#1 of 15 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
1999 · Action, Adventure
$1B worldwide · 56% of the chart's total
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) is the highest-grossing English-language movie released in May 1999, with $1B worldwide, ahead of The Mummy (1999) at $417.6M and Notting Hill (1999) at $364M. 15 English-language films released in May 1999 report a worldwide gross, $1.9B in all, 43% of it from the US & Canada. 1 film crossed $1 billion and 3 crossed $100 million. That is 4.7 times the total of April 1999, whose releases took $401.5M. By genre, Fantasy leads with $1.5B across 4 English releases.
#1 of 15 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
1999 · Action, Adventure
$1B worldwide · 56% of the chart's total
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) leads with $1B, 56% of the total. The top 5 together took $1.9B, 99% of what all 15 films earned. Each bar splits a film's gross into the US & Canada and the rest of the world.
Number 1
Number 2
Number 3
Number 4
Number 5 US & Canada (domestic) Rest of the world
Lifetime worldwide grosses in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation; domestic means the US & Canada. Films are grouped by their release date in May 1999.
May 19, 1999 US and Canada: $487.6M Rest of the world: $558.9M Worldwide: $1B
May 7, 1999 US and Canada: $157.1M Rest of the world: $260.5M Worldwide: $417.6M
May 28, 1999 US and Canada: $116.1M Rest of the world: $247.9M Worldwide: $364M
May 28, 1999 US and Canada: $11.9M Rest of the world: $6.6M Worldwide: $18.6M
May 14, 1999 US and Canada: $16.1M Rest of the world: Worldwide: $16.1M
May 14, 1999 US and Canada: $14.4M Rest of the world: Worldwide: $14.4M
May 18, 1999 US and Canada: $497.1K Rest of the world: $18.8K Worldwide: $515.8K
May 16, 1999 US and Canada: $478.1K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $478.1K
May 18, 1999 US and Canada: $264.3K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $264.3K
May 7, 1999 US and Canada: $206.8K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $206.8K
May 28, 1999 US and Canada: $164K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $164K
May 28, 1999 US and Canada: $52.8K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $52.8K
May 6, 1999 US and Canada: $14.7K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $14.7K
May 7, 1999 US and Canada: $9K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $9K
May 14, 1999 US and Canada: $856 Rest of the world: Worldwide: $856 Of the top 10, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) earned the biggest share at home (100% in the US & Canada), while Notting Hill (1999) made 68% of its gross abroad. Across all 15 films, $804.8M (43%) came from the US & Canada.
3 of 15 films crossed $100M and took $1.8B between them, 97% of the total. 9 films, 60% of the list, earned under $10M.
Films released in week 21 (May 16–22) took $1B, led by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Each column links to that week's chart; weeks are Sunday to Saturday.
Of these 10 years, May 1999 earned the most: $1.9B from 15 films, led by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
| Month | Films | Worldwide | Change | Biggest film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1990 7 films | 7 | $435.9M | – | Back to the Future Part III (1990) $245.1M |
| May 1991 22 films · +7% | 22 | $466.6M | +7% | Backdraft (1991) $152.4M |
| May 1992 14 films · +66% | 14 | $775M | +66% | Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) $321.7M |
| May 1993 19 films · +7% | 19 | $829.1M | +7% | Cliffhanger (1993) $255M |
| May 1994 12 films · −38% | 12 | $517.8M | −38% | The Flintstones (1994) $341.6M |
| May 1995 17 films · +138% | 17 | $1.2B | +138% | Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) $366.1M |
| May 1996 17 films · −3% | 17 | $1.2B | −3% | Twister (1996) $494.6M |
| May 1997 14 films · −13% | 14 | $1B | −13% | The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) $618.6M |
| May 1998 26 films · −24% | 26 | $784.9M | −24% | Deep Impact (1998) $349.5M |
| May 1999 15 films · +139% | 15 | $1.9B | +139% | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $1B |
Fantasy took $1.5B across 4 films, 80% of the total, ahead of Action ($1.5B) and Adventure ($1.5B). A film counts once for each of its genres.
The months of 1999 with their totals: May leads with $1.9B, led by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
The chart's numbers in short: the #1 film, the total, the billion-dollar hits and the US & Canada share, answered from the same 15 films as the chart.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) leads with $1B worldwide, $487.6M of it in the US & Canada. Next come The Mummy (1999) at $417.6M and Notting Hill (1999) at $364M.
15 English-language films released in May 1999 report a worldwide gross, $1.9B in all, or $125.3M per film on average. April 1999 releases took $401.5M.
1 film crossed $1 billion worldwide: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). 3 crossed $100 million.
Films are ranked by lifetime worldwide gross in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and grouped by their release date in May 1999. The figures are the reported box office grosses in our database. A gross that looks misattributed, such as one figure shared by two unrelated films or a blockbuster total on an obscure title, is left out rather than shown as a fact, and so are films whose stored language is most likely wrong.
Grosses change while films are in theaters and whenever a new figure is reported; this chart reads the latest numbers in our database, so an older film can still move after a re-release.