We all know the ones that beat the previous records, but heres some other little tidpits put together from 1978- now. All of the openings are rounded to the nearest hundred thousanth.

1978- Star Wars Reissue becomes the first film to ever open over 10 million with 10.1 (only time a film from a different year had the biggest opening of another year)

1979- Star Trek: The motion picture- 11.9 First original film over 10 million, and first 10 million film to fail to reach 100 million.

1980- Smokey and the Bandit II- 10.8 million (First opening weekend winner to not finish in the top 5, at #8.

1981- Superman II- 14.1 million (First year to have two 10+ openings, the other was The Cannonball Run with 11.7 million)

1982- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn- 14.3 million (4 10+ openings)

1983-- Return of the Jedi- 23.6 million (1st 20+ earner; Jaws 3D is the first 10 million+ opener to finish below 50 million)

1984- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- 25.3 million

1985- Rambo: First Blood Part II- 20.2 million (First R rated film with highest opening; First R rated film to open over 20 million)

1986- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home- 16.9 million (Lowest in 4 years)

1987- Beverly Hills Cop II- 26.3 million (2nd R rated winner and 1st record holder)

1988 Crocodile Dundee II- 24.5 million (First year with 2 20+ openers, the other was Coming to America with 21.4 million, This was the first non sequel to open over 20 million, and it was R Rated.)

1989- Batman- 40.5 million (First film over 40 million; the opening weekend record was broken 3 times: Indiana Jones- 29.3 million; Ghostbusters II- 29.4 million, finally Batman. Batman was highest opening original film; first year to have 5 20+ openers; Batman joins Return of the Jedi as the opening weekend champ to also be highest earner of the year, domestic)

1990- Total Recall- 25.5 million (R Rated; closest race ever with #2 being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with 25.4 million [difference of $135,000]; Childs Play 2 is first 10+ opener to fail to reach 30 million)

1991- Terminator 2- 31.8 million (R Rated; first film to gross 30-40 million; 3rd film to also win the year; first year a 20+ earner finished outside the top 10 [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II]; Turtles II is also the first 20+ opener to finish below 100 million.

1992- Batman Returns- 45.7 million (First time opening weekend record was broken by same franchise; First year with 4+ 30 million openings; Batman, Lethal Weapon 3- 33.2, Home Alone 2- 31.1, Dracula-30.5; Dracula is first 30 million opener to finish outside of the top 10, and the first 30 million earner to fail to reach 100 million.

1993- Jurassic Park- 47 million (3rd Steven Spielberg film; 4th film to also win the year; biggest difference between first and 2nd opener of 21.6 million; highest opening original film)

1994- Interview With the Vampire- 36.4 million (R rated; First time highest opener finished outside the top 10 of the year at #11)

1995- Batman Forever- 52.8 million (first 50 million opener; biggest difference between first and 2nd highest openers at 23.6 million; Mortal Kombat is lowest grossing 20 million opener at 70.5 million)

1996- Independence Day- 50.2 million (Highest opening original film; 5th film to also be highest grosser of the year; First time 3 films opened over 40 million, other two are Mission Impossible- 45.4 and Twister- 41 million; first time entire top 10 opened over 10 million million, top 12 to be exact; Beevis and Butthead is lowest grossing 20 million opener at 63.1 million)

1997- The Lost World Jurassic Park- 72.1 million (First film over 70 million, First year to have 2 50+ openers; first year to have top 7 open over 30 million; Starship Troopers is lowest grossing film to open over 20 million at 54.8 million; Star Wars Special Edition is first rerelease to open over 30 million

1998- Godzilla- 44 million (Lowest since 1994; first time highest opener over 40 million finished outside of the top 5, at #9; closest first and 2nd place finish since 1990 with Deep Impact opening only 2.8 million less)

1999- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace- 64.8 million (6th film to also win the year; First year with 3 50+ openers; the other two were Toy Story 2- 57.3 million and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged me- 54.9 million; Eyes Wide Shut becomes lowest grossing 20 million opener with 55.7 million)

2000- Mission Impossible 2- 57.8 million (X-men becomes lowest grossing 50 million earner- 157.3 million; Gladiator is highest opening Best Picture winner- 34.8 million; First time top 11 all opened over 28 million)

2001- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- 90.3 million (Highest opening original film and film; 7th film to also win the year; 5 films opened over 60 million (Potter; Planet of the Apes; Mummy Returns; Rush Hour 2; Monsters Inc.; First time entire top ten opened over 42 million; Valentine is lowest grossing 10+ opener- 20.3 million; Hannibal crushes Air Force One's R rated opening record of 37 million, up to 58 million.)

