10 Insane Movie Box-Office Records That Will Probably Never Be Broken

4. Most Consecutive Weekends In The Top Five

Et The Extra Terrestrial
Universal Pictures

Current Record Holder: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (27 Weekends)

Steven Spielberg's E.T. initially hit theatres on June 11, 1982, debuting in the number spot, and 27 weekends later - on December 10 - it was still in the top five at the U.S. domestic box-office.

Of course, back in 1982, things were a little different - there were less ways people could spend their leisure time so movies would often make their money over a longer period, as opposed to the opening weekend scramble for dominance that we see today - but regardless, 27 consecutive weekends is a thoroughly impressive number.

The most recent movie to enjoy a lengthy stint in the top five was last year's Zootopia, and that only managed eight weeks. Star Wars: The Force Awakens lasted nine, Avatar did it for 12 and 1982's Tootsie, which is in second place (directly behind E.T.'s record) fell six weeks short.

A 27 weekend top-five run just wouldn't happen today. Again, there are far too many ways that people can spend their free time that it's unheard of for a movie to get such high levels of repeat business - no sooner has the hype for Logan died down than everyone is turning their attention to Guardians, or Wonder Woman.

The hype train speeds from platform to platform and doesn't wait at any single one long enough for E.T.'s mammoth record to be bumped down a notch.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!