Box Office Mojo
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA film-industry website that systematically tracks domestic and international box-office performance.
Last updated August 21, 2026
Overview
Box Office Mojo is a United States-based film data website focused on tracking and presenting theatrical box-office performance. It began as a forecasting and reporting project created by Brandon Gray, who launched the site on August 7, 1998, to publish predictions for the ten highest-grossing films in the United States and compare those predictions with actual weekend results. The project developed into a regularly updated public source for daily grosses, weekend estimates, release schedules, historical charts and analytical commentary. During its early years, the site expanded beyond a simple weekend chart. It added Friday daily grosses, Sunday estimates, historical weekend charts reaching back to 1982, older-film results, all-time rankings, international box-office tables, genre rankings, and charts associated with actors and directors. Its international coverage eventually included weekly box-office information from dozens of countries, international release schedules and results from as many as 107 territories. This breadth made Box Office Mojo useful to entertainment journalists, researchers, exhibitors, distributors, investors and movie audiences seeking a consolidated view of theatrical performance. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury, and the website grew to nearly two million readers. Box Office Mojo also operated a community forum from 2002 through 2011, with more than 16,500 registered users. In 2003, it introduced Premier Pass, a subscription offering that restricted access to selected data and features. The forums were closed on November 2, 2011, and users were directed toward IMDb message boards, which themselves were later discontinued. IMDb acquired Box Office Mojo in July 2008 through Amazon's ownership of IMDb. Following the acquisition, Premier Pass features and previously restricted content were subsequently made available without charge for a period. Box Office Mojo remained a distinct destination while also becoming more closely integrated with IMDb's movie-data ecosystem. In October 2014, traffic was temporarily redirected to IMDb's box-office page before returning to the Box Office Mojo site the following day. A major redesign launched on October 23, 2019, adopting visual and structural elements associated with IMDb and presenting the service as "Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro." The redesign drew criticism from users who found the new interface harder to navigate and objected to the transfer of several previously free features to IMDbPro's subscription environment. Restricted areas included some franchise, genre, talent, distributor, budget and inflation-adjusted analyses. On March 31, 2020, selected features, including brand, franchise and genre lists, were made available again through an Indices section. Today, Box Office Mojo operates as an IMDb/Amazon-affiliated source of theatrical revenue data. Its principal value lies in the organization of daily, weekend, domestic, international and historical grosses into searchable charts and records. The service is primarily a data and information brand rather than a film distributor, production company or ticketing platform.
History
Brandon Gray began operating Box Office Mojo on August 7, 1998, initially publishing forecasts for the ten highest-grossing films in the United States for the following weekend. The site also recorded actual results so that forecasts could be assessed against performance. In 1999, Gray began publishing Friday daily grosses obtained from Exhibitor Relations, making the figures available online by Saturday, followed by Sunday weekend estimates. This established the site's basic editorial rhythm: rapid publication of theatrical results combined with commentary and chart-based analysis. The service expanded progressively during the late 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to weekend figures, it offered daily charts, release schedules, all-time rankings, international results, genre comparisons, and charts related to performers and filmmakers. Its historical database grew to include weekend charts dating to 1982 and records for older films. International coverage developed into weekly reporting for approximately 50 countries, international release schedules and box-office results from as many as 107 countries. These additions transformed the site from a personal forecasting project into a substantial public reference for film-market data. Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury in 2002, during a period when readership reached nearly two million. Box Office Mojo maintained an online forum community from 2002 until 2011, and the forums reportedly had more than 16,500 registered users. The company introduced Premier Pass in 2003, creating a subscription model for selected data and features. This paid-access phase later changed after the site's acquisition by IMDb. In July 2008, Amazon acquired Box Office Mojo through IMDb. After the acquisition, Premier Pass content and features were later made available without charge, although the service became increasingly connected to IMDb's wider film-information products. A temporary redirection of traffic to IMDb's box-office page occurred in October 2014, but Box Office Mojo returned as its own destination shortly afterward. The site's original community forums were closed in November 2011, while IMDb's separate message boards were eventually closed in February 2017. On October 23, 2019, IMDb introduced a major redesign and used the name Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro. The new design resembled IMDb and altered the organization and accessibility of the database. Users criticized the redesign for its navigation and for moving a number of previously free analytical tools behind the IMDbPro subscription wall. Affected material included some franchise, genre, actor, filmmaker, distributor, budget and inflation-adjusted information. On March 31, 2020, some of the restricted material was made free again, notably brand, franchise and genre lists grouped under an Indices section. Box Office Mojo's historical importance comes from its combination of timely reporting, long-range records and standardized chart presentation. It has served as a reference point for press coverage, industry analysis and public comparisons of films across markets and periods. As an IMDb/Amazon-affiliated brand, it continues to function principally as a theatrical box-office information service.
