#1 of 17 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
2003 · Action, Adventure
$1.1B worldwide · 75% of the chart's total
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is the highest-grossing movie released in week 51 of 2003 (Dec 14–20), with $1.1B worldwide, ahead of Mona Lisa Smile (2003) at $141.3M and The Butterfly (2003) at $96.8M. 17 films released that week report a worldwide gross, $1.5B in all, 37% of it from the US & Canada. 1 film crossed $1 billion and 2 crossed $100 million. That is up 179% on Week 50, 2003, whose releases took $541.7M. By genre, Fantasy leads with $1.1B across 3 releases.
#1 of 17 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
2003 · Action, Adventure
$1.1B worldwide · 75% of the chart's total
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) leads with $1.1B, 75% of the total. The top 5 together took $1.5B, 98% of what all 17 films earned. Each bar splits a film's gross into the US & Canada and the rest of the world.
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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 week 51 of 2003 (Dec 14–20).
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $63.9M Rest of the world: $77.5M Worldwide: $141.3M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $57.9M Rest of the world: $38.9M Worldwide: $96.8M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $31M Rest of the world: $62.4M Worldwide: $93.4M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $13M Rest of the world: $3.7M Worldwide: $16.8M
Dec 18, 2003 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $4.4M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $48.8K Rest of the world: $3.1M Worldwide: $3.1M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $2.8M
Dec 20, 2003 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $1.8M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $1.2M
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $374.4K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $374.4K
Dec 14, 2003 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $202.7K
Dec 19, 2003 US and Canada: $82.2K Rest of the world: $12.5K Worldwide: $94.6K
Dec 17, 2003 US and Canada: $39.4K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $39.4K
Dec 16, 2003 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $15K Of the top 10, The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003) earned the biggest share at home (83% in the US & Canada), while Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) made 98% of its gross abroad. Across all 17 films, $552.5M (37%) came from the US & Canada. 3 films of the top 10 report no US & Canada figure.
2 of 17 films crossed $100M and took $1.3B between them, 85% of the total. 12 films, 71% of the list, earned under $10M.
Week 51 releases took $1.5B. The biggest of these 9 weeks is week 51 (Dec 14–20) with $1.5B, led by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Of these 10 years, Week 51, 1997 earned the most: $2.7B from 7 films, led by Titanic (1997). Week 51, 2003 took $1.5B.
| Week | Films | Worldwide | Change | Biggest film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 51, 1994 Dec 11–17 5 films | 5 | $278.8M | – | Dumb and Dumber (1994) $247.3M |
| Week 51, 1995 Dec 17–23 7 films · −28% | 7 | $200.9M | −28% | Waiting to Exhale (1995) $81.5M |
| Week 51, 1996 Dec 15–21 8 films · +103% | 8 | $407.7M | +103% | Scream (1996) $173M |
| Week 51, 1997 Dec 14–20 7 films · +572% | 7 | $2.7B | +572% | Titanic (1997) $2.3B |
| Week 51, 1998 Dec 13–19 3 films · −83% | 3 | $470.6M | −83% | You've Got Mail (1998) $250.8M |
| Week 51, 1999 Dec 12–18 8 films · +19% | 8 | $559.4M | +19% | Stuart Little (1999) $300.1M |
| Week 51, 2000 Dec 10–16 8 films · +40% | 8 | $782.4M | +40% | What Women Want (2000) $374.1M |
| Week 51, 2001 Dec 16–22 15 films · +90% | 15 | $1.5B | +90% | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $888.5M |
| Week 51, 2002 Dec 15–21 13 films · −64% | 13 | $529.5M | −64% | Two Weeks Notice (2002) $199M |
| Week 51, 2003 Dec 14–20 17 films · +186% | 17 | $1.5B | +186% | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1.1B |
Fantasy took $1.1B across 3 films, 76% of the total, ahead of Adventure ($1.1B) and Action ($1.1B). A film counts once for each of its genres. English-language films took $1.5B across 9 films, 99% of the total, ahead of Japanese-language films ($6.7M) and Dutch-language films ($4.4M).
53 weeks of 2003 with reported grosses; the biggest is week 51 (Dec 14–20) with $1.5B, led by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
The chart's numbers in short: the #1 film, the total, the billion-dollar hits and the US & Canada share, answered from the same 17 films as the chart.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) leads with $1.1B worldwide, $381.9M of it in the US & Canada. Next come Mona Lisa Smile (2003) at $141.3M and The Butterfly (2003) at $96.8M.
17 films released in week 51 of 2003 (Dec 14–20) report a worldwide gross, $1.5B in all, or $89M per film on average. Week 50, 2003 releases took $541.7M.
1 film crossed $1 billion worldwide: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). 2 crossed $100 million.
Films are ranked by lifetime worldwide gross in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and grouped by their release date in week 51 of 2003 (Dec 14–20). 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.
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.