The Highest-Grossing Movies To Never Finish Number One At The Box Office

Like it or not, money makes the world go round. That old adage might not be more true anywhere than in the world of film, with new movies and even some of the most popular existing franchises either living or dying based on their bottom line. But with all the discussion around the biggest moneymakers in Hollywood, a certain less prestigious achievement often goes overlooked. We're talking, of course, about the best-performing films that never finished at #1 in ticket sales.

Since it can be tricky to determine exactly what it means to finish first at the box office, we'll only be looking at the highest-grossing films that never secured the coveted top spot for a weekly return. Additionally, we'll focus strictly on domestic returns while discussing all of these second-place runners-ups. So with all that in mind, let's dive right in to the highest-grossing movies to never reach #1 at the box office.

It's not often that in a year packed with your usual lineup of franchise releases, a serious three-hour drama gives them a run for their money at the box office. But that's exactly what happened with the Cillian Murphy-led "Oppenheimer." Brought to audiences by acclaimed writer-director Christopher Nolan, the film chronicles the life and career of genius scientist Robert Oppenheimer, who during the Second World War spearheaded the development of a devastating new weapon for the United States. Not just your typical wartime drama, "Oppenheimer" also takes a deep dive into examining practically everyone involved in the project, as well as the tumultuous political aftermath behind the scenes that dominated the rest of their lives.

Had it been released at any other time of the year, Nolan's sweeping biographical drama might have easily clinched the top spot at the box office for several weeks in a row. But given that it went head to head against one of the top 25 highest-grossing films of all time, it just couldn't keep up, opening to a still-impressive $82 million against the $162 million of "Barbie." Still, despite finishing second in the so-called "Barbenheimer" battle for silver screen dominance, "Oppenheimer" has managed to claim the top spot on our list, with an impressive domestic take at press time of over $285 million.

With an all-star cast of voice talent, featuring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, and Seth MacFarlane among others, 2016's "Sing" managed to claim the top spot among Hollywood's second place finishers before being toppled years later by "Oppenheimer." The animated family flick is centered around a down-on-its-luck theater at risk of closing for good, whose plucky owner hopes to stage one last big show to save it from certain doom. Despite the fairly cliched plot, "Sing" lived up to its name with an impressive roster of both talent, popular music, and quirky animal characters, which all combined to help it soar to huge box office bucks.

With a final domestic take of $270 million, it would take a seriously heavy hitter to keep "Sing" from ever clinching a first place finish in weekly ticket sales. That came in the form of the first standalone "Star Wars" film, "Rogue One." With the latter closing at just shy of double the competition with $532 million in domestic sales alone, there was little hope of "Sing" ever coming close to beating it, despite its impressive haul.

Sometimes a film is just doomed to live in the shadow of its competitors, which is exactly what happened to the so-called "Squeakquel" to "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Building off the first film, it once again stars the musical chipmunk trio, who wind up in the care of Dave's (Jason Lee) family after he suffers an accident. Now (somehow) enrolled in high school, their struggle to acclimate to the ups and downs of school life is further complicated when a vengeful Ian (David Cross) plans their downfall with the help of a group of rival rodents, The Chipettes.

Making its debut in the packed December of 2009, a certain box office sensation prevented the second "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and every other film at the time from even sniffing a #1 finish. After a directing hiatus lasting over a decade, "Titanic" director James Cameron would return to the hot seat, unleashing an absolute behemoth on the film industry with the release of "Avatar." The numbers don't lie, either, with "Avatar" eclipsing the competition by over $50 million their first weekend in theaters together. It soon went on to become the highest grossing film of all time, crushing the "Chipmunks" $219 million take with nearly $750 million in domestic sales alone, and remaining #1 at the cinema for a rare seven weeks in a row.

Next up, and just barely falling short of beating its sequel, is the first live-action adaptation of "Alvin and the Chipmunks," which introduced audiences to a new spin on the classic cartoon characters. After losing their home, the chipmunks cross paths with Dave, a musician in the midst of tough times, and decide to join forces to try and become the next pop music sensation. But when Dave's former boss Ian hatches his own nefarious scheme, both Dave's career and the chipmunks' well-being hang in the balance.

Like its sequel, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" was bested at the domestic box office, this time by the Will Smith-led "I Am Legend," which saw Smith wandering a post-apocalyptic world infested with mutants. Opening weekend wasn't favorable, with "I Am Legend" debuting to $77 million, against $44 million for "Alvin," and going on to make $256 million total domestically against the $217 million earned by "Alvin." it wasn't quite the same blowout we'd see two years later, but still enough of a margin for "Legend" to stay comfortably on top.

