July 4th is a major holiday in America, as it's the anniversary of the country declaring its Independence and in many ways is the ultimate holiday summer celebration. Friends and families gather together to enjoy cookouts, swim, and watch fireworks. Yet another long-held tradition is going to the movie theater, and Hollywood has capitalized on this. Like the first weekend of May, Memorial Day weekend, and Father's Day weekend, the Fourth of July is a prime release window for studios looking to make a big splash with exciting new releases.
Being the middle of summer and some of the hottest days on record, the escape to a cool air-conditioned movie theater is already enticing, and when there is a big new blockbuster, people tend to find time to go out and watch. In many ways, a film released on the Fourth of July weekend can become so linked to the holiday that, even if the subject matter is not specifically connected to it, the feeling and association become tied together.
Update July 3, 2023: This article has been updated to reflect recent releases and to add even more big titles that dominated the 4th of July holiday.
Unlike Memorial Day weekend, which is a traditional four-day weekend that goes from Friday through Monday, the Fourth of July weekend is more flexible, as the holiday can land on any day of the week, so sometimes a movie can have a three-day gross, others can get up to four or five days. This list will specifically look at how much the movies brought in on the actual holiday itself and which ones were the biggest films to draw audiences into the movie theaters on the 4th of July.
13 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
The thrilling third installment in the spectacular sci-fi action franchise, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, features legendary action star Arnold Schwarzenegger once again reprising his role as the resilient and fearless titular hero as he sets out to protect John Connor and his future wife from the cyborg assassin T-X. The electrifying sequel was released on July 2, 2003, and ended up raking in $13 million on the patriotic holiday, which happened to be a Friday, and kicked off its lucrative weekend earnings.
Despite being released over a decade after its predecessor, Terminator 3 had no problems attracting both new and old audiences and went on to earn $150 million domestically and $283 million in other territories, bowing out with an impressive $433.4 million worldwide. The installment was the seventh highest-grossing film of the year and garnered positive reviews, though is far less of a fan-favorite in comparison to the acclaimed Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
12 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Twilight-mania was in full force back in 2010, when the highly-anticipated third sequel of the popular film series was released on June 30, launching its weeks-long box office reign in the process. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse once again follows star-crossed lovers Bella Swan and Edward Cullen as they deal with not only a violent string of deadly murders close to their area as well as the mounting rivalry between the vampire and Bella's close werewolf friend Jacob Black. Fans of both the Stephanie Meyer novels and the spellbinding adaptations flocked to theaters, helping the installment earn $13.2 million on the Fourth of July Sunday.
By the final day of its opening weekend, Eclipse had grossed $176.4 million domestically just from its first week and ultimately brought in a grand total of $698 million worldwide. Though critics weren't too kind towards the latest sequel, it nonetheless filled seats over the holiday weekend and continued establishing its power and stronghold over pop culture and moviegoers.
11 Men in Black (1997)
Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith quickly became the dynamic duo audiences didn't know they needed when they headlined the sci-fi action comedy juggernaut Men in Black, starring as MiB agents K and J as they covertly investigate alien and paranormal activity on the planet without the public's knowledge. The charming film was based on the Marvel Comics series and crash-landed in theaters on July 2, 1997, dazzling moviegoers with the winning chemistry between Jones and Smith and its spellbinding visuals and action sequences.
Men in Black attracted many curious audiences and earned an impressive $15.7 million on Friday, July 4th, beating out fellow releases like Batman & Robin and Con Air. With its exhilarating visual effects and wondrous visuals, the film helped establish an enduring and celebrated franchise that took in $250.6 million in the U.S. and Canada and $338 million in other territories, making for a worldwide total of $589.4 million. Its overwhelming success with both critics and audiences led to three sensational follow-up flicks, including another entry on this list.
10 Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Those Gentle Minion memes sure did a lot to elevate this film's success. Delayed two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment released Minions: The Rise of Gru on July 1, 2022. With the 4th of July landing on a Monday, the movie played through a very busy holiday weekend. On the fourth day of its release, the movie grossed $16 million on Independence Day. Its four-day holiday weekend was an impressive $123 million, which makes it the biggest four-day opening weekend for a movie over the 4th of July holiday
Minions: The Rise of Gru grossed $369 million domestically and $939 million worldwide. It became Illumination Entertainment's highest-grossing film domestically until the recently released The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Despicable Me 4 is set for release on July 3, 2024, so it will likely find its way on this list.
9 Men in Black 2 (2002)
Just beating out its predecessor for the number nine spot, Men in Black 2 is one of many Will Smith movies on the list and helped him earn the nickname Mr. July Weekend. Riding high on the success of the first film, which also opened on the Fourth of July weekend, Men In Black 2 was released in theaters on July 3, 2002. The film grossed $16.4 million on the holiday, which landed on a Thursday. The film went on to gross $190 million domestically and $441 million worldwide. While not as fondly remembered as its predecessor, the hype for Men in Black 2 was huge at the time, and audiences rushed out to the theaters to go see it.
8 Independence Day (1996)
Independence Day just had to be on this list; it's a movie named after the holiday on it was released. With one of the best marketing campaigns of all time using a Super Bowl spot that grabbed the entire world's attention, the release of Independence Day was highly anticipated. Originally set to open on July 3, 1996, the hype for the film was so big the studio decided to release it a day early.
