The World’s Favourite Films
Everyone’s heard of Avatar, but have you ever watched Loufa Kai Parallegi?
How about The Mermaid? Well, they were the biggest films of the past ten years in Greece and China, respectively.
To celebrate our Thumb-Stopping Moments short film competition, we have looked at the highest grossing films around the world between 2006 and 2016 to see how box-office habits differ between countries. See which films were the most successful around the world with our infographic.
Avatar is currently the highest grossing film of all time, which isn’t surprising seeing as it is also the highest grossing film since 2006 in 25 countries, including places as diverse as Hungary, Australia and Kenya.
While Hollywood films such as The Avengers and Furious 7 seem to have found audiences all over the world, some countries clearly favour their local filmmakers more than others.
The Mermaid, a Hong Kong-Chinese romantic comedy film, pulled in US$553 million (£449 million) at the start of 2016 in China, making it the country’s highest ever grossing film.
Highest-grossing films by country (2006-2016)
| Location | Film | Gross | Year |
| Argentina | Minions | $36,154,412 | 2015 |
| Australia | Avatar | $105,779,507 | 2009 |
| Austria | Avatar | $14,124,754 | 2009 |
| Belgium and Luxembourg | Avatar | $13,576,624 | 2009 |
| Bolivia | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $2,278,266 | 2015 |
| Brazil | The Avengers (2012) | $63,904,807 | 2012 |
| Bulgaria | Avatar | $3,406,100 | 2009 |
| Chile | Ice Age: Continental Drift | $13,783,204 | 2012 |
| China | The Mermaclass (2016) | $526,848,189 | 2016 |
| Colombia | Furious 7 | $16,255,313 | 2015 |
| Croatia | Avatar | $1,646,183 | 2009 |
| Czech Republic | Avatar | $12,469,493 | 2009 |
| Denmark | Avatar | $22,889,076 | 2009 |
| East Africa | Avatar | $357,659 | 2009 |
| Ecuador | The Avengers (2012) | $5,410,298 | 2012 |
| Egypt | Booha | $2,546,327 | 2005 |
| Estonia | Avatar | $1,209,048 | 2009 |
| Finland | Spectre | $9,260,527 | 2015 |
| France, Algeria, Monaco, Morocco, Tunisia | Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis | $193,764,365 | 2008 |
| Germany | Avatar | $162,333,962 | 2009 |
| Ghana | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | $216,646 | 2010 |
| Greece | Loufa kai parallegi | $11,680,950 | 2005 |
| Hong Kong | Avatar | $22,923,033 | 2009 |
| Hungary | Avatar | $7,300,532 | 2009 |
| Iceland | Avatar | $1,128,859 | 2009 |
| India | Ghajini | $34,320,002 | 2008 |
| Italy | Avatar | $83,498,193 | 2009 |
| Japan | Frozen (2013) | $249,036,646 | 2014 |
| Latvia | Avatar | $83,498,193 | 2009 |
| Lebanon | Vitamin | $2,384,762 | 2014 |
| Lithuania | Avatar | $1,490,564 | 2009 |
| Malaysia | Furious 7 | $15,992,077 | 2015 |
| Mexico | The Avengers (2012) | $61,748,523 | 2012 |
| Netherlands | Skyfall | $25,100,238 | 2012 |
| New Zealand and Fiji | Avatar | $12,587,471 | 2009 |
| Nigeria | Skyfall | $520,651 | 2012 |
| Norway | Mamma Mia! | $16,759,894 | 2008 |
| Peru | Listy do M. | $12,605,088 | 2011 |
| Philippines | Iron Man 3 | $14,949,472 | 2013 |
| Poland | Avatar | $28,337,868 | 2009 |
| Portugal and Angola | Avatar | $9,294,777 | 2009 |
| Romania | Avatar | $5,556,796 | 2009 |
| Russia - CIS | Avatar | $117,103,251 | 2009 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | Montevclasseo, bog te vclasseo: Prica prva | $2,192,931 | 2010 |
| Singapore | Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | $53,055,712 | 2015 |
| Slovakia | Avatar | $2,916,247 | 2009 |
| Slovenia | Avatar | $1,825,003 | 2009 |
| South Africa | Furious 7 | $5,884,842 | 2015 |
| South Korea | Myeong-ryang | $131,556,156 | 2014 |
| Spain | Avatar | $109,992,746 | 2009 |
| Sweden | Mamma Mia! | $25,059,113 | 2008 |
| Taiwan | Transformers 3 | $37,667,064 | 2011 |
| Thailand | Pee Mak Pra Kanong | $18,161,322 | 2013 |
| Turkey | Recep Ivedik 4 | $32,427,194 | 2014 |
| Ukraine | Avatar | $8,691,077 | 2009 |
| United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $163,599,922 | 2015 |
| United States, Canada | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $936,662,225 | 2015 |
| Uruguay | Minions | $1,696,276 | 2015 |
| Venezuela | Minions | $27,015,386 | 2015 |
The Thumb-Stopping Moments short film competition challenges filmmakers of all levels to shoot an attention-grabbing 60-second film. The best submission will be awarded £7,000, with £2,000 and £1,000 for the second and third place runners-up respectively. The deadline for submissions is 11 November 2016.
About the research:
- Data on the gross earnings by films in each country feautred in the research was collected from Boxofficemojo.com and is correct as of October 2016.