The most successful film of all time in the United Kingdom? Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The sci-fi fantasy film, which came out in 2015 and was the first of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, had the highest total box office revenue in the UK as of February 2019. The Force Awakens wasn’t the only Star Wars film to make the top 20, with The Last Jedi, The Phantom Menace, and A New Hope also among the highest grossing films in the UK.
Movie franchises reign supreme
Titanic had the second highest box office gross at over 117 million British pounds. This total includes the gross from its original release in 1998 in the UK, as well as two re-releases; one in 3D in 2012 and one in 2017. However, Titanic is actually one of only two films on the chart not part of a series or franchise, the other being The Full Monty. The James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre were the 3rd and 5th most successful respectively. The 2009 film Avatar, the 4th most successful film in the UK and the 2nd highest grossing film of all time globally, was the first of the franchise which has another 4 films in the pipeline.
Strong showing for the UK
The UK is strongly represented in a top 20 that could have easily been dominated by the USA. Not only are many of the films based upon books written by authors from the UK (J.K. Rowling with the Harry Potter series, J.R.R. Tolkien with the Lord of the Rings series, and Ian Fleming with the James Bond series), but half of the films in the top 20 are UK/USA collaborations.
Most successful films of all time in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2019, by box office revenue
(in million GBP)
* The box office grosses for Titanic, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park include the grosses from their original releases, plus revenues from their subsequent 3D or anniversary re-releases. Box office gross = cumulative total up to February 18, 2018.
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British Film Institute. (July 24, 2019). Most successful films of all time in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2019, by box office revenue (in million GBP) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/268616/most-successful-films-of-all-time-in-the-uk/
British Film Institute. "Most successful films of all time in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2019, by box office revenue (in million GBP)." Chart. July 24, 2019. Statista. Accessed December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/268616/most-successful-films-of-all-time-in-the-uk/
British Film Institute. (2019). Most successful films of all time in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2019, by box office revenue (in million GBP). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/268616/most-successful-films-of-all-time-in-the-uk/
British Film Institute. "Most Successful Films of All Time in The United Kingdom (Uk) as of February 2019, by Box Office Revenue (in Million Gbp)." Statista, Statista Inc., 24 Jul 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/268616/most-successful-films-of-all-time-in-the-uk/
British Film Institute, Most successful films of all time in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2019, by box office revenue (in million GBP) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/268616/most-successful-films-of-all-time-in-the-uk/ (last visited December 21, 2024)
Most successful films of all time in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2019, by box office revenue (in million GBP) [Graph], British Film Institute, July 24, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/268616/most-successful-films-of-all-time-in-the-uk/
