The film business has had a rough year in 2021, with new COVID versions threatening to render cinema obsolete. Despite the delays and significant losses to cinemas and the industry as a whole, certain films were able to entice audiences back to the theaters. Here’s a list of Hollywood’s highest-grossing films of 2021, from ‘Godzilla Vs Kong’ testing the waters in March to Daniel Craig ensuring his final outing as Bond appeared on the big screen to Tom Holland concluding the year with a Billion-dollar surprise.
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ gave the best Christmas present of all, becoming the first pandemic-era film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide. After only ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ the comic-book epic became the third-fastest film to hit the billion-dollar mark. The Tom Holland-starrer has also become the highest-grossing film of 2021, with box office receipts projected to continue to soar well into January 2022.
Fans from all around the world flocked to the theaters to see Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond. ‘No Time To Die,’ which had a modest start at the box office with a $55 million take, went on to become the second-highest grossing film of 2021. At the box office, the picture reportedly grossed $774,03 million over its whole run.
In June of this year, Vin Diesel and his ‘Fast and Furious’ family had a good box office start. The picture, which was the franchise’s ninth installment, debuted with a massive $70 million opening weekend. Despite its release during the pandemic, the picture managed to break records. At the global box office, it grossed $726.22 million over its existence.
‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage,’ starring Tom Hardy, broke box office records with a $90.1 million opening weekend. The film, which was only released in theaters, outperformed the 2018 original ‘Venom.’ It also went on to have one of the strongest October debuts, second only to Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker,’ which took in $96.2 million in 2019. ‘Venom 2’ finished with an estimated $501.02 million in box office receipts.
When film was released in April, ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ had the best opening of the pandemic. Even though it was simultaneously streaming on OTT platforms, the picture grossed an estimated $48.5 million. The monster-verse film, which was predicted to gross $500 million globally, only managed to gross $467.86 million at the global box office.
With a projected $71.4 million in ticket sales, Marvel’s first Asian-led superhero film set a new record for Labor Day debuts. With a global three-day haul of $127.6 million, the picture starring Simu Liu had one of the biggest starts of the pandemic. The film reportedly grossed $177 million globally in its debut weekend. The film finished with an estimated $432.23 million in box office receipts, surpassing many records.
The multi-starrer directed by Oscar winner Chloe Zhao had a major release in India over the Diwali weekend, but it didn’t do well at the foreign box office. Despite the positive reviews and an all-star cast, the picture only made $161.7 million in its first weekend. Despite this, ‘Eternals’ had the fourth-best opening weekend of any film released during the pandemic era at the time of its debut. The entire amount collected was $400.68 million.
Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ started with $40.1 million in domestic ticket sales and $220.7 million worldwide in its opening weekend, despite the excitement and anticipation surrounding the film. The picture starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, which also debuted on OTT platforms, ended up grossing an estimated $393.58 million at the box office.
