The statistics on international films' Box Office in Malaysia has started in 2008. Box Office Mojo is the only website that provides the box office numbers for international films released in Malaysia. However, this does not include the numbers for local films.[1] For top local films gross, please view Cinema of Malaysia. Box Office - Yahoo! Malaysia and Cinema Online Malaysia are two current websites that show the ranking of films weekly inclusive of local films, but not providing any box office number.[2]Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) also provide only the ranking of both local and international films weekly, based on the popularity at its own cinema. The ranking can be accessed at the right bottom corner of GSC's website.
Highest-grossing international films in Malaysia[edit]
Below is the list of top 50 highest-grossing international films ever in Malaysia.
Note: All grosses are based on the final week of the film in local theatres and taken in estimation of local currency, as different rates between USD and Ringgit of Malaysia applied every week.
Below is the list of the 30 biggest opening weekend of all time in Malaysia. As of 4 August 2019, Avengers: Endgame has the biggest opening weekend of all time in Malaysia, grossing RM 41,835,999 in the opening weekend alone and surpassed RM 10,000,000 on the opening day itself
^ Note 1:Furious 7 grossed RM20,769,458 on its opening weekend from Thursday to Sunday. However, if include sneak previews from 9pm onward on Wednesday, it opened to a total of RM26,623,534.
^^ Note 2:Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed RM17,876,018 on its opening weekend from Thursday to Sunday. If include sneak previews from Wednesday midnight onward, it opened to RM19,351,790.
^^^ Note 3:Iron Man 3 was considered to have higher opening weekend as it was a 3-day opening weekend compared to Transformers: Dark of the Moon 4-day opening weekend. The list ranks the films according to the total gross of opening weekend regardless of total days of opening weekend.
Mechamato Movie is currently the highest-grossing animated film in Malaysia for local films.While Frozen II is the highest-grossing animated film for international films
Background colour indicates films that are currently in cinema
The historical box office record in Malaysia was made by Furious 7 in April 2015, which held the 4-day opening record of RM26,623,534 and the highest-grossing film of RM60,659,547. In 2012, while The Avengers broke the best Friday opening day gross of all time, it was unable to break Transformers: Dark of the Moon 4-day weekend opening record gross, making RM10,050,983 from 26 to 29 April 2012.[20] On 28 April 2014, Iron Man 3 broke a new 3-day opening record by grossing RM14,263,206. The film later surpassed Transformers: Dark of the Moon to be the highest-grossing film of all time, earning a gross of RM45,268,519[21] until Furious 7 took the crown after becoming the first film to gross over RM50 million. Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the first film to break US$10 million in Malaysia - $10,881,761. The film was retained in the cinema for 15 weeks.[22][23]
The top film in Malaysia for year 2008 was CJ7Cheung Gong 7 Hou which grossed RM11,715,385. This was the only year when a non-Hollywood movie became the highest-grossing film in Malaysia.[24]
In year 2010, the top film was Avatar, which made RM26,159,953 including RM1,123,320 of its 3D-reissued on 25 August 2010. Not counting the re-released version, the original film was one of the film that was retained the most longest in cinema, for a total of 29 weeks.[26][27]
The highest-grossing film was Transformers: Dark of the Moon that made RM34,661,020, which was one of the biggest record in Malaysia's film industry. It was also the only film that made over $10 million (USD) in 2011 and in Malaysia's Box Office history. Followed by this were Kung Fu Panda 2 and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol grossing RM18,048,666 and RM17,297,093 respectively.[23] In 2012, The Avengers became the second film after Transformers: Dark of the Moon to earn more than $10 million (USD) in Malaysia's Box Office.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon opened at RM14,799,941 for its first 4 days opening weekend and became the top opening weekend gross film for 2011 in Malaysia. It was also the top-grossing film of the year.[28]
Note: The final actual grossing of Transformers: Dark of the Moon was RM 37,252,441 (claimed by United International Pictures Malaysia), but the number was adjusted at week 14 release of the film due to difference in currency exchange, leading to official number of RM 34,661,020 stated in Box Office Mojo. Including local film KL Gangster which grossed about RM 12,978,352, it should be ranking #9 just above Thor.
In 2012, the top film was The Avengers which grossed RM33,983,208, followed by The Amazing Spider-Man, grossing RM21,993,313. On 8 July, The Amazing Spider-Man surpassed The Avengers (RM10,050,983) to score the best opening weekend this year with RM10,107,973.[30] However, The Avengers still scored the biggest Friday's single opening day gross of the year. Both are still unable to top Transformers: Dark of the Moon with advance ticketing sales and more addition of midnight shows.[31]The Avengers was retained in cinema for 15 weeks. On 22 July, The Dark Knight Rises[32] opened to RM6,972,371, which is more than double the debut of The Dark Knight, RM3,249,930 back in 2008.[33]The Dark Knight Rises was the second film retained the longest in cinema for 17 weeks while Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was the animated film retained the longest in cinema for 24 weeks in 2012.
