List of highest-grossing independent films

The following page lists the highest-grossing films that were distributed by independent, arthouse, and mini-major studios. The Passion of the Christ is the highest-grossing independent film of all time.[1] Independent films that were co-produced or co-distributed by major film studios, such as Inglourious Basterds and Paranormal Activity, are not included.

Highest-grossing films

  † Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 20 March 2026 in theaters around the world.
Rank Title Date Worldwide gross Countries Film distributor Ref/s
1 The Passion of the Christ February 25, 2004 $611,486,736 United States Newmarket Films [2]
2 The Intouchables September 23, 2010 $484,630,908 France Gaumont [3]
3 Dances with Wolves November 9, 1990 $424,208,805 North America Orion Pictures [4]
4 The King's Speech September 6, 2010 $423,999,102 Australia
United Kingdom 		Momentum Pictures [2]
5 My Big Fat Greek Wedding April 19, 2002 $368,744,044 North America IFC Films [2]
6 American Beauty September 8, 1999 $356,258,047 DreamWorks Pictures [1]
7 Se7en September 15, 1995 $328,125,643 New Line Cinema [5]
8 The Silence of the Lambs February 14, 1991 $275,726,716 Orion Pictures [6]
9 Parasite May 21, 2019 $262,857,186 South Korea CJ Entertainment [7]
10 Sound of Freedom July 4, 2023 $250,570,396 North America Angel Studios [8]
11 The Blair Witch Project January 23, 1999 $248,639,099 Artisan Entertainment [2]
12 Silver Linings Playbook November 16, 2012 $236,412,453 The Weinstein Company [9]
13 Fahrenheit 9/11 May 17, 2004 $222,446,882 Lionsgate [2]
14 Good Will Hunting December 2, 1997 $225,925,989 Miramax [2]
15 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets July 21, 2017 $225,874,228 France
United States
China
Germany
Belgium
United Arab Emirates 		STX Entertainment [10]
16 Pulp Fiction May 21, 1994 $212,894,343 North America Miramax [11]
17 Traffic December 27, 2000 $207,515,725 USA Films [12]
18 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles March 30, 1990 $202,084,756 New Line Cinema [13]
19 Kill Bill: Volume 1 October 10, 2003 $180,899,045 Miramax [14]
20 The Hateful Eight December 25, 2015 $156,480,177 The Weinstein Company [15]
21 Kill Bill: Volume 2 April 16, 2004 $154,116,796 Miramax [16]
22 Everything Everywhere All at Once March 25, 2022 $141,054,397 A24 [17]
23 Longlegs July 12, 2024 $126,867,598 United States Neon [18]
24 Civil War April 12, 2024 $122,533,193 United States
United Kingdom 		A24 (United States)
Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom) 		[19]
25 The Graduate December 20, 1967 $104,677,456 United States
South Korea
Australia
New Zealand 		Embassy Pictures (United States)
United Artists (International) 		[20]
26 Crash May 6, 2005 $101,173,038 North America Lionsgate [21]
27 Spotlight September 3, 2015 $98,690,254 United States Open Road Films [22]
28 Terrifier 3 October 11, 2024 $94,436,616 Cineverse [23]
29 Hereditary June 7, 2018 $90,190,521 A24 [24]
30 Fritz the Cat April 12, 1972 $90,000,000 North America Cinemation Industries [25]
31 Snowpiercer July 19, 2013 $86,758,912 United States
South Korea
France
Czech Republic 		RADiUS-TWC (United States)
CJ Entertainment (South Korea)
Le Pacte (France)
Bontonfilm (Czech Republic) 		[26]
32 The Amityville Horror July 27, 1979 $86,432,000 North America American International Pictures [27]
33 The Substance May 19, 2024 $77,316,812 United States
France
United Kingdom 		Mubi [28]
34 Halloween October 24, 1978 $70,274,000 United States
New Zealand
United Kingdom 		Compass International Pictures (United States)
Aquarius Releasing (International) 		[29]
35 Moonlight October 21, 2016 $65,172,611 United States A24 [30]
36 The Whale December 9, 2022 $54,883,206 [31]
37 I, Tonya September 8, 2017 $53,939,297 Neon [32]
38 Iron Lung † January 30, 2026 $52,000,000 United States
Finland
Netherlands
New Zealand
Australia
United Kingdom 		Markiplier Studios [33][34][35]
39 Midsommar July 3, 2019 $48,059,189 United States
Sweden 		A24 (North America)
Nordisk Film (Sweden) 		[36]
40 Nightcrawler September 5, 2014 $47,425,835 United States Open Road Films [37]
41 The Iron Claw December 22, 2023 $45,745,981 United Kingdom
United States 		A24 (North America)
Lionsgate (United Kingdom) 		[38]
42 Past Lives January 21, 2023 $42,748,888 United States

South Korea

A24 (United States)
CJ ENM (South Korea) 		[39]
43 The Witch February 19, 2016 $40,423,945 United States
Canada 		A24 (United States)
Elevation Pictures (Canada) 		[40]
44 Grizzly May 16, 1976 $39,000,000 United States
Hungary 		Film Ventures International (United States)
Columbia Pictures (Hungary) 		[41]
45 Together January 26, 2025 $34,573,161 United States
Australia 		Neon (United States)
Kismet Movies (Australia) 		[42]
46 Priscilla September 4, 2023 $33,106,888 United States A24 [43]
47 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre October 11, 1974 $30,926,225 United States
Russia
New Zealand
Australia 		Bryanston Distributing Company [44]
48 Night of the Living Dead October 1, 1968 $30,240,082 United States
New Zealand
United Kingdom 		Continental Distributing [45][46]
49 It Follows May 17, 2014 $23,236,296 United States RADiUS-TWC [47]
50 The Farewell January 25, 2019 $23,076,657 A24 [48]

