2011′s Biggest Box Office Hits, Both In The US And Around The World

Let’s contrast and compare the year’s biggest hits at the “domestic” American box office versus those that have performed best across the rest of the world. These would presumably be “non-domestic”… so that’s what, exactly? “Feral”?

There are a good handful of differences to be uncovered and not just where Tintin is concerned.

Here are the top twenty hits in the US.

20. Horrible Bosses – $117,538,559
19. Rango - $123,257,581
18. Super 8 – $127,004,179
17. The Smurfs - $142,614,158
16. Rio - $143,619,809
15. Puss in Boots – $143,935,000
14. X-Men: First Class – $146,408,305
13. Kung Fu Panda 2 – $165,249,063
12. Bridesmaids - $169,106,725
11. The Help – $169,461,566
10. Captain America: The First Avenger – $176,654,505
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $176,711,822
8. Thor - $181,030,624
7. Cars 2 – $191,452,396
6. Fast Five – $209,837,675
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – $241,071,802
4. The Hangover Part 2 - $254,464,305
3. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 – $273,445,000
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon – $352,390,543
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – $381,011,219

Ah, that Harry Potter – popular with the honest paying public as well as crooks and critics.

And now the top twenty when based on box office receipts tallied outside of the US.

20. Super 8 – $132.9 million
19. Johnny English Reborn – $150.3 million
18. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – $190.8 million
17. Captain America: The First Avenger - $192.0 million
16. Real Steel – $192.7 million
15. X-Men: First Class – $207.2 million
14. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn – $239.1 million
13. Puss in Boots – $255.2 million
12. Thor - $268.3 million
11. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – $304.5 million
10. The Hangover Part 2 – $327.0 million
9. Rio - $341.0 million
8. Cars 2 - $360.4 million
7. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 – $381.0 million
6. Fast Five – $416.3 million
5. The Smurfs – $419.9 million
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 – $500.4 million
3. Transformers: Dark of the Moon – $771.4 million
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – $802.8 million
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $947.1 million

In short, I can’t help but expect 3D re-releases of the Harry Potter films, perhaps with some unused footage reinserted. Also, the Transformers aren’t going anywhere, not with numbers like that, even in Michael Bay does. I’m pretty sure they don’t need him – the Pirates certainly didn’t need Gore Verbinski.

Now, to provoke you in your own comparisons of the two charts, here’s some interesting extra info.

• Of the international hits, Johnny English Reborn was the most heavily biased to non-American spend with 94.8% of his tickets being sold outside of the US.
• This would be followed by Tintin at 87%.
• Harry Potter took 71.3% of its bank at cinemas outside of the US.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to be seen from these charts is that the most successful box office is made by films from the big US studios.

Not only do they outperform international movies at the US box office, as you’d expect, they sell more consistently worldwide than any other country or industry’s projects.

Johnny English is often mistaken for some kind of English film but, in truth, it was bankrolled by Universal and made on their watch.

The most successful film not in the English language on the international list would be Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, placing in 51st place with almost $63 million globally. Meanwhile it took around $83,400 inside the US, making it the domestic number 350 for the year.

I predicted about six or seven years ago that the US studios’ stranglehold on the international box office would slip, and since that time, have been expecting to see signs creeping into the charts. I’m still sure it’s inevitable, but I’m no longer looking for a blazing beacon. It’s going to take some time, I think.

Thanks to Box Office Mojo for all of the data.