The following page lists the highest-grossing films that were distributed by independent, arthouse, and mini-major studios. The Passion of the Christ is the highest-grossing independent film of all time. [1] Independent films that were co-produced or co-distributed by major film studios, such as Inglourious Basterds and Paranormal Activity , are not included.
| Rank | Title | Date | Worldwide gross | Countries | Film distributor | Ref/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Passion of the Christ | February 25, 2004 | $611,486,736 | United States | Newmarket Films | [2] |
| 2 | The Intouchables | September 23, 2010 | $484,630,908 | France | Gaumont | [3] |
| 3 | Dances with Wolves | November 9, 1990 | $424,208,805 | North America | Orion Pictures | [4] |
| 4 | The King's Speech | September 6, 2010 | $423,999,102 | Australia United Kingdom | Momentum Pictures | [2] |
| 5 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding | April 19, 2002 | $368,744,044 | North America | IFC Films | [2] |
| 6 | American Beauty | September 8, 1999 | $356,258,047 | DreamWorks Pictures | [1] | |
| 7 | Se7en | September 15, 1995 | $328,125,643 | New Line Cinema | [5] | |
| 8 | The Silence of the Lambs | February 14, 1991 | $275,726,716 | Orion Pictures | [6] | |
| 9 | Parasite | May 21, 2019 | $262,857,186 | South Korea | CJ Entertainment | [7] |
| 10 | Sound of Freedom | July 4, 2023 | $250,570,396 | North America | Angel Studios | [8] |
| 11 | The Blair Witch Project | January 23, 1999 | $248,639,099 | Artisan Entertainment | [2] | |
| 12 | Silver Linings Playbook | November 16, 2012 | $236,412,453 | The Weinstein Company | [9] | |
| 13 | Fahrenheit 9/11 | May 17, 2004 | $222,446,882 | Lionsgate | [2] | |
| 14 | Good Will Hunting | December 2, 1997 | $225,925,989 | Miramax | [2] | |
| 15 | Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | July 21, 2017 | $225,874,228 | France United States China Germany Belgium United Arab Emirates | STX Entertainment | [10] |
| 16 | Pulp Fiction | May 21, 1994 | $212,894,343 | North America | Miramax | [11] |
| 17 | Traffic | December 27, 2000 | $207,515,725 | USA Films | [12] | |
| 18 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | March 30, 1990 | $202,084,756 | New Line Cinema | [13] | |
| 19 | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | October 10, 2003 | $180,899,045 | Miramax | [14] | |
| 20 | The Hateful Eight | December 25, 2015 | $156,480,177 | The Weinstein Company | [15] | |
| 21 | Kill Bill: Volume 2 | April 16, 2004 | $154,116,796 | Miramax | [16] | |
| 22 | Everything Everywhere All at Once | March 25, 2022 | $141,054,397 | A24 | [17] | |
| 23 | Longlegs | July 12, 2024 | $126,867,598 | United States | Neon | [18] |
| 24 | Civil War | April 12, 2024 | $122,533,193 | United States United Kingdom | A24 (United States) Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom) | [19] |
| 25 | The Graduate | December 20, 1967 | $104,677,456 | United States South Korea Australia New Zealand | Embassy Pictures (United States) United Artists (International) | [20] |
| 26 | Crash | May 6, 2005 | $101,173,038 | North America | Lionsgate | [21] |
| 27 | Spotlight | September 3, 2015 | $98,690,254 | United States | Open Road Films | [22] |
| 28 | Terrifier 3 | October 11, 2024 | $94,436,616 | Cineverse | [23] | |
| 29 | Hereditary | June 7, 2018 | $90,190,521 | A24 | [24] | |
| 30 | Fritz the Cat | April 12, 1972 | $90,000,000 | North America | Cinemation Industries | [25] |
| 31 | Snowpiercer | July 19, 2013 | $86,758,912 | United States South Korea France Czech Republic | RADiUS-TWC (United States) CJ Entertainment (South Korea) Le Pacte (France) Bontonfilm (Czech Republic) | [26] |
| 32 | The Amityville Horror | July 27, 1979 | $86,432,000 | North America | American International Pictures | [27] |
