Percy Jackson Box Office: Budgets and Grosses for Both Films

The two Percy Jackson movies earned $426 million worldwide between them, according to Box Office Mojo. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), directed by Chris Columbus, leads at $226 million, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013), directed by Thor Freudenthal, follows at $200 million. Both star Logan Lerman as Percy, and both were 20th Century Fox releases.

So, how much money did Percy Jackson make? Across the two films the answer is about $426 million at the worldwide box office, against combined budgets of $185 million. Of that, $157 million came from the United States and Canada and $269 million from the rest of the world, which means roughly 63 percent of the series total was earned overseas.

Which film made the most? The Lightning Thief did, on every measure in the table: domestic, international and worldwide. It opened in the US on February 12, 2010, ran 118 minutes, and finished with $88.8 million domestic and $137.7 million international. Sea of Monsters opened in the US on August 7, 2013, ran 106 minutes, and finished with $68.6 million domestic and $131.3 million international.

Box Office Mojo is the main public record for both grosses, and The Numbers lists the budget for Sea of Monsters as well. For the sequel's production history, the Christian Science Monitor reported in 2011 that Thor Freudenthal had been hired to replace Chris Columbus as director, with Columbus staying on as producer. For the stories behind the numbers, start with the Percy Jackson movies hub, or see how many Percy Jackson movies there are.

The Percy Jackson story has continued on television rather than in theaters, as the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Season 3, based on The Titan's Curse, premieres on Disney+ on November 20, 2026, according to Disney's press site. A series has no box office, so it does not change the film totals above. For the latest on anything new, see the new Percy Jackson movie page.

In my opinion, the Percy Jackson movies were modest earners that fell short of what a studio expects from the opening chapters of a franchise. Both films made back their budgets with room to spare, but the second one earned less than the first, and a third never followed.

Start with the arithmetic. The Lightning Thief grossed about 2.4 times its $95 million budget worldwide, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters grossed about 2.2 times its $90 million budget. Those are healthy multiples on paper. It could be argued, though, that a gross only tells half the story, because it is what theaters took in, not what 20th Century Fox kept. So, I would call the films ahead of their budgets and leave it there, rather than claim a profit figure nobody has published.

The more telling movement is between the two films. Worldwide, Sea of Monsters finished roughly 12 percent behind The Lightning Thief. The drop was not even. International revenue slipped only about 5 percent, from $137.7 million to $131.3 million, while the US and Canada fell about 23 percent, from $88.8 million to $68.6 million. Paradoxically, the sequel was the more global film, with about 66 percent of its gross coming from overseas against about 61 percent for the original. Perhaps the home market had simply cooled on the series by 2013, but that is my reading, not a published finding.

There was also change behind the camera. Chris Columbus directed The Lightning Thief and then stepped back to produce, and Thor Freudenthal was hired in June 2011 to direct the sequel, as the Christian Science Monitor reported. Fox 2000 also exercised its option on Logan Lerman. Lerman, Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T. Jackson all came back as the core trio of Percy, Annabeth and Grover. I think that continuity helped the sequel hold its overseas audience, though the lower domestic number suggests that familiar faces alone were not enough.

Why did they cancel Percy Jackson 3? A third film was never made, and I can point to no official explanation, so any single reason is speculation. What the numbers show is a second film that earned less than the first on a budget only $5 million lower. That, in my opinion, is a plausible part of the picture but not proof of the decision.

Is Percy Jackson a hit or a flop? Neither label fits cleanly. It is more accurate to say the two films did solid but unspectacular business, and fans of the books were later served by the Disney+ series instead. If you want to decide which film earned its money better, read the Percy Jackson movies ranked page next, and then check where to watch Percy Jackson to see both films for yourself.