2020 in film

The year of 2020 featured many film releases, several cinematic events, and a plethora of deaths connected to the industry. The year was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with numerous films originally scheduled for theatrical release were postponed or released on video on demand or streaming services, and as a result, 2020 was the first year since 2007 not to have a film gross $1 billion in its initial release, the first year since 2005 not to have a film gross over $900 million, the first year since 2000 not to have a film gross over $600 million, and the first year since 1995 not to have a film gross over $500 million. There was one movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, that passed over $1 billion in a re-release. It was also the first year in history when only four of the ten highest-grossing films were North American productions, the other six being Chinese or Japanese productions with one of the former, The Eight Hundred, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2020, a first for a non-American film.

However, it is to be kept in mind that several film companies stopped reporting box-office numbers during this time due to the pandemic, and several films are still in theatres where guidelines enable so. As a result, numbers will grow if they are re-released in the future to compensate for the impact this pandemic has had on consumers and film-watchers.

Highest-grossing films

The top films released in 2020 by worldwide gross are listed below. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to the industry, with lower than usual box office returns than previous years and a reduced selection of contenders.

 indicates films playing in theaters around the world in the week commencing 12 March 2021.

Highest-grossing films of 2020

Rank	Title	Distributor	Worldwide gross
1	The Eight Hundred	CMC Pictures Holdings	$461,339,528
2	My People, My Homeland	China Lion Film Distribution	$433,241,288
3	Bad Boys for Life	Sony Pictures / Columbia	$426,505,244
4	Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train	Toho / Aniplex (Sony Music Japan)	$416,534,854
5	Tenet	Warner Bros.	$363,129,000
6	Sonic the Hedgehog	Paramount	$319,715,683
7	Dolittle	Universal	$245,521,062
8	Jiang Ziya	Beijing Enlight Pictures	$240,661,689
9	A Little Red Flower	HG Entertainment	$238,600,000
10	Shock Wave 2	Universe Films Distribution	$226,320,000

After being re-released in 4K in China, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone grossed over $1 billion, becoming the second billion-dollar film in the Wizarding World franchise.

2020 box office records

• China overtook North America as the world’s largest box office market for the first time in 2020. China generated $2.7 billion in theatrical revenue compared to North America’s $2.3 billion, the lowest for the North American box office in at least 40 years. This has been largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic having a greater negative impact in North America than in China.
• Because of the relatively smaller impact of the pandemic on Asian film markets, the majority of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year are non-Hollywood (Chinese and Japanese) productions for the first time in history, as the rankings were previously always dominated by North American productions.

Film records

• Sonic the Hedgehog broke Pokémon: Detective Pikachu‘s record for the highest opening weekend for a film based on a video game, with $70 million domestic gross in the United States and Canada. It went on to become the highest-grossing film based on a video game in the United States and Canada, surpassing Detective Pikachu, although it did not beat it in the worldwide box office. Sonic the Hedgehog is also the highest-grossing superhero film of 2020, ending the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s decade-long run of having the highest-grossing superhero film of the year (from 2010 to 2019).
• The Eight Hundred, a Chinese film, became the first ever non-Hollywood film production to become the highest-grossing film of the year. In previous years, the highest-grossing film of the year was always a Hollywood production. This record has been largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, a Japanese anime film based on the manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, broke a number of box office records in Asia.
  • In Japan, Mugen Train set the first-day opening record with ¥1.2 billion ($11.3 million), before breaking the opening weekend record with ¥4.6 billion ($43.8 million) over three days. It went on to have the highest-grossing second weekend, and in ten days became the fastest film to cross ¥10 billion ($96.7 million), surpassing Spirited Away (2001) which had previously crossed the ¥10 billion milestone in 19 days and held the record for 19 years. Mugen Train also became the fastest film to cross ¥20 billion in Japan, again faster than Spirited Away. It also set the record for the highest-grossing IMAX release in Japan, surpassing the previous record holder Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). In 59 days, Mugen Train set another record as the fastest film to cross the ¥30 billion milestone, faster than Spirited Away which took 253 days to reach the same milestone. In 66 days, the film set another record as the first film to top the Japanese box office charts for ten straight weekends (since the charts began publication in 2004). In 73 days, Mugen Train grossed ¥32.48 billion to become the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan, surpassing Spirited Away which held the record for 19 years.
  • In Taiwan, Mugen Train grossed NT$360 million (US$12.6 million) in 17 days, setting the record for the highest-grossing animated film of all time in Taiwan, surpassing the previous record holders Frozen 2 (2019) and Your Name (2016). In 20 days, Mugen Train became the first animated film to cross NT$400 million in Taiwan, before later crossing the NT$500 million milestone.
• For the first time in box office history, two non-American animated film productions (Asian films), Demon Slayer: Mugen Train from Japan and Jiang Ziya from China, have become the highest-grossing animated films of the year. This has also been partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the first time since 1987 that a non-American animated film (Japanese anime), Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, became the highest-grossing animated film of the year.

Events

Award ceremonies

Festivals

List of some of the film festivals for 2020 that have been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).

Awards

2020 films

By country

• List of American films of 2020
• List of Bangladeshi films of 2020
• List of British films of 2020
• List of Canadian films of 2020
• List of Chinese films of 2020
  • List of Hong Kong films of 2020
• List of Filipino films of 2020
• List of Indian films of 2020
  • List of Assamese films of 2020
  • List of Bollywood films of 2020
  • List of Gujarati films of 2020
  • List of Indian Bengali films of 2020
  • List of Kannada films of 2020
  • List of Malayalam films of 2020
  • List of Marathi films of 2020
  • List of Punjabi films of 2020
  • List of Tamil films of 2020
  • List of Telugu films of 2020
  • List of Tulu films of 2020
• List of Japanese films of 2020
• List of Russian films of 2020
• List of South Korean films of 2020

By genre

• 2020 in science fiction film
• List of animated feature films of 2020

Deaths