Box office
Sully grossed $125.1 million in the United States and Canada and $115.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $240.8 million, against a production budget of $60 million. It broke the September record for biggest global IMAX opening for a 2D film with $5.1 million from 523 IMAX screens, eclipsing the previous record held by The Maze Runner ($4.2 million in 2014). In total it had grossed $10 million in IMAX plays globally.
In the United States and Canada, Sully was released on Friday, September 9, 2016, across 3,525 theaters, of which 375 were in IMAX, and was initially projected to make $25 million on its opening weekend, with Box Office Mojo projecting $31 million due to its large theater count and positioning. Box office trackers were expecting Sully to launch in the same range as Hanks's 2013 hostage drama Captain Phillips, which opened with $25.7 million, and the 2012 airline drama Flight at $24.9 million. The weekend after Labor Day has historically been a lackluster period for film revenues, although Deadline Hollywood noted that this doesn't apply to the "more intriguing titles". Sully was one of four wide releases of that weekend. According to ticket-selling Web site Fandango, it outsold Hanks' previous film, Bridge of Spies in advance ticket sales. It earned $1.35 million from Thursday previews at 2,700 theaters, which marked the biggest of Hanks's career, and was considered strong by Box Office Mojo given that it coincided with the first NFL game of the season.
On its opening day it made $12.2 million, including Thursday previews, of which $1.3 million came from IMAX. It is the second-biggest Friday ever for a wide Eastwood opening, trailing behind only the $30 million opening day of American Sniper. In total, it grossed $35 million from its opening weekend, which is one of the top five September openings of all time (or twelfth adjusted for inflation). The debut is the second-biggest wide release opening for an Eastwood movie, behind the $89 million of American Sniper, and Hanks's third-biggest live-action debut behind The Da Vinci Code ($77 million in 2006) and Angels & Demons ($46 million in 2009). It also performed exceptionally well in IMAX, having been shot entirely in that format: for the weekend alone, it brought in a record $4 million from 375 auditoriums, being 11% of the total gross. This broke the previous September weekend record held by The Equalizer of $3.1 million in 2014.
The film continued to dominate the box office, with only a modest decline of 36% to post $21.6 million in its second weekend, despite competition from three new wide releases: Blair Witch, Bridget Jones's Baby and Snowden. It finally lost the top spot in its third weekend, after the releases of The Magnificent Seven and Storks.
Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow were thrilled by these results, as were theater owners, particularly as September tends to see a fall in box offices as schools re-open and new TV shows are marketed. Scott Mendelson of Forbes magazine suggested that the film had potential to surpass $100 million, since Tom Hanks's films tend to be "leggy" and post big multiples, and Sully is aimed at older audiences who don't usually go to the opening weekend. Deadline Hollywood pointed out that the marketing effort had been key to the robust opening (as well as good reviews and positive word of mouth), despite the absence of both Eastwood and Hanks on social media. The film was released on the 15th anniversary of the infamous September 11 attacks, but Warner Bros.' domestic distribution chief Jeff Goldstein said that the anniversary did not post a big – either negative or positive – impact on the film. According to a comScore audience survey, 82% of the moviegoers were older than 25, 80% above 35, and women comprised 56% of the opening weekend. 39% said Hanks was their principal reason for seeing it.
The film opened across 39 countries simultaneously with America and grossed an estimated $10.5 million from about 3,600 screens. IMAX comprised $1.1 million of that from 148 IMAX screens. It scored the biggest opening of any Eastwood film in Russia with $1 million (although it was No. 3 for the weekend behind Ben-Hur and Sausage Party), in the UAE with $1 million, and it was the second biggest in Australia with $2.4 million, where it had the advantage of opening on Father's Day. It was released in Hong Kong during the Mid-Autumn Festival, delivering first place at the box office with $777,000. In Japan, it scored the third biggest opening for Eastwood with $2.3 million, behind American Sniper and Letters from Iwo Jima. Variety predicted it would end its run there with around $15 million.
In Brazil, after the aircraft disaster involving the football team Chapecoense, Warner Bros ordered the delaying of the release from December 1 to December 15. The film was released in China during a crowded period (December 9), but managed to score an opening weekend worth $5.5 million from about 5,000 screens.
Outside North America, the biggest markets have been Japan ($13.2 million), Australia ($9.9 million), the United Kingdom ($5.4 million), and Italy ($5.1 million).
