A-List: Best of the Top Opening Weekend-Grossing Movies
By J. Don Birnam
April 16, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The idea for this column came after Furious 7 it made it so high into the all-time list, which prompted me to look at the top 100 three-day weekend openers. To be clear, I looked at the official lists published by established Internet websites that collect historical box office data. Unsurprisingly, most of these movies came out in the past 10 or even five years. The lists are not adjusted for inflation, and theater counts and movie ticket prices have been rising.
But if one looks simply at the top 100 list, there is some solid fare, but also some surprise entries consisting of recent movies like Cinderella or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake, both of which have no place in the list of top anything other than bland remakes. That the fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones franchise is on the list is telling.
On the other hand, it is also revealing that movies like Avatar are on the top 100 list. It shows that in a vast sea of comic book movies and Harry Potter and Star Wars movies, there are some isolated gems that stand out in their lonesome. Thus, a list of the best fives movies whose opening weekends are in the top 100 would have read something along the lines of: Avatar, The Return of The King, Frozen, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. None of these movies, however, crack the top 50. Moreover, the choices are somewhat obvious when the competition is most of the Twilight, Hunger Games, and Transformers openers.
Thus, to make matters more interesting, the only limiting rule this time around is the requirement that the movie be in the top 50 opening weekends of all time, as opposed to top 100. Not only will these be more lasting than the as-of-now-in-peril opening records held by movies such as, say, Maleficient (#78 on the list, before Furious 7) or The Day After Tomorrow (#80), it will provide for more interesting choices among the sequels and superhero movies. When the 51st through 100th entries are eliminated, “prestige” films like those in the drive-by list I prepared above fall off, leaving us with much harder choices.
I will mention three comic book movies as honorable mentions, to start. The original Spider-Man, released in 2002 and starring Tobey Maguire, was in its day the highest-grossing opener of all time, with an astonishing $114 million to swing past the new record recently established by the Harry Potter opener. Today, the movie sits at #19 and is still remembered by movie buffs as an opening weekend phenomenon.
I also have to mention the first Iron Man movie, which opened just shy of $100 million in 2008, revived Robert Downey Jr.’s career, and spawned two sequels, one of which is currently the second highest opening weekend record-holder (Iron Man 3). Iron Man’s success is noteworthy because the movie sort of came out of nowhere and is solid entertainment. Today, it sits at #29. I’ll also mention Guardians of the Galaxy, today #33 on the list, as a recent favorite of mine, which also opened very surprisingly at $94 million in 2014, blowing past expectations.
But without a doubt, the five best movies from that top 50 list now are to be found elsewhere.
5. Marvel’s The Avengers
Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated movies in film history, the agglomeration of past, popular superheroes, from Ironman to Hulk to Captain America and Thor, is the only movie in film history to gross over $200 million ($207.4 to be precise) in its opening weekend. The second closest, Ironman 3, sits far behind at $174 million. The movie itself is solid, entertaining, and exactly what one would expect from a superhero franchise. The only question that remains is whether its highly anticipated sequel, Age of Ultron - which will be released this summer - will be able to blow past that record. My own conservative nature tells me that the sequel will not do so, but at some point it is inevitable that $200 million openers become a norm. That Furious 7 did so well shows as much. The only question is which will be the movie to topple The Avengers from the crown it has held for three years (the longest the top title has been held since it started changing places almost biannually in 2006).
Could the new Star Wars flick be the one to do it, or will The Avengers hold on to the record for another year? Stay tuned.
4. Skyfall Building off a popular run in the United Kingdom, the most recent of the James Bond franchises has also been the most successful with audiences and critics alike. Receiving a franchise record five Oscar nominations (and winning two, its third and fourth Oscars ever), Skyfall opened at a surprising $88 million weekend in 2012, enough to currently sit at #42 on the list. The praise and buzz were both worth it, as the movie was the first time the franchise really became a lot much than just another spy thriller. It was a full-on adult suspense film that required a lot less suspension of disbelief than prior entries, while still thrilling audiences with exciting danger sequences. It also featured one of the best Bond songs in history, Adele’s Oscar-winning Skyfall. Overall, it is undisputedly among the best of those 50 top weekend openers. Will Spectre, the 24th overall James Bond film, and the fourth starring Daniel Craig, manage to top this total when it opens in November later this year? I, for one, am eagerly anticipating its release.
