Action franchises such as the Avengers, Star Wars, and Jurassic World have driven cinephiles to the movie theaters for more than two decades. The biggest weekends in box-office history have been fueled by such films, which routinely account for the highest percentage of revenue by far of all the films released on a given weekend.
To determine the biggest weekends in U.S. box office history, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical box office performance from film industry site The Numbers. Every weekend since January 2000 was ranked based on total domestic box office for all movies playing in theaters that weekend. (The site defines “domestic” as encompassing the North American movie territory, consisting of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam.) Supplemental data on box office performance for individual movies is also from The Numbers. Box office totals are not adjusted for inflation.
The Avengers films “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 and “Avengers: Infinity War” in 2018 were the top box-office draws in two of the three biggest weekends ever. Another action flick, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” pulled in a mind-boggling 92.4% of the total ticket sales revenue for the weekend of Dec. 17, 2021. (See all the actors who have played Spider-Man, ranked.)
The years 2015 and 2018 each had four of the biggest weekends ever. The former year was represented by “Jurassic World” and “Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens.” The year 2018 featured “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “Black Panther,” “Incredibles 2,” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
As you might expect, the traditional prime movie-attendance months of May, June, and July are well-represented on this list. However, December has more of the biggest weekends than any other month, with six top scorers. The Star Wars films “Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens,” “Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi,” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” were the biggest winners at the box office that month. Other December leaders were “Avatar” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” (“Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens” was the top earner for two December weekends in a row.)
An outlier to the action-film dominance is the recently released “Barbie.” The Greta Gerwig-directed movie pulled in $155 million in its opening weekend, 52.5% of the weekend total of $308.8 million, and is the fourth-highest weekend on the list. Also bolstering ticket sales were the historical film “Oppenheimer” and the controversial human-trafficking drama “Sound of Freedom.” (Here’s a roster of the biggest blockbuster weekends for movies directed by women.)
25. May 6-8, 2016
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $239.3 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Captain America: Civil War (74.9% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: The Jungle Book (10.2% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Mother’s Day (4.6% of total)
24. June 21-23, 2013
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $240.3 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Monsters University (34.3% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: World War Z (27.6% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Man of Steel (17.2% of total)
23. Dec. 20-22, 2019
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $247.6 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (71.6% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Jumanji: The Next Level (10.7% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Frozen II (5.2% of total)
22. June 19-21, 2015
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $248.1 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Jurassic World (43.0% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Inside Out (36.4% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Spy! (4.5% of total)
21. Nov. 16-18, 2012
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $249.3 million
> Highest-grossing movie: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (56.6% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Skyfall (16.5% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Lincoln (8.4% of total)
20. March 25-17, 2016
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $252.2 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (65.8% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Zootopia (9.5% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (7.1% of total)
19. May 24-26, 2013
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $254.4 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Fast and Furious 6 (38.3% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: The Hangover 3 (16.4% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Star Trek Into Darkness (14.7% of total)
18. May 4-6, 2012
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $258.0 million
> Highest-grossing movie: The Avengers (80.4% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Think Like a Man (3.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: The Hunger Games (2.2% of total)
17. Nov. 20-22, 2009
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $258.6 million
> Highest-grossing movie: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (55.2% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: The Blind Side (13.2% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: 2012 (10.2% of total)
16. March 17-19, 2017
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $260.7 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Beauty and the Beast (67.0% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Kong: Skull Island (10.7% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Logan (6.8% of total)
15. July 18-20, 2008
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $260.8 million
> Highest-grossing movie: The Dark Knight (60.7% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Mamma Mia! (10.6% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Hancock (5.4% of total)
14. July 15-17, 2011
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $262.6 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (64.4% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (8.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Horrible Bosses (6.8% of total)
13. July 19-21, 2019
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $263.0 million
> Highest-grossing movie: The Lion King (72.9% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Spider-Man: Far From Home (8.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Toy Story 4 (5.9% of total)
12. Dec. 25-27, 2009
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $269.9 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Avatar (28.0% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Sherlock Holmes (23.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (18.1% of total)
11. June 15-17, 2018
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $270.9 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Incredibles 2 (67.4% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Ocean’s 8 (7.0% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Tag (5.5% of total)
10. June 12-14, 2015
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $273.8 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Jurassic World (76.2% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Spy! (5.7% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: San Andreas (3.9% of total)
9. June 22-24, 2018
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $277.1 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (53.4% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Incredibles 2 (29.0% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Ocean’s 8 (4.2% of total)
8. Dec. 15-17, 2017
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $277.9 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi (79.2% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Ferdinand (4.8% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Coco (3.6% of total)
7. Dec. 17-19, 2021
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $281.6 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home (92.4% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Encanto (2.3% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: West Side Story (1.3% of total)
6. Feb. 16-18, 2018
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $286.5 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Black Panther (70.5% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Peter Rabbit (6.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Fifty Shades Freed (6.0% of total)
5. Dec. 25-27, 2015
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $296.4 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens (50.3% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Daddy’s Home (13.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Joy (5.7% of total)
4. July 21-23, 2023
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $308.8 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Barbie (52.5% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Oppenheimer (26.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Sound of Freedom (6.5% of total)
3. April 27-29, 2018
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $312.3 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Avengers: Infinity War (82.5% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: A Quiet Place (3.5% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: I Feel Pretty (2.6% of total)
2. Dec. 18-20, 2015
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $313.1 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens (79.2% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (4.6% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: Sisters (4.4% of total)
1. April 26-28, 2019
> Total domestic weekend gross for all movies: $402.0 million
> Highest-grossing movie: Avengers: Endgame (88.8% of total)
> Second highest-grossing movie: Captain Marvel (2.1% of total)
> Third highest-grossing movie: The Curse of La Llorona (2.0% of total)