We all look forward to the weekend, and movie companies are no exception. It’s the best opportunity to debut a film and maximize its viewership – though opportunities were few in 2020, as the pandemic shut down the industry, halting production and closing movie theaters. But things began to look up in 2021, as moviegoers slowly returned to the ritual of going to the cinema on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The opening weekend is crucial to a film’s success. Motion-picture companies release far more movies now than they used to, and a film has a limited time to find an audience and create a buzz. According to research by the Stephen Follows Film Data and Education website, only 27% of movies made more money in their second week of release than in the first. Also at stake is potential international ticket revenue as well as TV and cable sales, which may be influenced by opening week grosses.
To identify every U.S. studio’s or movie production company’s top box-office winner, 24/7 Tempo reviewed “Domestic Biggest Weekend by Theatrical Distributors Box Office Records,” compiled by The Numbers, an online movie database owned by Nash Information Services. (Information on cast and directors comes from IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon.)
Click here to see every U.S. movie company’s weekend box-office winner
Superhero and horror films have done the best for motion-picture companies on the weekends.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” exceeded expectations for its weekend debut beginning Dec. 17 for Sony Pictures, and this latest entry in the Marvel Comics Universe franchise went on to become the first post-pandemic film to exceed more than $1 billion at the box office. (Compare these other examples of the highest-grossing movies in the Marvel Universe.)
Horror flicks such as “Hannibal,” “Scream 3” and “The Amityville Horror” were the top weekend winners for MGM, Miramax, and Filmways Pictures, respectively. “Scary Movie 3” and “Scary Movie 4,” send-ups of the fright-film genre, were the respective biggest weekend movies for Miramax/Dimension and Weinstein/Dimension. And films in the fantasy genre such as “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” were box office gold for Summit Entertainment and Warner Bros, respectively. (These are the biggest box office hits since 2000.)
Source: Scott Gries / Getty Images
29. Fox Searchlight: Notorious
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $20,497,596, Jan. 16, 2009
> Starring: Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie, Derek Luke, Momo Dione
> Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
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Source: Courtesy of CBS Films Distribution
28. CBS Films: The Woman in Black
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $20,874,072, Feb. 3, 2012
> Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciaran Hinds, Emma Shorey
> Directed by: James Watkins
Source: Courtesy of Overture Films
27. Overture Films: Law Abiding Citizen
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $21,039,502, Oct. 16, 2009
> Starring: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney
> Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Source: Courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment
26. FUNimation: Dragon Slayer (Mugen Train) (Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-Hen)
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $22,789,600, April 23, 2021
> Starring: Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitô, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
> Directed by: Haruo Sotozaki
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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation
25. Filmways Pictures: The Amityville Horror
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $23,507,007, April 15, 2005
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jimmy Bennett, Jesse James
> Directed by: Andrew Douglas
Source: Courtesy of Carolco Pictures
24. Sony/TriStar: Rambo: First Blood Part II
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $25,520,843, May 24, 1985
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff
> Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
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Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
23. 20th Century Studios: Free Guy
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $28,365,416, Aug. 13, 2021
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, Lil Rel Howery
> Directed by: Shawn Levy
Source: Courtesy of Artisan Entertainment
22. Artisan: The Blair Witch Project
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $29,207,381, July 30, 1999
> Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffin
> Directed by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez
Source: Courtesy of Focus Features
21. Focus Features: Downton Abbey
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $31,033,665, Sept. 20, 2019
> Starring: Stephen Campbell Moore, Michael Fox, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera
> Directed by: Michael Engler
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Source: Courtesy of Relativity Media
20. Relativity: Immortals
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $32,206,425, Nov. 11, 2011
> Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt, Stephen Dorff
> Directed by: Tarsem Singh
Source: Courtesy of STX Entertainment
19. STX Entertainment: Hustlers
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $33,181,361, Sept. 13, 2019
> Starring: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Mette Towley
> Directed by: Lorene Scafaria
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Source: Courtesy of Dimension Films
18. Miramax: Scream 3
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $34,713,342, Feb. 4, 2000
> Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Liev Schreiber
> Directed by: Wes Craven
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Source: Courtesy of The Weinstein Company
17. Weinstein Co.: Inglourious Basterds
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $38,054,676, Aug. 21, 2009
> Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mâ©lanie Laurent
> Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Source: Courtesy of The Weinstein Company
16. Weinstein/Dimension: Scary Movie 4
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $40,222,875, April 14, 2006
> Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman
> Directed by: David Zucker
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Source: Charley Gallay / Getty Images
15. FilmDistrict: Insidious: Chapter 2
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $40,272,103, Sept. 13, 2013
> Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye
> Directed by: James Wan
Source: Courtesy of Miramax
14. Miramax/Dimension: Scary Movie 3
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $48,113,770, Oct. 24, 2003
> Starring: Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Regina Hall, Pamela Anderson
> Directed by: David Zucker
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Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
13. United Artists: No Time to Die
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $55,225,007, Oct. 8, 2021
> Starring: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux
> Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
12. MGM: Hannibal
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $58,003,121, Feb. 9, 2001
> Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta
> Directed by: Ridley Scott
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
11. New Line: Austin Powers in Goldmember
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $73,071,188, July 26, 2002
> Starring: Mike Myers, Beyonce, Seth Green, Michael York
> Directed by: Jay Roach
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Source: Courtesy of Newmarket Films
10. Newmarket Films: The Passion of the Christ
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $83,848,082, Feb. 27, 2004
> Starring: Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Maia Morgenstern, Christo Jivkov
> Directed by: Mel Gibson
Source: Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images
9. Dreamworks SKG: Shrek 2
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $108,037,878, May 21, 2004
> Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews
> Directed by: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
8. Paramount Pictures: Iron Man 2
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $128,122,480, May 7, 2010
> Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
> Directed by: Jon Favreau
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
7. 20th Century Fox: Deadpool
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $132,434,639, Feb. 12, 2016
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein
> Directed by: Tim Miller
Source: Courtesy of Summit Distribution
6. Summit Entertainment: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $142,839,137, Nov. 20, 2009
> Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Christina Jastrzembska
> Directed by: Chris Weitz
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Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate
5. Lionsgate: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $158,074,286, Nov. 22, 2013
> Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman
> Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
4. Warner Bros.: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $169,189,427, July 15, 2011
> Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon
> Directed by: David Yates
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Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
3. Universal: Jurassic World
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $208,806,270, June 12, 2015
> Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Judy Greer
> Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
2. Sony Pictures: Spider-Man: No Way Home
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $260,138,569, Dec. 17, 2021
> Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon
> Directed by: Jon Watts
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
1. Walt Disney: Avengers: Endgame
> Biggest weekend at the domestic box office: $357,115,007, April 26, 2019
> Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth,
> Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
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