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Of the eight movies in the franchise, the Harry Potter films hog a total of six spots in the top 50 opening weekends (only Half-Blood Prince and Order of the Phoenix miss out). Indeed, the Harry Potter movies lay claim to a long list of box office records, including the third-highest opener of all time (Deathly Hallows Part 2, opening to $169 million in 2011), and the then-highest opener of all time when the first movie stunned Hollywood’s expectations by taking in $90 million in 2001.
But of all the entries it is only Alfonso Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azkaban, the third movie in the franchise, that is worthy of mention today. Azkaban opened to a fantastic $93 million in 2004, good for fourth place in the franchise after the Deathly Hollows entries and Goblet of Fire, which means it currently sits at #34 on the list. But it is Cuarón’s usual mastery of movies that make this a memorable film. It was the first time the main characters were shown outside their wizard robes, taking the movie from pure fantasy into the realm of wishful possibility. The time-motifs that the book revolves around are masterfully handled by the modified tick-tock score and the constant shots of clocks. And it is the first movie of the series that is really dark, setting the right tone for the events to follow in later films.
Goblet of Fire is hailed by many as the best book in the Harry Potter series, but I wager a lot would agree that it was Azkaban that stole the show amongst the big screen adaptations.
2. Toy Story 3 To be honest, I was never a big fan of the first two Toy Story movies. Both seemed childish to me (perhaps it didn’t help that I saw them as a teenager, when they were released) and by the time the third movie rolled around, I was skeptical and could not remember the difference between the first two.
But Toy Story 3 managed to touch the hearts of millions, including this numbed film buff, with its touching story about growing up and the relationship one has to one’s past/childhood through objects that mattered to it, such as toys. Disney/Pixar really outdid themselves with this one, and were rewarded for their efforts with one of only three Best Picture nominations to ever go to an animated film.
Moreover, Toy Story 3 holds the second-highest animated opening weekend of all time, behind only Shrek the Third. Debuting at a record $110 million in 2010, Toy Story 3 currently sits at #21 on the list, but is undoubtedly one of the best movies amongst all 50 listed there. If it weren’t for the unarguable best, it may have made it to number one. Alas, that honor clearly belongs to…
1. The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s second of three visions of the Batman universe is considered by many one of the best superhero movies of all time, and I have to agree. When it opened in 2008 at a stunning $158 million, it became only the second movie to cross that $150 threshold (Spider-Man 3 had done it the previous year). It also became the closest movie to threaten Titanic’s then 11-year old stranglehold on the all-time box office crown, reaching $533 million, somewhat shy of the now-surpassed record of just north of $600.
The Dark Knight caused ripples outside of the world of box office junkies, too. Its perceived snub for a Best Picture Oscar caused such a backlash in the film world that we are still living with the consequences today. The Academy’s decision to expand the Best Picture film beyond the five is arguably a result of The Dark Knight’s failure to make the cut.
Beyond these statistical quirks, it is clear that The Dark Knight is a masterpiece among the crowd-pleasing movies of our times. Perhaps it is Nolan’s dark but flawless vision, or Heath Ledger’s timeless, masterful performance, or the tight script and dazzling visual effects. Perhaps it is the questions that it raises and pushes the envelope on regarding the selfishness and brutal nature of humanity. Perhaps it is that it is simply a fun, entertaining movie that doesn’t miss a beat or contain a false note. Regardless of what theory you accept, it is clear that The Dark Knight will live among movie lore long after it’s been pushed out of the top 50 opening weekends (which will, hopefully, be many years from now, as it currently sits at #5.
Will the (anticipated?) Ben Affleck remake - now announced as a Justice League sequel with Superman - make this kinds of money? I guess we shall soon find out.