Highest-grossing independent films by year

Year Title Worldwide gross Budget Ref
1967 The Graduate $104,677,456 $3,000,000 [20]
1968 Night of the Living Dead $30,200,000 $114,000–$125,000 [45][46]
1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre $30,900,000 $80,000–140,000 [44]
1976 Grizzly $39,000,000 $750,000 [41]
1978 Halloween $70,274,000 $300,000–325,000 [29]
2004 The Passion of the Christ $611,486,736 $30,000,000 [2]
2005 Crash $101,173,038 $6,500,000 [21]
2010 The Intouchables $484,630,908 $10,800,000 [3]
2012 Silver Linings Playbook $236,412,453 $21,000,000 [9]
2013 Snowpiercer $86,758,912 $40,000,000 [26]
2015 The Hateful Eight $156,480,177 $44-64,000,000 [15]
2016 Moonlight $65,172,611 $1.5-4,000,000 [30]
2017 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $225,874,228 $180,000,000 [10]
2018 Hereditary $90,190,521 $10,000,000 [24]
2019 Parasite $262,857,186 $11,400,000 [7]
2022 Everything Everywhere All at Once $141,054,397 $14.3–25,000,000 [49][50][51]
2023 Sound of Freedom $250,570,396 $14,500,000 [8]
2024 Civil War $122,533,193 $50,000,000 [52]
2025 Together $34,573,161 $17,000,000 [42]
2026 Iron Lung † $52,000,000 < $3,000,000 [33][34][35]

Timeline of highest-grossing independent film

Film Established Length Held Record-setting gross Ref
The Graduate 1967 23 Years $104,677,456 [20]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 1 Year $202,084,756 [13]
Dances with Wolves 1991 13 Years $424,208,805 [53]
The Passion of the Christ 2004 Ongoing $612,054,506 [54]

Biggest independent film opening weekends

The following is a list of indie films which have opened to more than $10 million.

Rank Film Year Opening weekend Ref
1 The Passion of the Christ 2004 $83,848,082 [55]
2 Civil War 2024 $25,537,368 [56]
3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 $25,398,367 [57]
4 Kill Bill: Volume 2 2004 $25,104,949 [58]
5 Fahrenheit 9/11 $23,920,637 [59]
6 The Amityville Horror 2005 $23,507,007 [60]
7 Longlegs 2024 $22,400,119 [61]
8 Kill Bill: Volume 1 2003 $22,089,322 [62]
9 Sound of Freedom 2023 $19,680,879 [63]
10 Terrifier 3 2024 $18,928,113 [64]
11 Iron Lung 2026 $18,190,786 [33][34]
12 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 2017 $17,007,624 [65]
13 Se7en 1995 $13,949,807 [66]
14 The Silence of the Lambs 1991 $13,766,814 [6]
15 Hereditary 2018 $13,575,173 [67]
16 Nightcrawler 2014 $10,441,000 [68]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 11 – 24/7 Wall St". Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barker, Stephen (2020-10-17). "The 10 Highest-Grossing Independent Films Of All Time". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  3. ^ a b "Les Intouchables (2012) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  4. ^ "Dances with Wolves (1990) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. ^ "Se7en (1995) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  6. ^ a b "The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  7. ^ a b "Parasite". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  8. ^ a b "Sound of Freedom", Box Office Mojo, July 17, 2023, retrieved December 6, 2023
  9. ^ a b "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 6 – 24/7 Wall St". Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  10. ^ a b "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  11. ^ "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 9 – 24/7 Wall St". Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  12. ^ "Traffic". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  13. ^ a b "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  14. ^ "Kill Bill: Vol. 1". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  15. ^ a b "The Hateful Eight". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  16. ^ "Kill Bill: Vol. 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  17. ^ "Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  18. ^ "Longlegs". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  19. ^ "Civil War". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  20. ^ a b c "The Graduate". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  21. ^ a b "The Highest Grossing Independent Films of All Time – Page 4 – 24/7 Wall St". Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  22. ^ "Spotlight". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  23. ^ "Terrifier 3". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  24. ^ a b "Hereditary". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  25. ^ "Ralph Bakshi". The A.V. Club. 2000-12-06. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
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  29. ^ a b "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  30. ^ a b "Moonlight". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  31. ^ "The Whale". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  32. ^ "I, Tonya". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  33. ^ a b c "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
  34. ^ a b c "Iron Lung". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-01.
  35. ^ a b "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Archived from the original on 2026-03-03. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  36. ^ "Midsommar". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  37. ^ "Nightcrawler". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  38. ^ "The Iron Claw (2023) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  39. ^ "Past Lives". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  40. ^ "The Witch". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  41. ^ a b Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. Internet Archive. Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press. ISBN 978-0-8357-1776-2.
  42. ^ a b "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  43. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  44. ^ a b "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  45. ^ a b Hughes, Mark. "The Top Ten Best Low-Budget Horror Movies Of All Time". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-11-16. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  46. ^ a b "Night of the Living Dead". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  47. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  48. ^ "The Farewell". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  49. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (July 31, 2022). "'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Is A24's First Movie to Hit $100 Million Globally". Variety. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  50. ^ Buchanan, Kyle (October 21, 2022). "Everything Everywhere, All Through Awards Season?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  51. ^ "Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  52. ^ "Civil War", Box Office Mojo, April 12, 2024, retrieved August 17, 2024
  53. ^ "Dances with Wolves".
  54. ^ "The Passion of the Christ".
  55. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  56. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
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  63. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
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  65. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  66. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  67. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  68. ^ "Verifying". www.the-numbers.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
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