The Avengers scored the second-best Friday's opening day in 2012 and became the top 4-day opening weekend gross for the year 2012 until it is surpassed by The Amazing Spider-Man. It is the second-best opening of all time in Malaysia for the films released by Walt Disney Pictures until the record was taken over by other MCU films.[34] In second week, The Avengers dropped by just 25.6%, grossing RM7,410,498 and became the highest-grossing film in 2012. At week 4 release in Malaysia, it became the second film to surpass US$10 million in Malaysia.[35] It was retained in cinema for 15 weeks.
Scored the highest opening weekend in 2012 surpassing The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man is the 2nd-highest-grossing film in Malaysia for the year 2012.
Skyfall opened at RM7,595,365 during its first weekend to claim the third-highest opening weekend in 2012. Skyfall's overall gross surpassed Quantum of Solace's total gross of RM11,496,806. It was also the third film of the year to surpass RM20 million.
The Dark Knight Rises opened at RM6,972,371, which doubled the opening weekend gross of its predecessor back in 2008. The opening weekend gross was already 66% of overall gross of The Dark Knight. Using the currency rates in 2012, box office of The Dark Knight Rises is 60% ahead of The Dark Knight, while 65% if using the currency rates in 2008. It was retained at IMAX theatre for 8 weeks, which was the longest record for any other films. As for normal halls, it was retained for 17 weeks, behind Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted's 24 weeks record.
No box office record of The Lord of the Rings trilogy so no comparison could be done with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It could be assumed that with 10 years of inflation, the latter grossed more than any of the trilogy.
Both CZ12 and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey continued their strength from last year holiday weekend to dominate the box office for several weeks consecutively. Heading into January, CZ12 broke record by becoming the second-highest-grossing Chinese film in Malaysia, earning RM20,278,439.[37] It is also the Jackie Chan's highest-grossing film in local box office. Meanwhile, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had grossed RM15,100,342. It was basically higher than The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The top film of the year in Malaysia was Iron Man 3, grossing RM45,268,519. It had officially become the first film ever to gross over RM40 million.[38] This was followed by Fast & Furious 6 which grossed a total of RM31,462,780. On 26 April, Iron Man 3 broke the highest opening day record previously held by The Avengers. It also opened to RM14,263,206, which was the highest opening record for 3 days opening after advance ticketing showed a strong selling out.[39] On 4 July, Despicable Me 2 broke the highest opening weekend record for an animated film[40] which was previously held by Kung Fu Panda 2. The minion comedy opened to RM5,596,983 even after a strong RM1,098,734 limited sneak previews from its previous weekend, which was higher than Kung Fu Panda 2's RM5,025,339 back in 2011. Meanwhile, directed by Malaysian director James Wan, The Conjuring is the highest-grossing horror film ever in Malaysia with RM11,800,000[41] until it was later surpassed by its own spin-off Annabelle in 2014.
Scored the best 3 days opening record of RM14,243,206 million, the second-highest opening weekend in comparison with gross, and the highest opening day surpassing The Avengers. * During its second weekend of release, it dropped only 42.3% and the cume had reached RM33,248,398, which was higher than Transformers: Dark of the Moon second weekend grossing of RM26,443,250.[42] On 19 May, Iron Man 3 surpassed Transformers: Dark of the Moon to become the highest-grossing film ever in Malaysia until the record was shattered by Furious 7.[21] The film was retained in cinema for 15 weeks.
Scored the second-highest opening weekend in 2013 with a total of RM13,310,553.[43] It was also the third film of the year to surpass RM 20 million and the fourth film to cross RM30 million.
The sequel opened to a strong RM11,460,528 on its first weekend, scoring the third-highest opening weekend of the year.[44] It was also the third-highest-grossing film of the year, and grossed nearly 2.5 times higher than Thor (RM11,198,842) back in 2011.
Opened to RM9,882,898 which was higher than The Dark Knight Rises's opening weekend of RM6,972,371. It was the highest opening weekend film ever for Warner Brothers in Malaysia[45] and the fourth-highest opening weekend film of the year until all records were taken by its sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Smaug opened to a strong RM7,200,077, about a 34% increase over The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012.[46] On second weekend, Smaug dropped 60.1%, which was steeper than Journey's 52.3% last year. However, it was still 28.1% ahead of its predecessor at the same time frame which grossed RM10,125,911.
Despicable Me 2 breaks the highest opening weekend record ever for any animation by grossing RM5,596,983. With the increasing popularity of Minions, the sequel has already grossed four times higher than its predecessor Despicable Me's RM3,757,206 back in 2010.