| 33 | The Substance | May 19, 2024 | $77,316,812 | United States France United Kingdom | Mubi | [28] |
| 34 | Halloween | October 24, 1978 | $70,274,000 | United States New Zealand United Kingdom | Compass International Pictures (United States) Aquarius Releasing (International) | [29] |
| 35 | Moonlight | October 21, 2016 | $65,172,611 | United States | A24 | [30] |
| 36 | The Whale | December 9, 2022 | $54,883,206 | [31] | ||
| 37 | I, Tonya | September 8, 2017 | $53,939,297 | Neon | [32] | |
| 38 | Midsommar | July 3, 2019 | $48,059,189 | United States Sweden | A24 (North America) Nordisk Film (Sweden) | [33] |
| 39 | Nightcrawler | September 5, 2014 | $47,425,835 | United States | Open Road Films | [34] |
| 40 | Iron Lung † | January 30, 2026 | $46,578,551 | United States Finland Netherlands New Zealand Australia United Kingdom | Markiplier Studios | [35] [36] |
| 41 | The Iron Claw | December 22, 2023 | $45,745,981 | United Kingdom United States | A24 (North America) Lionsgate (United Kingdom) | [37] |
| 42 | Past Lives | January 21, 2023 | $42,748,888 | United States South Korea | A24 (United States) CJ ENM (South Korea) | [38] |
| 43 | The Witch | February 19, 2016 | $40,423,945 | United States Canada | A24 (United States) Elevation Pictures (Canada) | [39] |
| 44 | Grizzly | May 16, 1976 | $39,000,000 | United States Hungary | Film Ventures International (United States) Columbia Pictures (Hungary) | [40] |
| 45 | Together | January 26, 2025 | $34,573,161 | United States Australia | Neon (United States) Kismet Movies (Australia) | [41] |
| 46 | Priscilla | September 4, 2023 | $33,106,888 | United States | A24 | |
| 47 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | October 11, 1974 | $30,926,225 | United States Russia New Zealand Australia | Bryanston Distributing Company | [42] |
| 48 | Night of the Living Dead | October 1, 1968 | $30,240,082 | United States New Zealand United Kingdom | Continental Distributing | [43] [44] |
| 49 | It Follows | May 17, 2014 | $23,236,296 | United States | RADiUS-TWC | [45] |
| 50 | The Farewell | January 25, 2019 | $23,076,657 | A24 | [46] |
| Year | Title | Worldwide gross | Budget | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Graduate | $104,677,456 | $3,000,000 | [20] |
| 1968 | Night of the Living Dead | $30,200,000 | $114,000–$125,000 | [43] [44] |
| 1974 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | $30,900,000 | $80,000–140,000 | [42] |
| 1976 | Grizzly | $39,000,000 | $750,000 | [40] |
| 1978 | Halloween | $70,274,000 | $300,000–325,000 | [29] |
| 2004 | The Passion of the Christ | $611,486,736 | $30,000,000 | [2] |
| 2005 | Crash | $101,173,038 | $6,500,000 | [21] |
| 2010 | The Intouchables | $484,630,908 | $10,800,000 | [3] |
| 2012 | Silver Linings Playbook | $236,412,453 | $21,000,000 | [9] |
| 2013 | Snowpiercer | $86,758,912 | $40,000,000 | [26] |
| 2015 | The Hateful Eight | $156,480,177 | $44-64,000,000 | [15] |
| 2016 | Moonlight | $65,172,611 | $1.5-4,000,000 | [30] |
| 2017 | Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | $225,874,228 | $180,000,000 | [10] |
| 2018 | Hereditary | $90,190,521 | $10,000,000 | [24] |
| 2019 | Parasite | $262,857,186 | $11,400,000 | [7] |
| 2022 | Everything Everywhere All at Once | $141,054,397 | $14.3–25,000,000 | [47] [48] [49] |
| 2023 | Sound of Freedom | $250,570,396 | $14,500,000 | [8] |
| 2024 | Civil War | $122,533,193 | $50,000,000 | [50] |
| 2025 | Together | $34,573,161 | $17,000,000 | [41] |
| 2026 | Iron Lung † | $46,578,551 | < $3,000,000 | [35] [36] |
| Film | Established | Length Held | Record-setting gross | Ref |
| The Graduate | 1967 | 23 Years | $104,677,456 | [20] |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 1990 | 1 Year | $202,084,756 | [13] |
| Dances with Wolves | 1991 | 13 Years | $424,208,805 | [51] |
| The Passion of the Christ | 2004 | Ongoing | $612,054,506 | [52] |