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

[Brendon Connelly]

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.

[Monetta]

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.

As long as people overseas continue to greatly support movies like Twilight, I don't see it happening.

In America, we cringe at foreign accents and head for the hills if there are subtitles. I suspect Harry Potter's popularity here was due to a pact with Satan.

[AudioPhantom]

HAHAHA! I have horrible taste in movies I guess.
I loved green Hornet, Sucker Punch, A Team and Real Steel.
None of those even showed up.
But then, people like Jersey Shore, so maybe staying away from popular films isn't such a bad idea.

[Comicsfan101]

HAHAHA! I have horrible taste in movies I guess.
I loved green Hornet, Sucker Punch, A Team and Real Steel.
None of those even showed up.
But then, people like Jersey Shore, so maybe staying away from popular films isn't such a bad idea.

I don't know. I wouldn't touch Jersey Shore with someone else's ten foot pole, didn't bother to finish Sucker Punch, and didn't bother to see the others you mention. Don't think there's a straight comparison.

[TGC]

I really enjoyed Horrible Bosses, but I had no idea it was that big of a hit.

[bottleHeD]

Nobody crossed a billion this year?

[Scavenger]

Nobody crossed a billion this year?

If I understand the charts, with the first being US sales and the second being non-US sales, then Transformers, Pirates, and Potter did.

[Birmy]

Johnny English Reborn was never going to be a hit here in America no matter what; the first one was a bomb and no one here was clamoring for more. He has his fans here, but Rowan Atkinson was never all that big a celebrity or a draw.

Likewise, Americans don't have the relationship with Tintin that much of the world, especially Europe, seems to have. Here it is relegated to comics snobs (like ourselves) and, to paraphrase Lisa Simpson, high school French classes. I could have told you that it would underperform here sight unseen. Spielberg's (and Jackson's) involvement raised a few eyebrows, but there's no inherent cultural connection to the material (plus, there's a growing sentiment that motion capture animation is just sort of creepy-looking).

Harry Potter simply transcends all cultural barriers. Those books are just as loved here as they are in Europe.

I've often lamented the American aversion to subtitles. I worked at an art house theatre for a lot of years and I can't tell you how often people would walk out/decide not to see a movie based on subtitles alone. "I don't go to the movies to read!" was a common "joke."

[AudioPhantom]

I don't know. I wouldn't touch Jersey Shore with someone else's ten foot pole, didn't bother to finish Sucker Punch, and didn't bother to see the others you mention. Don't think there's a straight comparison.

Basically my comparison is: I don't agree withthe masses and that's cool with me.
Twilight was big, yet I have no interest in Twilight.
My problem is, I sound like a D-bag because "I don't like something if its popular", so I'm torn.

[Comicsfan101]

Basically my comparison is: I don't agree withthe masses and that's cool with me.
Twilight was big, yet I have no interest in Twilight.
My problem is, I sound like a D-bag because "I don't like something if its popular", so I'm torn.

Hell with that! You couldn't pay me to watch Twilight. You'd have to pay me a lot to pretend to say nice things about Twilight.