marketing/profit

The Hangover was a critical and commercial success. It became the tenth highest-grossing film of 2009, with a worldwide gross of over US$467 million. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and received multiple other awards and nominations.

The Hangover proved to be a financial success. On its first day of release, the film drew $16,734,033 on approximately 4,500 screens at 3,269 sites, beating out the big budgeted Land of the Lost — the other major new release of the weekend — for first day take. Although initial studio projections had the Disney/Pixar film Up holding on to the number one slot for a second consecutive weekend, final revised figures, bolstered by a surprisingly strong Sunday showing, ultimately had The Hangover finishing first for the weekend, with $44,979,319 from 3,269 theaters, averaging $13,759 per venue, narrowly edging out Up for the top spot, and more than doubling the take of Land of the Lost, which finished third with $18.8 million. The film beat even Warner Bros.' own expectations — which had anticipated it would finish third behind Up and Land of the Lost — benefiting from positive word-of-mouth and critical praise, and a generally negative buzz for Land of the Lost. It stayed at the number one position in its second weekend grossing another $32,794,387, from 3,355 theaters for an average of $9,775 per venue, and bringing the 10-day amount to $104,768,489.

As of December 17, 2009 it has grossed $277,322,503 in the United States and Canada, making more than six times its opening weekend, which only comprised 16.2% of its total domestic gross. It also made an additional $190,094,219 in international markets, for a total worldwide gross of $467,416,722, making it the sixth highest grossing movie of 2009 in the U.S., the tenth highest grossing movie of 2009 in the world, as well as the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States (second when accounting for inflation), surpassing a record previously held by Beverly Hills Cop for almost 25 years Out of all R-rated movies, it is the third highest grossing ever in the U.S., behind only The Passion of the Christ and The Matrix Reloaded