2002- Spiderman- 114.8 million (Highest film opening, original as well; 8th film to also win the year; 4 films opened over 72 million- Spiderman; Chamber of Secrets; Attack of the Clones: Austin Powers in Goldmember; Scooby Doo becomes lowest grossing 50 million earner- 153.3 million; Blade 2 breaks Dracula's 10 year old record of being the lowest grossing 30 million earner- 82.3 million)

2003- The Matrix Reloaded- 91.8 million (First R rated one in 9 years; Highest opening R rated film; Hulk becomes lowest grossing 60 million opener- 132.2; Daredevil becomes lowest grossing 40 million opener- 102.5; Underworld becomes lowest grossing 20 million opener- 51.92 million; Return of the King is highest opening Best Picture winner- 72.6 million; First time top 21 all opened over 23 million)

2004- Shrek 2-108 million (9th film to also win year; highest animted film opening; first time 4 films open over 80 million, 2 over 90 million; The Village is lowest grossing 50 million earner- 114.2 million; AVP is lowest grossing 30 million opener- 80.3 million; Resident Evil: Apocolypse is lowest grossing 20 million earner- 51.2 million)

2005- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith- 108.4 million (10th to also win the year; first time two 100+ earners, 2nd is Goblet of Fire-102.7 million; Exorcism of Emily Rose is lowest grossing 30 million earner- 75 million; Diary of a Mad Black Woman is lowest grossing 20 million earner- 50. 6 million.)

2006-PoTC: Dead Man's Chest- 135.6 (Biggest in 4 years; 11th to also win year; biggest difference between #1 and 2- 32.8 million; Scary Movie 4 is lowest grossing 40 million earner- 90.7 million, first and only 40 million film to fail to reach 100 million; The Grudge 2 is lowest grossing 20 million opener-39.1; Grudge 2 is first sequel to fail to outgross original's opening weekend)

2007-Spiderman 3- 151.1 (Record, 12th to also win the year; 3 100 openers; top 12 opened over 44 million; 8 films over 70 million, entire top 6 over 70 million; Saw IV is lowest grossing 30 opener- 63.3; Reno 911: The Movie is lowest grossing 10 million opener- 20.34; The Simpsons Movie is the first film to open over 70 million to not hit 200 million.

2008-The Dark Knight- 158.4 (13/31 to also be highest grossing film)The Dark Knight is the 4th Batman film to have the opening weekend Record. Star Trek is 2nd with 3;Sex in the City- Highest opening for a movie starring women, beating Tomb Raider's 7 year record; Harrison Ford is the oldest leading actor to have a starring film open over 100 million; Biggest gap between first and 2nd biggest openers of the year- 58 million; High School Musical 3 and Cloverfield are the 2nd and 3rd films ever to gross over 40 million and fail to hit 100 million. Clovefield is now the lowest grossing 40 million opener at 80 million and the only one to fail to hit 90 million; Saw IV passes the torch Saw V as the lowest grossing 30 million opener at 56.7 million;The Grudge 2 is still the lowest grossing 20 million opener and Reno 911: The Movie is still the lowest grossing 10 million earner.

2009- New Moon- 142.8 million. Gap between first and 2nd place openers- 33.9 million. Fast and Furious is lowest grossing 70 million opener at 155 million. Watchmen Breaks The Villages nearly 5 year record to become the lowest grossing 50 million earner at just 107.5 million. Friday the 13th crushes Scary Movie 4 to become the lowest grossing film to open over 40 million at 65 million. Notorious is now the lowest grossing film to open over 20 million at 36.8 million. And Jonas Brothers Concert movie is the first film to open over 10 million not to pass 20 million.

2010 Iron Man 2- 128 million. Harry Potter 7.1 is just over 3 million behind. This marks the first time we've had 4 100+ million openers in a single year. Harry Potter also joins Spiderman, Pirates, and Shrek to have two installments with 100 million openings

2011 Harry Potter Part 7.2- 169.2 million (A new record) Potter is now the only franchise with 3 100 million openers. Twilight becomes the fifth franchise to have 2 100 million openers. Paranormal Activity 3 is now the lowest grossing 50 million film at 103.8 million.