- 2020
Some indices become freely available
[1]Brand, franchise and genre lists are returned to free access through an Indices section.
- 2019
IMDbPro redesign and rebranding
[1]The website is redesigned and presented as Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro, with several features moved into a subscription environment.
- 2011
Forums are discontinued
[1]Box Office Mojo closes its forums and removes associated user accounts.
- 2008
IMDb acquires Box Office Mojo
[1]Amazon purchases the service through its IMDb subsidiary.
- 2003
Premier Pass subscription launches
[1]The site introduces a paid subscription model for selected data and functions.
- 2002
Sean Saulsbury joins the business
[1]Gray partners with Saulsbury as readership grows to nearly two million.
- 1999
Daily box-office reporting expands
[1]The site starts publishing Friday daily grosses and Sunday weekend estimates, alongside schedules and analytical charts.
- 1998
Box Office Mojo begins operations
[1]Brandon Gray launches the site as a project for forecasting and comparing the top United States weekend films.
Products and positioning
A widely used, data-oriented reference for theatrical box-office performance and historical film-market analysis.
Data service · 1998
Domestic box-office database
A searchable collection of United States and Canadian theatrical grosses, including daily results, weekend charts, cumulative totals and historical rankings. It is the site's core reporting product and supports comparisons among films, release periods and theatrical markets.
Data service
International box-office database
A collection of box-office results and release information covering international territories. The service expanded from a domestic focus to weekly reporting across many countries and has included results from up to 107 markets.
Analytics
Historical and all-time charts
Rankings and historical records that organize films by theatrical earnings, release period and other box-office measures. The database includes weekend charts reaching back to 1982 as well as information on older films.
Analytics · 2020
Indices
An organizational area containing lists and comparisons for film brands, franchises and genres. Selected index features were restored to free access in 2020 after parts of the site's analytical content had been moved to IMDbPro.
Brand decisions
2019
IMDbPro-oriented redesign and paywall shiftStrategyBackground
IMDb reorganized the service and sought closer integration with its professional subscription product.
Action taken
The site was redesigned as Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro, and several previously free analytical categories were moved behind the IMDbPro subscription.
Aftermath
Users criticized the navigation and reduced free access. Some brand, franchise and genre features were returned to free access in 2020.
2008
Acquisition by IMDbM&ABackground
Box Office Mojo had developed into a widely read box-office reference with domestic, international and historical data.
Action taken
Amazon acquired the service through its IMDb subsidiary.
Aftermath
The brand remained a distinct box-office destination while becoming part of IMDb's broader film-data ecosystem.
2003
Introduction of Premier PassStrategyBackground
The growing data service began restricting selected information and features to paying users.
Action taken
Box Office Mojo introduced Premier Pass as a subscription offering.
Aftermath
The subscription model was later relaxed after IMDb acquired the site, with previously restricted content subsequently made free for a period.
Recent events
- 2020
Selected Box Office Mojo indices return to free access[1]
Other
Brand, franchise and genre lists that had been placed behind the IMDbPro paywall were made available again through an Indices section.
- 2019
Box Office Mojo launches IMDbPro-oriented redesign[1]
Other
A substantial redesign repositioned the service as Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro and moved several analytical features into IMDbPro's subscription environment, prompting strong user criticism.
- 2011
Box Office Mojo closes its user forums[1]
Other
The site's forums and user accounts were discontinued, with users encouraged to participate on IMDb's message boards instead.
- 2008
IMDb acquires Box Office Mojo[1]
M&A
Box Office Mojo was purchased by Amazon through its IMDb subsidiary, bringing the independent box-office data service into IMDb's corporate ecosystem.
Sources1 sources
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