After having been out for two days, Independence Day still managed to bring in $17 million on July 4th itself. It was the highest-grossing film of the year, with $306 million domestically (adjusted for inflation, that is $633 million), and helped set Will Smith up as one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and would make him the king of the July box office for more than a decade. When people think of the 4th of July, they not only think of fireworks, but they think of this movie.
7 Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Until the release of Bumblebee, the Transformers franchise had a history of releasing in late June and early July. With July 4th landing on a Monday in 2011, Transformers: Dark of the Moon decided to get ahead of the competition and open on Wednesday, June 29 of that year. By the holiday, it had already grossed $162 million domestically, and on July 4th brought in $18 million. Transformers: Dark of the Moon went on to gross $352 million domestically and $1.12 billion worldwide and was the 2nd highest-grossing movie of the year, both domestic and worldwide, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2.
6 Hancock (2008)
The fourth Will Smith film on the list and his biggest single gross on the 4th of July to date, Hancock opened in theaters on July 2, 2008. With the 4th of July landing on a Friday, the traditional release date for films, Hancock was able to bring in $18.5 million on the holiday. Its three-day opening weekend gross was $62 million.
Hancock became the fourth highest-grossing film at both the domestic and worldwide box office that year, with a final worldwide total of $629 million, beating out established franchises like James Bond, Madagascar, and Narnia. Hancock was an original concept, and the power of its star helped boost it to be one of the must-see films of the summer of 2008.
5 Spider-Man 2 (2004)
In 2002, Spider-Man broke the opening weekend box office record and helped cement the first weekend of May as the new kick-off to the summer movie season. Spider-Man 2 had a lot riding on it, and the film would be the big 4th of July release of 2004. It opened in theaters on June 30, 2004, and by the time the 4th of July landed on that Sunday, the film had already grossed $130 million. On July 4, 2004, Spider-Man 2 brought in a then record-breaking $21 million dollars for the holiday.
With a $373 million domestic total and a $788 million worldwide gross, it became one of the biggest movies of the year. It would also set a template for the Spider-Man release schedule where some would open the first week of May, and the others (which will make up more films on this list) would open on the Fourth of July weekend.
4 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The second, but not the last, Spider-Man movie on the list, The Amazing Spider-Man, was a reboot of the Spider-Man movie series released only five years after Spider-Man 3. Even with a new cast, there was concern the reboot might be too soon, but it appeared Spider-Man was just what audiences wanted that holiday weekend to get out of the heat. Released on July 3, 2012, the 4th of July landed on The Amazing Spider-Man's second day of release, and the film brought in $23 million dollars on the holiday.
It went on to gross $262 million domestic and $757 worldwide and was the third highest-grossing film of the summer behind The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. While The Amazing Spider-Man film series fizzled out quickly, there was no denying that audiences were excited and curious about this new take on the franchise at the time.
3 Despicable Me 2 (2013)
All the Despicable Me and Minions movies opened around July. While the first Despicable Me film opened on July 9, a few days after the holiday, Illumination Entertainment looked at that film's success and realized they had a hit on their hands. Opening on July 3, 2013, Despicable Me 2 brought in $24 million on the Fourth of July. It easily crushed the big release from Disney that weekend, The Lone Ranger, which only managed to bring in $9 million.
With $368 million domestic gross and $970 million worldwide, Despicable Me 2 became one of the highest-grossing films of 2013, beating out films like Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Monsters University. No wonder Universal Pictures was so adamant about keeping Minions: The Rise of Gru on Fourth of July weekend, delaying it for two years.
2 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Homecoming opened in theaters on July 7, 2017, just barely missing the 4th of July holiday weekend. Yet with a Spider-Man movie whose premise is entirely about a summer vacation opening on the 4th of July weekend seemed like a perfect formula for printing money. Spider-Man: Far From Home opened in theaters on July 2, 2019, and by the time the 4th of July hit, the film grossed $25 million on the holiday. Spider-Man: Far From Home went on to gross $390 million domestically and $1.13 billion worldwide, becoming at the time the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie.
Following the massive success of Avengers: Endgame didn't hurt, and even with competition from the newest season of Stranger Things, which was also centered on the Fourth of July, Spider-Man: Far From Home was the film audiences young and old wanted to watch to celebrate the holiday.
1 Transformers (2007)
Transformers is in many ways the successor to Independence Day, with a marketing campaign shrouded in secrecy. Much of the marketing teased the robot's new designs and promised a grand epic spectacle, adapting the '80s cartoon characters with state-of-the-art CGI. The film felt like an event, and the film was set to open in theaters on July 4, 2007, but just like with Independence Day, the excitement was at a fever pitch. So, Paramount Pictures decided to bump up the release by a day, and before advanced day of screenings were standard practice, they started showings at 7 p.m. on July 2nd.
Transformers grossed $29 million on the Fourth of July, setting the record for the single biggest movie to play on the holiday and one it still holds after 15 years. Transformers went on to gross $319 million domestically and $709 million worldwide, kicking off a successful film franchise of Terminator movies that became linked to the Fourth of July holiday weekend. It is hard to believe it's been 16 years since the Transformers release, but the franchise is still going strong with the recently released Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
The critical reaction to Transformers may have been mixed, but in many ways is one of the quintessential Fourth of July movies, it gives audiences the big over-the-top spectacle and non-stop action with a warm summer glow that plays well on a hot summer day.
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