The studio held '' Fight Club '' s world premiere at the 56th Venice International Film Festival on September 10 , 1999 . For the American theatrical release , the studio hired the National Research Group to test screen the film ; the group predicted the film would gross between US$ 13 million and US$ 15 million in its opening weekend . '' Fight Club '' opened commercially in the United States and Canada on October 15 , 1999 and earned US$ 11,035,485 in 1,963 theaters over the opening weekend . The film ranked first at the weekend box office , defeating '' Double Jeopardy '' and '' The Story of Us '' , a fellow weekend opener . The gender mix of audiences for '' Fight Club '' , argued to be " the ultimate anti-date flick " , was 61 % male and 39 % female ; 58 % of audiences were below the age of 21 . Despite the film 's top placement , its opening gross fell short of the studio 's expectations . Over the second weekend , '' Fight Club '' dropped 42.6 % in revenue , earning US$ 6,335,870 . Against its production budget of , the film grossed from its theatrical run in the United States and Canada and earned in theaters worldwide . The underwhelming North American performance of '' Fight Club '' soured the relationship between 20th Century Fox 's studio head Bill Mechanic and media executive Rupert Murdoch , which contributed to Mechanic 's resignation in June 2000
56th Venice International Film Festival
56th Venice International Film Festival
Fight Club