The Return of the Box Office: Which Movies Made the Most Money in 2021?
Once upon a time, going to the movies was a popular pastime — then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Consequently, 2020 was a historically bleak year at the box office, but things slowly started to return to normal this year.
In 2021, domestic box office revenues totaled just over $4 million, which is double the $2 million realized in 2020, according to The Numbers. However, it’s still a long way from the nearly $11.3 million generated in 2019.
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Of course, not all movies released in 2021 equally contributed to this year’s box office earnings. As always, some films were monumentally more successful than others.
It’s inevitable that even the most popular films didn’t earn nearly as much at theaters as they would’ve pre-pandemic, but many still shined impressively bright. Fans wanted to see these movies so badly, they came out in droves to support their favorite stars.
Drumroll please — here’s a look at the 15 most profitable films of 2021.
15. ‘Tom and Jerry’
Genre: Adventure
Tickets sold: 5.03 million
Production budget: $50 million
Domestic box office: $46.04 million
International box office: $86.01 million
Worldwide box office: $132.10 million
14. ‘The Boss Baby: Family Business’
Genre: Adventure
Tickets sold: 6.30 million
Production budget: $82 million
Domestic box office: $57.30 million
International box office: $75.92 million
Worldwide box office: $133.22 million
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13. ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’
Genre: Comedy
Tickets sold: 7.70 million
Production budget: $150 million
Domestic box office: $70.53 million
International box office: $73.20 million
Worldwide box office: $143.72 million
12. ‘Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway’
Genre: Adventure
Tickets sold: 4.41 million
Production budget: $45 million
Domestic box office: $40.40 million
International box office: $112.20 million
Worldwide box office: $152.60 million
11. ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’
Genre: Comedy
Tickets sold: 12.30 million
Production budget: $75 million
Domestic box office: $113.04 million
International box office: $52.60 million
Worldwide box office: $165.05 million
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10. ‘The Suicide Squad’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 6.10 million
Production budget: $185 million
Domestic box office: $55.80 million
International box office: $111.30 million
Worldwide box office: $167.10 million
9. ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’
Genre: Horror
Tickets sold: 7.20 million
Production budget: $40 million
Domestic box office: $65.60 million
International box office: $134.64 million
Worldwide box office: $200.21 million
8. ‘A Quiet Place: Part II’
Genre: Horror
Tickets sold: 17.50 million
Production budget: $61 million
Domestic box office: $160.22 million
International box office: $136.50 million
Worldwide box office: $296.70 million
7. ‘Black Widow’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 20.05 million
Production budget: $200 million
Domestic box office: $183.70 million
International box office: $191.82 million
Worldwide box office: $375.50 million
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6. ‘Dune’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 11.61 million
Production budget: $165 million
Domestic box office: $106.32 million
International box office: $283.90 million
Worldwide box office: $390.20 million
5. ‘Eternals’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 17.64 million
Production budget: $200 million
Domestic box office: $161.60 million
International box office: $234.10 million
Worldwide box office: $395.63 million
4. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 24.51 million
Production budget: $150 million
Domestic box office: $224.54 million
International box office: $193.41 million
Worldwide box office: $418 million
3. ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 11 million
Production budget: $155 million
Domestic box office: $100.60 million
International box office: $367.30 million
Worldwide box office: $467.83 million
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2. ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 23.15 million
Production budget: $110 million
Domestic box office: $212.04 million
International box office: $281.06 million
Worldwide box office: $493.10 million
1. ‘No Time to Die’
Genre: Action
Tickets sold: 17.53 million
Production budget: $250 million
Domestic box office: $160.60 million
International box office: $610.51 million
Worldwide box office: $771.10 million
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Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates ranked movies released in 2021, whose worldwide box office revenue exceeded their production budgets. Movies without a listed production budget were excluded from the ranking. All information was sourced from The Numbers.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Return of the Box Office: Which Movies Made the Most Money in 2021?