The success of a film is assessed by trade publications (such as Box Office Mojo and Variety) primarily by its theatrical box office earnings. Although several other revenue streams also generate revenue (such as theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights and merchandising) theatrical box office earnings take prominence, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. The success at the box office is measured in a number of ways, and these look at both the total gross as well as the speed with which that gross is attained. This list focuses on the latter. Included on this list are charts showing the films that reached certain milestones in the fastest time. All charts are ranked first by the number of days they took to reach the milestone, and second by their total gross on the day they exceeded the milestone. The charts are not adjusted for inflation, which does erode the achievements of earlier films.
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Fastest-grossing films – North America
On this series of charts, films are ranked first by the number of days they took to reach the milestone, and second by their total gross on the day they exceeded the milestone. The milestones used by trade publications such as Box Office Mojo or The Numbers.com, are multiples of $50 million. Therefore, the charts below reflect these milestones. Note that in the case of a tie, the highest-grossing film is listed as the fastest-grossing film.
Fastest-grossing films to $50 million
There have been 1,417 films to have grossed over $50 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.
Fastest-grossing films to $100 million
There have been 596 films to have grossed over $100 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.
Fastest-grossing films to $150 million
There have been 285 films to have grossed over $150 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.
Fastest-grossing films to $200 million
There have been 175 films to have grossed over $200 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.
Fastest-grossing films to $250 million
There have been 101 films to have grossed over $250 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.
Fastest-grossing films to $300 million
There have been 65 films to have grossed over $300 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.
Fastest-grossing films to $350 million
There have been 39 films to have grossed over $350 million at the US and Canadian box office. The list below is restricted to the top 25.