 2019
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