After spending nearly two decades establishing himself as perhaps one of the most dynamic actors in modern Hollywood, starring in everything from gritty war dramas to irreverent comedies, Bradley Cooper made his directorial debut with 2018's "A Star is Born." He also stars in the film as Jack Maine, a talented but deeply troubled musician who enters into a whirlwind romance with a fellow singer, Ally (played by Lady Gaga). An emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, it's remembered as easily one of Cooper's best roles.

As great as the film was from top to bottom, when the time came for the theatrical release of "A Star is Born," it went head to head against Sony's "Venom" starring Tom Hardy. But it just couldn't walk away with a weekend win, with "Venom" notching $80 million against a mere $43 million for "Star." Despite that second place finish, however, the film actually made slightly more than its competition on the domestic side ($215 million vs. $213 million) in the long run — just never quite enough to emerge as the audience's first choice.

Like we've said, the end of 2009 going into 2010 proved to be a competitive few weeks at the box office. Just two days after the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" sequel dropped, a live-action adaptation of "Sherlock Holmes" set out on Christmas day to try and topple the reign of "Avatar" to no avail. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective alongside Jude Law as Watson, it took the classic exploits of the crime-solving duo and cranked the action up to 11. After putting away a crazed serial killer seemingly for good, Holmes finds himself on the wrong side of the law, all while trying to foil a scheme for world domination with a unexpected supernatural twist.

Like the rest of the competition in late 2009, "Sherlock Holmes" fell short of snatching a first place weekly finish thanks to the complete dominance by "Avatar" in theaters. Still, with a hefty domestic pull of over $200 million and a few hundred million more globally, the film was a solid foundation for an ongoing series, and one that may still see future installments.

Adapted from a novel of the same name, 2013's "World War Z" was released at just the right time to capitalize on the last decade's love for all things zombie-related that series like "The Walking Dead" kicked off. But unlike the vast majority of zombie films and media, in which a small band of survivors find themselves isolated from the world at large, "World War Z" sent Brad Pitt's Gerry Lane on a globe-trotting quest to find a cure to the zombie plague. His journey for humanity's future becomes increasingly desperate, though, as he's forced to watch as the last holdouts of society crumble under the growing weight of the undead hordes at every new location.

While it took more than a few creative liberties while adapting its source material, the film still earned in excess of a commanding $200 million at the domestic box office — though even that is admittedly a bit less impressive when you take into account its production budget of $190 million. Additionally, that total wasn't enough for "World War Z" to come out on top for a single week, instead losing out to the long-awaited sequel to a Pixar classic, "Monsters University," falling $24 million short of the $82 million debut from "Monsters."

Arriving in cinemas in 2014, "Interstellar" imagines a world in the not-too-distant future in which the human race is on the brink of total destruction by our own hands. In the hopes of escaping the dying planet, former astronaut Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is tasked with leading a mission off planet Earth and into a newly formed wormhole to try and find a new home for humanity's survivors. But beyond the obvious risks that come with the desperate plan, there are deeply personal ones for Cooper thanks to the unexpected differences between our world and what lies on the other side.

Given the prestige (no pun intended) that Christopher Nolan's name carries as a filmmaker nowadays, his projects frequently wind up as the hottest in Hollywood upon release, sometimes for several weeks in a row. That's why it's so surprising that in the past decade alone, two of his films have been heavy hitters at the box office, only to miss the mark of a #1 release. Earning $188 million at home overall but just $47 million its first weekend in theaters, "Interstellar" suffered an early defeat at the hands of Disney's "Big Hero 6," before being further doomed by the release of that year's "Hunger Games" installment, "Mockingjay — Part 1."

After the release of his disaster epic "Independence Day" (which itself crushed the box office of 1996), director Roland Emmerich found his niche in Hollywood, giving audiences film after film all centered around new and exciting catastrophes. In 2004, he released "The Day After Tomorrow," which pitted all of humanity against the terrors of climate change, coming to a dramatic head in the form of a new ice age. Caught up in the chaos is scientist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), who must do everything he can to keep his family alive in a rapidly freezing world.

Though it was released to mediocre reviews from critics and audiences alike, that didn't stop "The Day After Tomorrow" from becoming one of the highest-grossing releases of the year, making $186 million on the domestic side. Unfortunately, however, timing worked against this one hitting #1, with Emmerich's chilly thriller losing out to "Shrek 2" by less than $4 million in their shared opening weekend. It then continued to struggle in the weeks that followed. thanks to the highly-anticipated third entry in the "Harry Potter" film series, "The Prisoner of Azkaban," denying "The Day After Tomorrow" any shot at a late revival.

