Box Office magazine has charted the domestic film box-office grosses for 2011. They report a 4.5% decrease in number of tickets sold (versus 2010): 1.280 billion versus 1.340 billion, and a 3.5% decrease in box office gross: $10.185 billion versus $10.570 billion. Once again, sf/f/h films owned the top of the charts.
Last year, our genre films owned the top 10 spots and 13 of the top 15. This year, non-genre films have wormed their way a little higher.
They chart films based on their opening, so the 2011 chart does not include movies that opened in 2010. Of those, genre films that were in the theatres in 2010 and 2011 include:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, which opened 19 November 2010 and was #6 on last year’s chart. At the end of 2010, it had grossed $278.8 million. In 2011, it grossed another $17.2 million.
Despicable Me, which opened 9 July 2010 and was #7 on last year’s chart. At the end of 2010, it had grossed $251.0 million. In 2011, it grossed another $500 thousand.
Tangled, which opened 24 November 2010 and was #13 on last year’s chart. At the end of 2010, it had grossed $158.0 million. In 2011, it grossed another $42.8 million.
Megamind, which opened 5 November 2010 and was #14 on last year’s chart. At the end of 2010, it had grossed $143.6 million. In 2011, it grossed another $4.8 million.
Tron: Legacy, which opened 17 December 2010 and was #20 on last year’s chart. At the end of 2010, it had grossed $112.5 million. In 2011, it grossed another $59.6 million.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which opened 10 December 2010 and was #39 on last year’s chart. At the end of 2010, it had grossed $76.6 million. In 2011, it grossed another $27.8 million.
Among movies that opened in 2011, the top US grossing films were:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, which grossed $381.0 million after opening 15 July (that’s 8% less than last year’s #1, Toy Story 3)
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon: $352.4 million (28 June)
3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1: $276.7 million (18 November——still in theatres)
4. The Hangover Part II: $254.5 million (26 May)
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: $241.1 million (20 May)
6. Fast Five: $209.8 million (29 April)
7. Cars 2: $191.5 million (24 June)
8. Thor: $181.0 million (6 May)
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: $176.8 million (5 August)
10. Captain America: The First Avenger: $176.7 million (22 July)
11. The Help: $169.5 million (10 August)
12. Bridesmaids: $169.1 million (13 May)
13. Kung Fu Panda 2: $165.2 million (26 May)
14. Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol: $147.2 million (16 December——still in theatres)
15. X-Men: First Class: $146.4 million (3 June)
Other sf/f/h films on the chart include:
16. Puss in Boots: $145.9 million (28 October&8212;still in theatres)
17. Rio: $143.6 million (15 April)
18. The Smurfs: $142.6 million (29 July)
19. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: $141.5 million (16 December&8212;still in theatres)
20. Super 8: $127.0 million (9 June)
21. Rango: $123.3 million (4 March)
23. Green Lantern: $116.6 million (17 June)
24. Hop: $108.1 million (1 April)
25. Paranormal Activity 3: $104.0 million (21 October)
27. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked: $101.0 million (16 December&8212;still in theatres)
29. Cowboys & Aliens: $100.2 million (29 July)
30. Gnomeo and Juliet: $100.0 million (11 February)
31. The Green Hornet: $98.8 million (14 January)
32. The Lion King 3D: $94.2 million (16 September)
33. Real Steel: $84.6 million (7 October)
35. The Muppets: $84.0 million (23 November&8212;still in theatres)
36. Battle: Los Angeles: $83.6 million (11 March)
37. Immortals: $82.7 million (11 November&8212;still in theatres)
39. Limitless: $79.2 million (18 March)
41. Contagion: $75.7 million (9 September)
48. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: $63.8 million (20 December&8212;still in theatres)
50. The Adjustment Bureau: $62.5 million (4 March)
For Box Office‘s full list of the 151 films grossing at least $5 million at the US box office in 2011, see this page.