1. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" (Warner Bros.) grossed $381 million in domestic and $1.33 billion in global box-office sales. The final “Potter” movie was the third-most successful worldwide release of all time. "It didn't really come as a surprise," Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov told TheWrap. "We were anticipating that the final movie would be hopefully the biggest movie of all of them, particularly with the addition of 3D."
2. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (Paramount/DreamWorks) grossed $352 million domestically and $1.12 billion in global box-office sales. It was also the first movie to break the $20 million opening mark worldwide for IMAX, grossing $22.5 million. "The biggest secret for its success was that it was a better movie than the sequel and the original," Don Harris, Paramount president of domestic theatrical distribution, told TheWrap.
3. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" (Summit) grossed $259 million in domestic and $633 million in global box-office sales. It was only the second movie of 2011, including the final "Harry Potter" film, to open to more than $100 million. "The following week [of its release], as we got into Thanksgiving, most of the titles that were released were animated or family-oriented," Summit President of Domestic Distribution Richie Fay told TheWrap.
4. "The Hangover Part II" (Warner Bros.) grossed $254 million in domestic box office and $581 million globally. It broke the record for the best comedy premiere ever in the U.S. and Canada, but narrowly missed the all-time record opening for an R-rated film. "We had hoped that the movie would be successful based on how much people really enjoyed being with the guys the first time around," Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov said.
5. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (Disney) grossed $241 million in domestic box office and $1.04 billion in global theatrical sales, boosted by an extraordinary $802.8 million international performance. The fourth "Pirates" movie was the fourth-most successful worldwide release ever and the eighth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.
6. "Fast Five" (Universal) grossed $210 million in domestic box office and $626 million in global ticket sales. It was also the biggest opening for an April release, besting Universal's "Fast and Furious" from two years ago. "We had a great script, we had the talent all there. When we saw the director's cut, we knew it was going to be a great hit," said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution for Universal.
7. "Cars 2" (Buena Vista) grossed $191 million in domestic and $552 million in global box-office sales. It significantly over-performed at the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $68 million -- some $8 million more than even the most optimistic projections for the animated 3D film. Ultimately, it didn’t produce as much box office revenue for Disney/Pixar as the first “Cars,” but it kept vital a merchandising business that has produced billions of dollars for the conglomerate.
8. "Thor" (Paramount) grossed $181 million in domestic box office and $448.5 million in global ticket sales. "You have to take your hat off to Marvel," said Don Harris, Paramount’s president of domestic theatrical distribution. "They have been very careful with each of their characters and all of their franchises to make sure they protected the franchises, and they did that with 'Thor.' "
9. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (Fox) grossed $177 million in domestic box office and $481 million in global ticket sales. The “Planet of the Apes” origins film out-performed its weekend premiere projections, opening to $54 million. "[It was] a challenge, given the age of the franchise and that this was a complete reboot," 20th Century Fox executive VP of distribution Chris Aronson told TheWrap. "But once we saw one of the first screenings, we had high hopes for it."
10. "Captain America: The First Avenger" (Paramount) grossed $177 million in domestic box office and $368 million in global ticket sales. The superhero film got off to a solid start at the domestic box office, grossing $25.6 million on its first day of release. "[Marvel] ended up making a movie that was far better than people were expecting, and it performed in the upper range of what we had expected," Paramount president of domestic theatrical distribution Don Harris told TheWrap.