Good thread.

A couple of things:

Return of the Jedi had an amazing opening. Kind of the Spiderman/Sith/ROTK of the 80s.

I didnt realise Jaws 3D did so well opening weekend. No surprise that it was hugely frontloaded. Any idea what Jaws 2 did back in 78?

Also Star Trek films have always been fairly frontloaded. But openings were always great early on. Only First Contact came close of the latter films.

Rambo II OW was incredible (I guess only Passion has surpassed it as far as R Rated films are concerned.) Together with Rocky and Indy - Rambo was one of the true 80s icons. Interesting to note that the 1985 opening of Rambo II was higher than 2008's Rambo IV opening!

Im sure during alot of these record breakers' runs - people were saying how frontloaded a movie's run was becoming

I just read that The Sound of Music took about 4 weeks to reach No.1 and then it was No.1 for 30 of 40 subsequent weeks!!

1988-1997

1988 Crocodile Dundee II- 24.5 million (First year with 2 20+ openers, the other was Coming to America with 21.4 million, This was the first non sequel to open over 20 million, and it was R Rated.)

1989- Batman- 40.5 million (First film over 40 million; the opening weekend record was broken 3 times: Indiana Jones- 29.3 million; Ghostbusters II- 29.4 million, finally Batman. Batman was highest opening original film; first year to have 5 20+ openers; Batman joins Return of the Jedi as the opening weekend champ to also be highest earner of the year, domestic)

1990- Total Recall- 25.5 million (R Rated; closest race ever with #2 being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with 25.4 million [difference of $135,000]; Childs Play 2 is first 10+ opener to fail to reach 30 million)

1991- Terminator 2- 31.8 million (R Rated; first film to gross 30-40 million; 3rd film to also win the year; first year a 20+ earner finished outside the top 10 [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II]; Turtles II is also the first 20+ opener to finish below 100 million.

1992- Batman Returns- 45.7 million (First time opening weekend record was broken by same franchise; First year with 4+ 30 million openings; Batman, Lethal Weapon 3- 33.2, Home Alone 2- 31.1, Dracula-30.5; Dracula is first 30 million opener to finish outside of the top 10, and the first 30 million earner to fail to reach 100 million.

1993- Jurassic Park- 47 million (3rd Steven Spielberg film; 4th film to also win the year; biggest difference between first and 2nd opener of 21.6 million; highest opening original film)

1994- Interview With the Vampire- 36.4 million (R rated; First time highest opener finished outside the top 10 of the year at #11)

1995- Batman Forever- 52.8 million (first 50 million opener; biggest difference between first and 2nd highest openers at 23.6 million; Mortal Kombat is lowest grossing 20 million opener at 70.5 million)

1996- Independence Day- 50.2 million (Highest opening original film; 5th film to also be highest grosser of the year; First time 3 films opened over 40 million, other two are Mission Impossible- 45.4 and Twister- 41 million; first time entire top 10 opened over 10 million million, top 12 to be exact; Beevis and Butthead is lowest grossing 20 million opener at 63.1 million)

1997- The Lost World Jurassic Park- 72.1 million (First film over 70 million, First year to have 2 50+ openers; first year to have top 7 open over 30 million; Starship Troopers is lowest grossing film to open over 20 million at 54.8 million; Star Wars Special Edition is first rerelease to open over 30 million

Both Jaws and Jaws 2 were opening weekend champs and record holders, Jaws 2 came close to missing 10 million. I think Crocide Dundee 2 and Coming to America are very interesting ones.

I love random info like that. Where'd you read it?

I read it in Variety Editer-In-Chief Peter Bart's book - "Boffo"

http://www.amazon.com/Boffo-Learned-Lov ... 938&sr=8-1

I'd highly reccommend it. It has sections on films, tv shows and stage musicals that had difficult or interesting pitch/pre-production periods or nearly didnt get made. I read that in the chapter devouted to The Sound of Music (everyone including the stars and director thought it was too sacchiren sweet). Other interesting chapters are : LOTR, Godfather, CSI, All in the Family, Blair Witch.

