Overview
The Lists of box office number‑one films in the United States are a series of reference articles that document, on a week‑by‑week (or weekend‑by‑weekend) basis, the film that earned the highest gross at the domestic box office in the United States for a given period. Each article in the series covers a single calendar year and presents the chronological sequence of top‑grossing titles, typically accompanied by the weekend gross revenue, the number of theaters, and the dates of the reporting period.
Structure of the yearly lists
A typical yearly list includes the following columns:
| Date (weekending) | Film title | Distributor | Weekend gross (USD) | Number of theaters | Weeks at #1 |
|---|
The entries are ordered by the ending date of the reporting weekend (usually Friday–Sunday) and are updated to reflect any retroactive revisions to box‑office data that may be issued by the primary data sources.
Data sources
The figures are derived from publicly available box‑office tracking services, most notably Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. When discrepancies arise between sources, the figures adopted in the Wikipedia lists generally follow the values reported by Box Office Mojo, unless a reliable secondary source provides a correction.
Historical development
The practice of compiling weekly domestic box‑office leaders dates back to trade publications such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter in the mid‑20th century. The Wikipedia series began to take shape in the early 2000s as contributors created annual pages that aggregated the weekly leadership data. Over time, the series expanded to include ancillary information such as franchise performance, record‑setting weekends, and notes on re‑releases.
Related articles
- List of highest‑grossing films in the United States – cumulative domestic totals.
- List of weekend box office number‑one films in the United Kingdom – corresponding data for the UK market.
- Box office weekend – general article describing the methodology of weekend box‑office reporting.
Usage
The lists serve as a quick reference for researchers, industry analysts, and film enthusiasts interested in trends such as seasonal box‑office patterns, the impact of franchise releases, and the performance of films relative to their release windows. They are also cited in media coverage of box‑office milestones.
Maintenance
The articles are maintained by volunteer editors on Wikipedia. Updates are made periodically as new data become available, and retrospective corrections are incorporated when official sources revise previously reported figures. The collaborative nature of the series means that the completeness and accuracy of any given year’s list may vary, especially for older years where records are less comprehensive.
Limitations
- Early historical data (pre‑1970) may be incomplete due to the lack of systematic box‑office tracking at the time.
- Figures are reported in United States dollars and do not account for inflation; comparisons across decades require adjustment for purchasing‑power changes.
- The lists reflect theatrical release performance only and exclude subsequent revenue streams such as home video, streaming, or television licensing.
