This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekend box office for the year 2020.
The year was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of theaters around the country closed in March, and grosses plummeted. Many number one films during the height of the closures were independent films with limited releases, and films were primarily viewed through drive-in theaters. Total grosses from all movies combined in 2020 generated $2.28 billion in the United States, an 80% decline from 2019's $11.4 billion.
Number-one films †This implies the highest-grossing movie of the year. Weekend end date Film Gross Notes 1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker $34,524,815 2 1917 $37,000,200 1917 reached the #1 spot after two weeks of limited release. 3 Bad Boys for Life † $62,504,105 Bad Boys for Life had the highest weekend debut of 2020. This would remain the highest weekly total until the week ending on June 27, 2021, which saw F9 debut to $70,043,165. 4 $34,011,714 5 $17,682,959 Bad Boys for Life became the first film in 2020 to top the box office for three consecutive weekends. 6 Birds of Prey $33,010,017 7 Sonic the Hedgehog $58,018,348 Sonic the Hedgehog broke Detective Pikachus record ($54.4 million) for the highest weekend debut for a video game adaptation. 8 $26,192,294 9 The Invisible Man $28,205,665 10 Onward $39,119,861 11 $10,601,952 During the week, Sonic the Hedgehog ($145.0 million) broke Detective Pikachus record ($144.1 million) for the highest grossing video game adaptation domestically. 12–33 – colspan="3" 34 Unhinged $4,000,761 Unhinged reached number one in its second weekend of release (and first in American theaters). It was the first wide release film since March. 35 The New Mutants $7,037,017 36 Tenet $9,353,090 With 65% of theaters in the country open, Tenet reached number one, and was highest-grossing weekend for a film since March. 37 $6,603,467 38 $4,568,470 39 $3,348,340 40 $2,664,202 41 The War with Grandpa $3,623,880 42 Honest Thief $4,115,249 43 $2,354,022 44 Come Play $3,119,875 45 Let Him Go $4,000,470 46 Freaky $3,600,355 47 $1,281,150 48 The Croods: A New Age $9,724,200 49 $4,439,855 50 $3,060,535 51 Monster Hunter $2,201,269 52 Wonder Woman 1984 $16,701,957 Simultaneously released on HBO Max. First week above 10 million since March.
Highest-grossing films
Calendar Gross Highest-grossing films of 2020 by Calendar Gross Rank Title Studio(s) Actor(s) Director(s) Domestic Gross 1. Bad Boys for Life Sony Pictures Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Núñez, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam and Joe Pantoliano Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah $204,417,855 2. 1917 Universal Pictures George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch Sam Mendes $157,901,466 3. Sonic the Hedgehog Paramount Pictures James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Jim Carrey, Lee Majdoub, Adam Pally, Frank C. Turner, Tom Butler and Natasha Rothwell Jeff Fowler $146,066,470 4. Jumanji: The Next Level Sony Pictures Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Danny Glover and Danny DeVito Jake Kasdan $124,736,710 5. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Walt Disney Studios Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid and Billy Dee Williams J. J. Abrams $124,496,308 6. Birds of Prey Warner Bros. Pictures Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong and Ewan McGregor Cathy Yan $84,158,461 7. Dolittle Universal Pictures Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez and Marion Cotillard Stephen Gaghan $77,047,065 8. Little Women Sony Pictures Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel and Chris Cooper Greta Gerwig $70,508,087 9. The Invisible Man Universal Pictures Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen Leigh Whannell $64,914,050 10. The Call of the Wild 20th Century Studios Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan and Bradley Whitford Chris Sanders $62,342,368
In-Year Release + Highest-grossing films of 2020 by In-year release Rank Title Distributor Domestic gross 1. Bad Boys for Life Sony $206,305,244 2. Sonic the Hedgehog Paramount $148,974,665 3. Birds of Prey Warner Bros. $84,158,461 4. Dolittle Universal $77,047,065 5. The Invisible Man $70,410,000 6. The Call of the Wild 20th Century $62,342,368 7. Onward Disney $61,555,145 8. The Croods: A New Age Universal $58,544,525 9. Tenet Warner Bros. $58,456,624 10. Wonder Woman 1984 $46,534,027
+ Highest-grossing films by MPAA rating of 2020Box Office Performance for G-Rated Movies in 2020 The Numbers, Retrieved August 7, 2023 G Toy Story (re-release) PG Sonic the Hedgehog PG-13 Tenet R Bad Boys for Life
See also List of American films — American films by year Lists of box office number-one films
Additional notes
References
Chronology