More than 20 years after DreamWorks Animation kicked off the "Shrek" franchise back in 2001, the series is still going strong today, with 2022's "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" revisiting the smooth-talking feline swordsman first introduced in "Shrek 2." Now on the last of his nine lives, and understandably not ready to die just yet, he sets off to find an elusive and magical star that'll grant any wish. He's not alone in the search, however, as everyone from Goldilocks and the Three Bears to Death himself aren't far behind.

Though it wasn't as lucrative for the studio as titles like "Shrek 2" proved to be, the latest in the "Puss in Boots" series still walked away with a cool $185 million after its run in domestic theaters. Unfortunately, it was up against some stiff competition. Just like its predecessor, the long-awaited sequel to "Avatar" proved to be a killer at the box office, securing a solid lead over anything else unlucky enough to be released alongside it and keeping "The Last Wish" firmly in second place.

Often said to be an inspiration for James Cameron's blockbuster "Avatar" (a notion the director doesn't shy away from), "Dances with Wolves" is a decidedly more grounded take on the story. Set amidst the chaos and combat of the American Civil War, John Dunbar, a wounded Union officer, is given the freedom to choose his next assignment after a courageous brush with death. Ultimately deciding to continue his duties in a remote posting out West, he quickly becomes acclimated to the rugged conditions, and even begins to assimilate into the predominantly Native American culture of the region. When conflict arises between Union soldiers and the natives, however, Dunbar is forced to choose between his new life and the one he's left behind.

The only film on this list to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, it just goes to show that first-class filmmaking doesn't always equate to a first place finish at the box office. To be fair, "Dances With Wolves" opened in limited release (just 14 theaters) before expanding in its third weekend, but even at that point it went up against one of the most dominant films in Hollywood history, "Home Alone." The slapstick comedy went on to claim the #1 spot an astonishing 12 consecutive times, with a total domestic gross of $285 million against $184 million for "Dances."

Another historical epic based on a real-life figure, and the second entry on our list set during the American Civil War, 2012's "Lincoln" was a worthy biography of the larger-than-life president. Directed by master filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the two-and-a-half-hour drama is set during the closing days of the war, as the country is on the verge of a hard-fought Union victory. The struggle is far from over for Lincoln, however, as he grapples with the still tumultuous politics at play, and the delicate future of the 13th Amendment.

An incredible performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as America's 16th president earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor at that year's Oscars, and helped propel the film to a favorite for both history buffs and general audiences. Unfortunately, after a first week on just 11 screens, the wartime period piece wound up on the losing side of a wide-release brawl with both "Twilight: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" and the James Bond epic "Skyfall," never getting above #3 on the box office chart while still compiling an impressive $182 million domestic box office total.

Perhaps no film in recent memory has been as much of a surprise hit as 2023's "Sound of Freedom." The unexpected thriller stars Jim Caviezel as real-life government agent Tim Ballard, working to stop child traffickers both within the United States and abroad. But when one case causes him to become disillusioned with his higher-ups' lack of action, he takes it upon himself to try and save a child seemingly lost to the seedy system.

There are plenty of factors that combined to make the dramatic action film a box office success, with a noteworthy controversy surrounding the film undoubtedly helping it rise in the ranks. But even after raking in over $177 million after a month and a half in theaters, the buzz around the picture still didn't help it achieve a first place weekly finish. Unable to unseat some big summer releases like "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" and the latest entry in the "Insidious" series during its first few weeks, by late July "Sound of Freedom" was shut out permanently from the top spot as "Barbie" arrived.

After "How to Train Your Dragon" made nearly half a billion dollars in global ticket sales back in 2010, it was obvious that a franchise was in the works, which was confirmed by its eventual 2014 sequel. Continuing the story of Hiccup and his dragon Toothless, the second entry picks up five years later, with the unlikely pair facing off against an evil warlord named Drago with a personal grudge against dragons. He threatens to destroy the tenuous peace between man and dragons, with Hiccup and Toothless the only ones who can prevent the worst from coming to pass.

This time around, a smaller domestic take than its predecessor meant that "How to Train Your Dragon 2" was snubbed from a first place finish, despite earning even more than the last entry when adding in overseas profits. As a result of its lackluster performance on the domestic side, it lost that coveted top spot to the Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum-led "22 Jump Street," which premiered to $57 million against the $49 million of "Dragon.". But despite the hiccup in box office supremacy, the "How to Train Your Dragon" series returned in 2019 with a third entry, "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," which held #1 at the box office for two straight weeks.