2020 in film

Overview of the events of 2020 in filmTemplate:SHORTDESC:Overview of the events of 2020 in film
Overview of the events of 2020 in filmTemplate:SHORTDESC:Overview of the events of 2020 in film

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**2020 in film** is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, critics' lists of the best films of 2019, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, and notable deaths.

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. 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 were still in theatres where guidelines enabled them 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.

After being re-released in 4K in China, earning $26.4 million, the overall gross for the 2001 film *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* increased to over $1.008 billion, becoming the 47th film overall and the second billion-dollar film in the Wizarding World franchise, after *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2*, at $1.342 billion.

### 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 (6) of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year are East Asian (Chinese and Japanese) productions for the first time in history, as the rankings were previously dominated by North American productions.

#### Film records

* At the end of 2020, *The Eight Hundred* became the first Chinese and first non-Hollywood film to top the global box office with more than $450 million gross. It was later overtaken by *Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train* in May 2021.
* *Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train*, a Japanese anime film based on the manga series *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba*, broke a number of box office records.
	+ It became the first ever non-Hollywood film production to become the highest-grossing film of the year.
	+ It set the all-time box office records for the highest-grossing Japanese film, the highest-grossing anime film, and the highest-grossing R-rated animated film.
	+ In Japan, *Mugen Train* set the first-day opening record with Template:¥ ($11.3 million), before breaking the opening weekend record with Template:¥ ($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 Template:¥ ($96.7 million), surpassing *Spirited Away* (2001) which had previously crossed the Template:¥ milestone in 19 days and held the record for 19 years. *Mugen Train* also became the fastest film to cross Template:¥ 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 Template:¥ 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 Template:JPY 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 Template:Currency (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 Template:Currency in Taiwan, before later crossing the Template:Currency milestone.

* *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).

* For the first time in box office history, two non-American animated film productions (Asian films), *Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train* from Japan and *Jiang Ziya* from China, have become the highest-grossing animated films of the year. This has 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 the Movie: Mugen Train*, became the highest-grossing animated film of the year, and the first time an anime has made the top 10 highest-grossing films of the year worldwide.

* 2020 was the first year since 2008 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, and the first year since 2000 not to have a film gross over $600 million, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Events

### Festivals

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

2020 film festivals

## 2020 films

### By country

* List of American films of 2020
* List of Australian 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 Portuguese films of 2020
* List of Russian films of 2020
* List of South Korean films of 2020

### By genre/medium

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

## Film debuts

* Grace VanderWaal – *Stargirl*
* Allison Wentworth – *Stargirl*

## Notes

1. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-03-20). Comscore Pauses Weekend Box Office Reporting Amid Coronavirus Crisis (en-US).
2. ↑ 2020 Worldwide Box Office. IMDb.
3. ↑ 2020 Worldwide Box Office.
4. ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-Hen (2020).
5. ↑ http://english.entgroup.cn/boxoffice/cn/daily/?date=11%20/10%20/2020
6. ↑ Wo He Wo De Jia Xiang (2020).
7. ↑ Bad Boys for Life.
8. ↑ China Boxoffice.
9. ↑ Song Ni Yi Duo Xiao Hong Hua (2021).
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>McClintock, Pamela (1 January 2021). "It's Official: 2020 Domestic Box Office Fell 80 Percent to $2.3B Behind China's $2.7B". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
11. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"China overtakes US as world's biggest movie box office in 2020". *Sky News*. Sky Group. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
12. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Fuster, Jeremy (15 December 2020). "China, Japan Delivered Half of 2020's Top 10 Box Office Hits". *TheWrap*. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
13. ↑ China's the Eight Hundred Becomes First Non-Hollywood Film to Top Yearly Global Box Office w/ $450.4M (29 January 2021).
14. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Adkins, Frankie (2021-05-13). "The 50 highest-grossing R-Rated movies of all time". *Newsweek*. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
15. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
16. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Harding, Daryl (October 18, 2020). "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Continues to Charge Through Japanese Box Office, Over 1 Billion Yen Made in One Day". *Crunchyroll*. Otter Media. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
17. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Harding, Daryl (October 19, 2020). "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Anime Film Exceeds 4.6 Billion Yen in 3-Day Opening Weekend, Biggest Opening Weekend Ever in Japan". *Crunchyroll*. Otter Media. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
18. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Harding, Daryl (October 26, 2020). "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Crosses 10 Billion Yen at Japanese Box Office, Beating Spirited Away's Record". *Crunchyroll*. Otter Media. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
19. ↑ Harding, Daryl. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Exceeds 20 Billion Yen at Japan's Box Office, Now 5th Biggest Film in Japan Ever (en-us).
20. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Tartaglione, Nancy (15 November 2020). "'Demon Slayer' Now Biggest IMAX Title Ever In Japan As Anime Smash Trains Sights On More Records; 'Freaky' Shows Strong In Australia – International Box Office". *Deadline Hollywood*. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
21. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Komatsu, Mikikazu (14 December 2020). "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Anime Film Is the 2nd Film Ever to Cross 30 Billion Yen at Japanese Box Office". *Crunchyroll*. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
22. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Pineda, Rafael Antonio (13 December 2020). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Film Is 1st Since Spirited Away to Earn 30 Billion Yen". *Anime News Network*. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
23. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Komatsu, Mikikazu (22 December 2020). "Japan Box Office: Demon Slayer's Non-stop Domination Finally Reaches Its 10th Week". *Crunchyroll*. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
24. ↑ Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Dethrones Spirited Away to Become the No. 1 Film in Japan of All Time (en-us).
25. ↑ Harding, Daryl (16 November 2020). Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Anime Film Dominates Making 23.3 Billion Yen in Japan in Just 1 Month (en-us).
26. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Loo, Egan (17 November 2020). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Film Is #1 Film in Taiwan in 2020, #1 All-Time Animated Film in Taiwan". *Anime News Network*. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
27. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"台灣影史首部票房破4億動畫片！《鬼滅之刃》續寫紀錄 - 生活". *Liberty Times* (in Chinese). 19 November 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
28. ↑ 全國電影票房2020年11/23-11/29統計資訊 (zh) (29 November 2020).
29. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 17, 2020). 'Sonic The Hedgehog' Breaks Videogame Game Pic Opening Record With $70M & Reps 4th Best Presidents' Weekend Debut – Monday Update.
30. ↑ Mendelson, Scott. 'Sonic The Hedgehog' Just Raced Past A Major Box Office Milestone.
31. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Sonic the Hedgehog Ends Marvel's 10-Year Run As Highest-Grossing Superhero Movie". *Screen Rant*. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
32. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Sonic the Hedgehog Unseats Marvel as Top-Grossing Superhero Movie of 2020". *Comic Book Resources*. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
33. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Wit, Alex Dudok de (2 November 2020). "Two Asian Features Are Now Competing To Top The Global Animation Box Office In 2020". *Cartoon Brew*. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
34. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Andreeva, Nellie (September 14, 2018). "NBC To Remain Golden Globes Home With New 8-Year Deal". *Deadline*. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
35. ↑ Ravi, Murali (2020-01-12). Complete winner list of Zee Cine awards Telugu 2020 (en-US).
36. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"45 kulturhändelser du inte får missa 2020". *Dagens Nyheter* (in Swedish). 2 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.

## References

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