Note: By comparing opening gross, Transformers: Dark of the Moon still hold the best opening weekend with RM 14.8 million while Iron Man 3 trailed behind with RM 13.8 million. However, with inflation and IMAX boost, Iron Man 3 could be considered scoring the best opening weekend since it had already grossed RM 13.8 million in just 3 days. The opening record for Transformers: Dark of the Moon was a 4 days opening record. All of the records were later surpassed by Transformers: Age of Extinction, Furious 7 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Meanwhile, in terms of US dollar, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters grossed less than Oz: The Great and Powerful.
Transformers: Age of Extinction is the highest-grossing film of the year with a stunning gross of RM44,081,548. The robots adventure broke all of its predecessors' opening records, earning RM21,421,683 on its first weekend of release. The total gross of box office on that weekend was RM22,800,872, marking the biggest opening weekend of the year in local box office and has once again proven how popular is Transformers franchise here. It is followed by The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with a tremendous gross of RM29,893,163. It scored the second-best opening weekend of the year, shattering the previous record held by Transformers: Dark of the Moon, grossing RM14,947,576, which was also a significant improvement over The Amazing Spider-Man's opening weekend of RM10,107,973. In third, Captain America: The Winter Soldier grossed a total of RM27,083,626, which was three times bigger than Captain America: The First Avenger back in 2011.
The autobots continued to show its popularity and strength by shattering all of the opening and total gross records of the previous three installments. It opened to RM21,421,683, the first film ever to open over RM20 million and a record of RM97,816 per screen average.[47] To compare, the box office sales of the movie was 72 percent more than Avatar, 55 percent more than Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 52 percent more than Thor: The Dark World and 27 percent more than The Avengers.[48] In comparison, it grossed 60% bigger than Transformers, 33% bigger than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and 12% more than Transformers: Dark of the Moon. It is the highest-grossing film of 2014.
It opened at RM14,947,576, which was the second-highest opening weekend in 2014 surpassing Transformers: Dark of the Moon.[49] On its second weekend, it dropped a steep 62.6% and 75.2% in second and third weekend as compared to its predecessor's 50.1% and 72.6%, suggesting that it was much more front loaded. With opening of nearly RM14.95 million, it was a disappointing run considering it closed RM15 million behind Iron Man 3 but it was still overall an increase of 37% from The Amazing Spider-Man back in 2012.
The sequel grossed 3 times bigger than Captain America: The First Avenger and it opened to RM11,650,329 which was the third-highest opening weekend in 2014.[50]
It doubled the opening weekend of X-Men: First Class in 2011, grossing a total of RM9,967,602 during its opening weekend.[51] It also improved significantly from its predecessor which grossed a total of RM10,628,635.
The first film of the year to gross over RM10 million. It was #1 for two consecutive weeks but was surpassed by local production The Journey on its third week of release.
Guardians are not a well-known superheroes franchise locally, but its opening weekend of RM8,787,173 which was the sixth-largest of the year, considered impressive thanks to the branding of The Avengers.
On 23 Feb, local Chinese production The Journey has become the highest-grossing local film ever in Malaysia's box office, grossing a RM12.92 million, not only beating Robocop on that weekend, but also surpassing the record previously held by KL Gangster's RM11.74 million.[52] The film has grossed a total of RM17.16 million.[53] The records were then refurnished by other local productions - Munafik and Polis Evo but it still remains as the highest-grossing local Chinese film.
The three top films were Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World with each grossing above RM40 million for a combination total of RM160 million. Furious 7 surprised local box office by its outstanding performance, breaking all of the records held by Transformers and The Avengers franchise. It opened to RM20,769,458 on its opening weekend and RM26,623,534,[54] if inclusive of sneak previews beginning at 9pm on Wednesday. It is the highest-grossing film of the year with a shocking RM60,659,547, marking the first film to fly pass RM50 million in local box office history.[55]Avengers: Age of Ultron followed at #2, its opening weekend of RM17,816,018 was the second-highest opening weekend of the year and nearly doubled of The Avengers's opening weekend back in 2012.[56] Coming in third is Jurassic World with a RM48,511,938.
Furious 7 opened to RM20,769,458 on its opening weekend, beating the previous record holder Transformers: Age of Extinction. On its second week, it dropped 50.4%, grossing a total of RM47,392,755 which had already surpassed the overall gross of Fast & Furious 6 and Iron Man 3.[57] It was the first film to gross over RM50 million and the only film to gross over RM60 million in local box office history.
It doubled the opening weekend of Avengers (RM10,050,983) and it already earned more than double the total gross of its predecessor. It was the second film to earn over RM50 million together with Furious 7.
All figures provided are from Box Office Mojo.[63] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting globally since the early 2020s, cinemas were forced to be shut down multiple times and it massively affected box office in Malaysia as well as around the world.[64][65] During days where cinemas were allowed to operate strict restrictions and regulations were placed.[66] (As of 27 December 2022)
