Thebox officehas always been volatile and unpredictable, with movies that seemed destined to become smash hits completely bombing, or films that no one expected to make much noise pulling through to become hits.2024 has been a solid year when it comes to total box officenumbers, with multiple huge successes sprinkled throughout the year and aThanksgiving weekend that broke several box office records, but there is one overall month that made such box office history, and that level of success hasn’t been repeated since.
Despite 2024’s huge successes, the box office as a whole is still significantly reduced when compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Thebiggest recent box office year, 2023, still had a smaller total gross than any pre-2020 year since 2007. On the other hand,the 2010s were a huge time for the box office and Hollywood as a whole, as plenty of franchises were either reaching their huge climaxes or just getting warmed up. One month during that time made more money off movies than any other before it, and any other since.
July 2011 Is The Highest Grossing Single Month At The Domestic Box Office Of All-Time
Multiple Huge Releases & Many Smaller Titles Made This Month Unbeatable
July 2011’s total box office numbers added up to around $1.394 billion at the domestic box office, earning just a bit more than the previous year’s July record of $1.31 billion, according toBox Office Mojo. There are plenty of reasons this month, in particular, did so well, with the most obvious beingthe movies that were released at and around that time were highly anticipated and quite well-liked.With their popularity among general audiences, people went out in droves to see the monumental release they had been waiting for.
While a service like Netflix was beginning to pick up steam, it wasn’t as all-encompassing as it is today, giving room for a much wider breadth of movies to become successful at the box office.
Another major reason that this month has been able to maintain its top spot over many years and many huge films since is that this record came just before the massiveboom of streaming services like Netflixarrived to disrupt the box office. At this time,the best way to watch movies was still to go out and see them in the theater.While a service like Netflix was beginning to pick up steam, it wasn’t as all-encompassing as it is today, giving room for a much wider breadth of movies to become successful at the box office.
Harry Potter, Transformers, Marvel & More Helped Set July’s Biggest Month Box Office Record
Franchise Films Were The Backbone Of This Month’s Success
The biggest Jully 2011 films wereHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the culmination of a long-running and beloved series,Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the final film in a trilogy that absolutely blew up, andCaptain America: The First Avenger, which was at theforefront of the MCU in its first phase. Somewhat surprisingly, the highest-grossing month wasn’t when films likeAvengers: EndgameorStar Wars: Episode VIIwere released.July 2011’s biggest strength was that it had multiple huge releases, instead of a single record-shattering hit like those films.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
$318,511,602
$273,242,378
$117,421,571
$96,290,917
$91,188,075
Zookeeper
$68,832,733
Yet a few titles were still the biggest hits, with thesoon-to-be rebootedHarry Pottermaking over $318 million,Transformersearning $273 million, andCaptain Americamaking $117 million (viaBox Office Mojo). However, there were many films that, while not as huge as the top three, made plenty of money: This includesHorrible Bosseswith its $96 million,Cars 2at $91 million, and Kevin James’Zookeeperat $68 million over the month. While the huge, tentpole films are clearly the main reason the month did so well,these smaller but still significant successes are what pushed July 2011 into its record-holding status.
The Last Jedi & Jumanji Almost Helped December 2017 Break July 2011’s Box Office Record
Not Even Star Wars Could Take Back The Record
Despite July 2011’s dominance as the top month in box office history, there have been plenty that have come close.December 2017 totaled $1.325 billion dollars at the domestic box officeby the time it had wrapped up. This was a month dominated mostly by one specific release but also had the advantage of many smaller films that boosted overall box office earnings considerably when added together. Thebiggest release was, of course,Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, raking in $517 million at the domestic box office over the month.
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The second biggest hit wasJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the first of thehighly successfulJumanjireboot films, earning $170 million. In third place for the month wasCoco, one of Pixar’s most highly acclaimed projects in recent memory, making $97 million. The month was bolstered byPitch Perfect 3,Ferdinand, andThe Greatest Showman, all making around $50 to $60 million. However, while this month came close, it didn’t manage to break the record, and with the way the box office has been unable to fully recover from 2020, it may be some time before July 2011’s success is repeated.
