Top 10 Movies That Broke Strange World Records

“The Owner” (2012)
It's not unheard of for a movie to have multiple directors. But “The Owner” took the concept to a whole different level. The movie, which follows a lost backpack traveling across the globe, was directed by an astonishing 25 different people. Each director had the opportunity to continue the storyline in their own unique way in a different location. By the end of the production process, the indie anthology film featured locations from five continents and highlighted places like Hong Kong, São Paulo and Cape Town. “The Owner’s” amazing number of directors got the movie into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2013. As of 2021, those 25 directors still hold the record.

“Cartoline da Roma” [aka “Postcards from Rome”] (2008)
If you want to beat this next record, you're going to need a good pair of shoes. Back in the late 2000s, Giulio Base directed and starred in “Cartoline da Roma”. The film follows a man traveling through Rome on foot with his dog. Base spent 1 hour 14 minutes and 10 seconds running on film. His excellent cardio got the attention of Guinness World Records officials and they officially recognized this film as featuring the “longest time spent running in a film.” Before “Cartoline da Roma” was released, we would’ve thought Forrest Gump held the record. Oh well, apparently he’s still got a lot of running to do if he wants to catch up.

"Russian Ark" (2002)
Long before movies like “1917” blew us away with uninterrupted shots, an experimental film became historic for shooting everything in one unedited take. “Russian Ark” follows a narrator and his ally walking through various rooms of a museum. The various locations represent different time periods and historical figures from Russian history. This breathtaking journey was captured by rolling the camera for over 80 minutes without stopping. It miraculously took four attempts to get the footage. And if that wasn't impressive enough, there were over 1,000 extras involved in the project. The insane coordination behind-the-scenes and tons of performers got the movie in the history books. At the time of its release, “Russian Ark” became the longest single take movie to feature that many people.

"Casino Royale " (2006)
When Bond’s ally Vesper Lynd is kidnapped, Bond immediately races after her in his Aston Martin. The chase takes a shocking turn when he sees her tied up in the middle of the road. To avoid hitting her, Bond quickly turns the wheel and ends up getting into a horrific crash. His Aston Martin rolls seven times before coming to a complete stop. This set the record for most cannon rolls in a car ever captured on film. Although Bond was left a little banged up from the crash, stuntman Adam Kirley pulled off the stunt without sustaining any severe injuries. Thanks to him, Daniel Craig’s first Bond movie contains an unforgettable and record-breaking scene.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
“Guardians of the Galaxy” is one of the funniest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it also became the movie with the highest on-screen body count back in the mid-2010s. A major reason for this big number is the Battle of Xandar. During the climactic conflict, around 83,000 Nova Corps pilots lose their lives. When that number is combined with all the other beings killed throughout the film, you get a stunning 83,871 fatalities. Since this record was set with the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, it’s arguable that 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” has it beat. That being said, the snap also makes things complicated. Even if it's no longer number one, we're sure that Thanos was impressed by the film’s high mortality rate.

“The Turning Point” (1977) & “The Color Purple” (1985)
Being nominated for an Academy Award is an incredibly significant honor. “The Turning Point”, a drama about love and betrayal in the world of ballet, garnered eleven nominations from the academy. Nearly a decade later, “The Color Purple”, a movie about the many obstacles African-American women had to overcome in the early 1900s, received the same number of Oscar nods. But neither movie took home a single award. While we won’t cover all 22 nominations, it’s worth noting the films they lost Best Picture to. “Turning Point” was beaten out by “Annie Hall” while “The Color Purple” was defeated by “Out of Africa”. Even without any Oscars wins, however, the two most Academy award-nominated dramas have gone down in the history books.

“Gandhi” (1982)
The 1982 movie “Gandhi” depicts important events in the lawyer/advocate/activist’s life, including his tragic end. So when it came time to depict his funeral, the production didn't settle for just a few extras. According to the Guinness World Records website, over 300,000 people were brought in to mourn Gandhi for the movie. It took 11 camera crews and around 20,000 feet of film to capture the footage. And did we mention that they shot it all over the course of just one morning? In the end, all the hard work and coordination paid off. The resulting footage made for a moving tribute to Gandhi—and an impressive world record.

“Swearnet: The Movie" (2014)
While movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Pulp Fiction” have tons of cursing, neither can hold a candle to “Swearnet: The Movie”. This comedy follows the cast of “Trailer Park Boys” playing themselves as they embark on a quest to create content for a completely uncensored, fictional internet network. Guinness counts a total of 868 swear words, but other sources report that the F-word alone is said 935 times. Whatever the exact figure, “Swearnet”’s staggering amount of expletives helped it secure an NC-17 rating. While critics gave the film an average score of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score sits comfortably around 61%. So clearly there is a market for this sort of vulgar tale.

"Spectre" (2015)
“Casino Royale” wasn’t the last Bond film to make history. “Spectre” made an explosive entry into the Guinness World Record books with this impressive stunt. During the film, Bond escapes from a huge enemy facility before watching it get blown to bits. The production team used over 8,000 liters (or roughly 2,100 gallons) of kerosene to create the explosion. The detonation yield? It was equivalent to 68.47 tonnes of TNT. The massive and powerful display of pyrotechnics is absolutely awe-inspiring to look at. Even James Bond, who’s probably seen about a million explosions at this point, stopped to look at the blast. This gigantic explosion isn't likely to be topped anytime soon....unless 007 needs to blow something even bigger up.

Before we reveal our record-breaking top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

First Remake to Win a Best Picture Oscar, “The Departed” (2006)
It’s Still the Only Remake That’s Accomplished This Feat

Becoming the Movie to Gross $1 Billion the Fastest, “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
It Accomplished This Feat in Just Five Days!

Best Advanced Ticket Sales - Animated Film, “Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior” (2008)
It Sold a Record 2,384,198 Tickets Before Its Opening

Most Successful Sports Movie Franchise, “Rocky” franchise (1976-)
Balboa Has Found Success in the Ring & at the Box Office

“The Other Side of the Wind” (2018)
In 1970, legendary filmmaker Orson Welles began shooting footage for “The Other Side of the Wind”. The experimental movie centered around a filmmaker who was working on an unfinished movie that, unbeknownst to his knowledge, would be his last. This plot ended up reflecting real life for Welles. After filming was stopped multiple times because of finance issues, including a producer reportedly embezzling money, it was completed by 1976. Unfortunately, Welles was unable to finish editing it before passing away in 1985. For decades, legal issues kept the film from being completed, with various people working on post-production during the 2010s. Ultimately, Netflix stepped in and released “The Other Side of the Wind” in 2018. Judging by its score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was worth the record-breaking 48-year wait..