Crocodile Dundee and Coming to America were both huge OW. Though legs werent that special.

Batman totally bypassed the $30m's and went straight to $40m+ (much like Lost World, Potter and Spidey and Pirates 2 did - smashed the previous records).

1994 had a low top opener for such a memorable year. Lion King and Gump did their super grosses on great legs. I remember Interview was estimated at $40m for the weekend but was off by alot.

ID4 was impressive. Its $50m was part of a $96m 5-day gross. Incredible. Just as impressive was Twister which was then the biggest non summer opener ever (it kind of wasnt consider summer - though we do now). But more impressive were its 2nd and 3rd weeks which were both over $37m.

Frontloading is becoming more prevalent throughout the 90s!

I also remember ID4 making something like 11mill+ in previews from late tuesday, which was unheard of back then, truly the first film to have that first HUGE 5 day opening, it was the film that started that 5 day opening weekend trend we see with the big tentpole films today.

Yeah ID4 was insanity.

Still remember those days when it came out.

I like to add something. Rambo: First Blood part II was also the first movie to open in over 2000 theaters.

1998- Godzilla- 44 million (Lowest since 1994; first time highest opener over 40 million finished outside of the top 5, at #9; closest first and 2nd place finish since 1990 with Deep Impact opening only 2.8 million less)

1999- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace- 64.8 million (6th film to also win the year; First year with 3 50+ openers; the other two were Toy Story 2- 57.3 million and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged me- 54.9 million; Eyes Wide Shut becomes lowest grossing 20 million opener with 55.7 million)

2000- Mission Impossible 2- 57.8 million (X-men becomes lowest grossing 50 million earner- 157.3 million; Gladiator is highest opening Best Picture winner- 34.8 million; First time top 11 all opened over 28 million)

2001- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- 90.3 million (Highest opening original film and film; 7th film to also win the year; 5 films opened over 60 million (Potter; Planet of the Apes; Mummy Returns; Rush Hour 2; Monsters Inc.; First time entire top ten opened over 42 million; Valentine is lowest grossing 10+ opener- 20.3 million; Hannibal crushes Air Force One's R rated opening record of 37 million, up to 58 million.)

2002- Spiderman- 114.8 million (Highest film opening, original as well; 8th film to also win the year; 4 films opened over 72 million- Spiderman; Chamber of Secrets; Attack of the Clones: Austin Powers in Goldmember; Scooby Doo becomes lowest grossing 50 million earner- 153.3 million; Blade 2 breaks Dracula's 10 year old record of being the lowest grossing 30 million earner- 82.3 million)

Certainly so far 2001 was just an explosion at the time and a very impressive year. So many huge openings that year, but I think gets overshadowed for never have a weekend record holder. That and 89 seem like the most interesting years so far.

Kind of odd that looking back that 30 million openers usually meant you were a great success. But interesting that Bram Stoker's Dracula held the record for so long; only to be beaten by another Vampire movie; and Interview with the Vampire had the highest opening for an R rated film beating T2 and then beaten by Air Force One.

One final note was Batman and Robin until 2002 still had the lowest grossing 40 million opener.

Nevermind. >.>

HP was from 2001.

I said the same thing, then I figured he meant all the OTHER big openers that didn't hold the record like Rush Hour 2, The Mummy Returns, Planet of the Apes, etc.

Yeah, Mummy Returns, Planet of the Apes, and Rush Hour 2 all came really close to Lost World's record. But to think that Hannibal's enormous opening weekend (which was the third largest ever at the time) was outdone by six different films before the end of the year is pretty astounding.

Yeah 2001 was a watershed due to all the mega openings. Though films became alot more frontoaded.

It also ushered in beginning of 3 franchises that would dominate the decade - Shrek, Potter and LOTR. As below:

2001 - Shrek, Potter, FOTR
2002 - Potter 2, TTT
2003 - ROTK
2004 - Shrek 2, Potter 3
2005 - Potter 5
2006 - Nil
2007 - Shrek 3, Potter 5
2008 - Potter 6

In its opening weekend Austin Powers 2 outgrossed the original's entire run. Not even T2 managed that.

it's weird to think that only a few years ago, a $50m OW equated to at least $150m. Nowadays, even a $70m OW can't for sure put you over that mark if the WOM's weak enough.

