This list charts the most successful films at cinemas in Germany by admissions. It also lists the most popular German productions in terms of box office sales, in euros and admissions. The Jungle Book, initially released in 1968 but with subsequent reissues, is Germany's biggest film of all time since 1963 in terms of admissions with 27.3 million tickets sold, nearly 10 million more than Titanic's 18.8 million tickets sold.[1] It has grossed an estimated $108 million in Germany making it the third highest-grossing film of all time in Germany behind only Avatar (2009) ($137 million) and Titanic (1997) ($125 million).[2] Der Schuh des Manitu (2001) is the highest-grossing German production with a gross of €63 million and a record (since 1962) 11.7 million admissions.[3] The 1953 East German film Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck had the most admissions for a film from East Germany with almost 13 million.[4]

Most successful films by admissions

The table below lists the most successful films in Germany since 1963 in terms of admissions. The Jungle Book is Germany's biggest film of all time in terms of admissions with 27.3 million tickets sold, nearly 10 million more than Titanic's 18.8 million tickets sold.[1]

Rank Title Year Admissions[1]
01 The Jungle Book 1968 27,290,763
02 Titanic 1998 18,812,740
03 Once Upon a Time in the West 1969 13,012,746
04 Doctor Zhivago 1966 12,750,000
05 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2001 12,595,323
06 Trinity Is Still My Name 1972 12,267,000
07 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 11,930,785
08 The Lion King 1994 11,899,893
09 Der Schuh des Manitu 2001 11,721,183
10 Avatar 2009 11,311,518
11 The Aristocats 1971 11,294,126
12 Thunderball 1965 11,250,000
13 The Silence 1964 11,000,000
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 10,753,596
15 Pretty Woman 1990 10,625,337
16 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 10,442,102
17 Goldfinger 1965 10,250,000
18 Avatar: The Way of Water 2022 10,198,391
19 Treasure of the Silver Lake 1962 10,000,000
20 Apache Gold 1963 10,000,000
21 The Rescuers 1977 09,767,049
22 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002 09,728,779
23 Jurassic Park 1993 09,395,450
24 Independence Day 1996 09,272,424
25 Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 2004 09,165,932
26 The Intouchables 2012 09,162,715
27 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 09,060,311
28 You Only Live Twice 1967 09,000,000
29 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999 08,962,516
30 Finding Nemo 2003 08,839,084

Highest-grossing films prior to 1963

The most successful films released prior to 1963 based on theatrical rentals in Deutschmarks to February 1984 were:[nb 1]

Rank Title Year Rentals DM[5]
01 Ben-Hur 1959 32.0
02 Gone With the Wind 1939 30.0
03 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 24.0
04 From Here to Eternity 1953 20.0

List of highest-grossing German productions

Rank Title Year Gross €
[3]
01 Der Schuh des Manitu 2001 65,131,251
02 Fack ju Göhte 2 2015 62,883,798
03 Honig im Kopf 2014 58,506,360
04 Fack ju Göhte 2013 54,812,272
05 Fack ju Göhte 3 2017 53,151,550
06 Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 2004 51,276,038
07 Das perfekte Geheimnis 2019 46,963,873
08 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 2015 41,957,829
09 Keinohrhasen 2007 40,480,446
10 7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald 2004 39,300,000[6]

Most successful German productions by admissions

The following are the most successful German productions ranked by admissions in Germany since 1962, excluding those produced in East Germany between 1945-1990 (see separate list below).

Rank Title Year Admissions
[3]
01 Der Schuh des Manitu 2001 11,721,183
02 Treasure of the Silver Lake 1962 10,000,000
03 Apache Gold 1963 10,000,000
04 Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 2004 09,165,932
05 Otto – Der Film 1985 08,776,026
06 Fack ju Göhte 2 2015 07,698,547
07 Old Shatterhand 1964 07,500,000
08 Fack ju Göhte 2013 07,383,322
09 Honig im Kopf 2014 07,274,964
10 Schulmädchen-Report 1970 07,000,000

Most successful films in East Germany based on admissions

Below is a list of the most successful films produced in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany (1945–49) and East Germany (1949-1990). Films prior to 1949 include admissions from West Berlin and the west zones.

Rank Title Year Admissions[4]
01 Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck 1953 12,998,352
02 Ehe im Schatten 1947 12,888,153
03 Heart of Stone 1950 09,779,526
04 The Sons of Great Bear 1966 09,422,395
05 Raid 1947 08,090,000
06 Snow White 1961 07,597,495
07 Street Acquaintances 1948 06,469,627
08 The Murderers Are Among Us 1946 06,468,921
09 The Merry Wives of Windsor 1950 06,090,329
10 My Wife Makes Music 1958 06,052,050

See also

Notes

  1. ^ For comparison with the table above, Variety reported the following films released after 1963 with rentals of over 18 million Deutschmarks by February 1984:
    Doctor Zhivago 39 million DM
    The Jungle Book 33 million DM
    E.T. the Extra-terrestrial 25 million DM
    The Rescuers 22 million DM
    From Here to Eternity 20 million DM
    Once Upon A Time in the West 18 million DM
    Jaws 18 million DM
    Octopussy 18 million DM [5]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Besucher Deutschland". InsideKino (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ^ Scott Roxborough (11 January 2016). "German Box Office: 'Star Wars' Becomes Fourth Highest-Grossing Film of All Time". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "InsideKino – Besucher deutscher Filme in Deutschland" (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Die Erfolgreichsten DDR-Film In der DDR". InsideKino (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b "All-Time German Rental Champs". Variety. 7 March 1984. p. 336.
  6. ^ "Seven Dwarves - German gross $48,726,183 (Average exchange rate $1.24=1 Euro)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 May 2020.

External links

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