The 25 Highest-Grossing Memorial Day Box Office Openings of All Time

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and the box office is looking grim. The “Mad Max” prequel “Furiosa” is on track to score the lowest No. 1 Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades, since 1998’s “Casper,” with an estimated $31 million take. But traditionally, the holiday weekend is a big one for moviegoing – kids are out of school, adults have three days off and the summer movie season is ready to roll.

For that reason, it feels like a good time to look back at the highest-grossing Memorial Day weekend box office openings of all time, dating back to 1996. Now it’s important to note these are Memorial Day weekend openings not Memorial Day weekend box office champions – “The Day After Tomorrow” pulled in over $85 million when it opened in 2004, but the top film at the box office for the holiday weekend was holdover “Shrek 2.”

Interestingly enough, while the acclaimed “Top Gun: Maverick” tops them all, the list is chock-full of films that weren’t very well received critically but still opened big – “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Terminator: Salvation” all scored pretty impressive opening weekends at the box office and they’re all pretty not-great movies. The going theme is blockbuster here. Americans want to see a spectacle on Memorial Day weekend, something “Furiosa” delivers in spades.

Here’s the list of the 25 highest-grossing Memorial Day box office openings unadjusted for inflation, with totals per Box Office Mojo.

1. “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022) – $160,514,980
2. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007) – $139,802,190
3. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008) – $126,917,373
4. “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) – $122,861,157
5. “The Little Mermaid” (2023) – $118,818,903
6. “Fast & Furious 6” (2013) – $117,036,995
7. “Aladdin” (2019) – $116, 805,962
8. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014) – $110,576,604
9. “The Hangover Part II” (2011) – $103,426,875
10. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018) – $103,016,812
11. “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997) –  $90,161,880
12. “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004) – $85,807,341
13. “Bruce Almighty” (2003) – $85,734,045
14. “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016) – $79,810,133
15. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (2017) – $78,476,767
16. “Pearl Harbor” (2001) – $75,177,654
17. “Mission: Impossible II” (2000) – $70,816,215
18. “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” (2009) – $70,052,004
19. “Men in Black 3” (2012) – $69,254,717
20. “Madagascar” (2005) – $61,012,130
21. “Kung Fu Panda 2” (2011) – $60,871,175
22. “The Longest Yard” (2005) – $58,613,245
23. “A Quiet Place Part II” (2021) – $57,088,948
24. “Mission: Impossible” (1996) – $56,811,602
25. “Godzilla” (1998) – $55,726,951

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