Thats frontloading for you. With the advent of DVD things have got worse because people will make their 2nd and 3rd viewings in their lounge room and not in a theatre. Hence why Titanic today would have made much less.

Still - a film that makes $150m off a $70m opening today doesnt have to have worse WOM than a film that made $150m off a $40m opening a few years ago. Its just that the viewing pattern has changed. Both still made $150m. For studios the new frontloaded way is obviously more attractive.

Whats even more amazing is 1995- 50 million was the record holder, ten years later 50 million was the opening day record.

2003-2007 coming tonight

2003- The Matrix Reloaded- 91.8 million (First R rated one in 9 years; Highest opening R rated film; Hulk becomes lowest grossing 60 million opener- 132.2; Daredevil becomes lowest grossing 40 million opener- 102.5; Underworld becomes lowest grossing 20 million opener- 51.92 million; Return of the King is highest opening Best Picture winner- 72.6 million; First time top 21 all opened over 23 million)

2004- Shrek 2-108 million (9th film to also win year; highest animted film opening; first time 4 films open over 80 million, 2 over 90 million; The Village is lowest grossing 50 million earner- 114.2 million; AVP is lowest grossing 30 million opener- 80.3 million; Resident Evil: Apocolypse is lowest grossing 20 million earner- 51.2 million)

2005- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith- 108.4 million (10th to also win the year; first time two 100+ earners, 2nd is Goblet of Fire-102.7 million; Exorcism of Emily Rose is lowest grossing 30 million earner- 75 million; Diary of a Mad Black Woman is lowest grossing 20 million earner- 50. 6 million.)

2006-PoTC: Dead Man's Chest- 135.6 (Biggest in 4 years; 11th to also win year; biggest difference between #1 and 2- 32.8 million; Scary Movie 4 is lowest grossing 40 million earner- 90.7 million, first and only 40 million film to fail to reach 100 million; The Grudge 2 is lowest grossing 20 million opener-39.1; Grudge 2 is first sequel to fail to outgross original's opening weekend)

2007-Spiderman 3- 151.1 (Record, 12th to also win the year; 3 100 openers; top 12 opened over 44 million; 8 films over 70 million, entire top 6 over 70 million; Saw IV is lowest grossing 30 opener- 63.3; Reno 911: The Movie is lowest grossing 10 million opener- 20.34

That right there should be proof enough about Indy breaking at least 5 day opening records. Temple of Doom beating Return of the Jedi OW in just 1 year. Plus Phantom Menace almost broke JP2 record had it not opened on a wednesday

All right, now that the hard part is over, here are some fun statistics: Out of the 30 years:

How many holders also were #1 for the year? 14/30
How Many holders were original films? 9/30
Out of that 9, the ones that weren't adaptations? 2/30, Independence Day and Total Recall (though that was based on a short story)
Franchises- Star Wars (4 with Reissue) Star Trek and Batman (3) Jurassic Park and Spiderman (2)
R Rated films? 6/30 Last was Matrix Reloaded
Lowest 60 million Opener/ Gross? Still the Hulk (9 Year record)
Lowest 50 million Opener/ Gross? Paranormal Activity 3)
Lowest 40 million Opener/ Gross? Friday the 13th
Lowest 30 million Opener/ Gross? Saw V
Lowest 20 million Opener/ Gross? Notorious
Lowest 10 Million Opener/ Gross? Jonas Brothers Concert movie

Also to note: Interview With the Vampire is the only opening weekend king of the year to not finish in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year.

Director? Steven Spielberg (3 [4 including Last Crusade]) George Lucas (3 [4 Including Return of the Jedi])
Actors? Harrison Ford (4), William Shatner & Star Trek Co. (3) Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger (2) I'd have to say though, Arnold is the most impressive as they were both R rated films, and can be more argued for Star Power

I think the reason summer 2001 is kind of forgotten is because 1) Most of them were sequels or remakes 2) A lot of them were forgettable, some of them to forgettable films, and 3) There was a lot of frontloading. It was kind of a summer of movies you would fuck, not marry. Spider-Man was a film that not only held its record, dropped decently, but also had a feeling of dominating the summer from a cultural perspective. It's hard to remember what kind of records were being broken when we're forgetting what films were even released.