Avatar? Star Wars? Sure, they made a ton of money all around the world, but what are the most popular locally-made movies of all time in various countries?
Nigeria
30 Days in Atlanta is a fish-out-of-water comedy about a Nigerian man who wins a month-long vacation to the American South. Filmed on location in both Lagos and Atlanta, it was critically reviled, but earned 137.2 million naira, more than double the second-highest-grossing film in Nigerian history
The Philippines
The 2013 romantic comedy It Takes a Man and a Woman grossed 405 million pesos, the most ever for a Filipino film. It was the third part of a romantic trilogy, a sequel to two other immensely popular films, A Very Special Love and You Changed My Life.
United Kingdom
Nobody loves James Bond more than the people the super-spy has sworn to protect. Skyfall (2012), the most recent, critically-acclaimed 007 movie is the top grossing movie of all time (of any kind) in the U.K., earning £102.9 million at the box office (about $160 million).
Former Soviet Union
The U.S.S.R. had a thriving film industry, rejecting Hollywood films in favor of homemade fare that reflected Communist ideals. However, the highest grossing film of the Soviet era was a silly adventure movie about modern-day pirates called Pirates of the 20th Century. Release in 1980, it was seen by 87.6 million people.
Japan
Hayo Miyazaki is among Japan’s most popular filmmakers—his Studio Ghibli has produced several serious-minded animated classics, such as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. His 2001 fantasy Spirited Away is the highest-grossing film ever in Japan (30.4 billion yen, about $245 million), and it won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Film, and the first-ever Academy Award for Animated Feature, beating Shrek and Monsters, Inc.