Opening weekend for Avengers: Endgame in April 2019 surpassed Infinity War’s year-long record by nearly $100 million. Shia LaBeouf was replaced with Mark Wahlberg as the franchise’s central hero, and the fourth film from Michael Bay approached a near three-hour running time at 165 minutes. We all assumed it was the end for Woody, Buzz, and all their toy friends – that bittersweet finish was just so perfect. It went on to become the first horror movie to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and earned $232,906,145. Copyright ©  2018 Fandango. At 18% on the Tomatometer, Age of Extinction has the lowest Tomatometer score of the top 50 biggest films at the worldwide box office. Domestic: $408.1 million Domestic: $409 million Its $116.1 million start was the sixth-largest movie opening ever at the time and the second-highest for Disney behind the second Pirates film. Were people still interested after the prequels? Release date: July 19, 2019 Also if you had guessed earlier that maybe Steven Spielberg or George Lucas were the other director/s – along with the Russo Bros. and their ilk – with a trifecta on this list, you would have been wrong, because the correct answer is Pierre Coffin, who directed (or co-directed) all three Despicable Me films, as well as Minions. The following sequel, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," released in 2018, grossed over $1.3 billion internationally — but didn't make it into the top 10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 93% The Magnificent Seven-like story was an instant favorite for some and an average side-trip for others. Warner Bros. tried to maximize their profits by splitting J.K. Rowling’s final book into two films. Everyone mocked the concept of Disney turning one of their classic rides into a feature-length film. For the list below, we’ve included global box office performance, as well as domestic, and release date. The film has just taken over Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Jurassic Park, Finding Dory, The Phantom Menace, Aladdin, and Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight on this list, and also earns a place as one of its most profitable films of all time. So, after the losses of Hop and the decent success of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, the studio doubled down on their biggest hit and struck gold. Released in 4,529 theaters, Gru’s third chapter did manage to have the largest launch in film history in North America until Avengers: Endgame came along. That total remained the highest of the series until Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011. The movie’s $158 million opening weekend broke the previous record-holder, Spider-Man 3, by more than $7 million, and Dark Knight held the record for nearly three years to the day until the final Harry Potter chapter was released. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) 35% Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) 90% Abrams gave a brand-new cast of characters the chance to interact with the original trio of Luke, Han, and Leia, and generations of fans were so ready for the adventure that they gave the film the highest opening weekend in history ($247.9 million). The sequel mixes the crass and the commercial with art, and yet there seems no fill to the moviegoers’ appetite for sequels, as they voraciously take up a bigger piece of the box office pie annually. Domestic: $620.2 million Also if you had guessed earlier that maybe Steven Spielberg or George Lucas were the other director/s – along with the Russo Bros. and their ilk – with a trifecta on this list, you would have been wrong, because the correct answer is Pierre Coffin, who directed (or co-directed) all three Despicable Me films, as well as Minions. Audiences were not tired just yet, though, even if this was the last of the Middle-earth series to hit $300 million domestic and $1 billion worldwide. Release date: February 16, 2018 Joss Whedon’s movie became the first ever to make over $200 million in a single weekend and was Marvel’s first entry into the Billion Dollar Club, which had just 12 members at the time. It would take Aquaman to crack the $1 billion mark for the DC Extended Universe. It held onto its impressive global record for nearly 10 years. Before James Cameron owned the top two spots in all-time domestic box office (for a period), it was Steven Spielberg who had pulled off that feat. The top three highest-grossing Marvel movies of all time are also among the top ten highest-grossing films domestically of all time. The film bested The Force Awakens’ three-day opening weekend record with $257.6 million, and hit the $2 billion mark in 48 days. Why isn’t it even higher in the list? Still, only five films had done better than its $125 million opening (The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Dead Man’s Chest, Iron Man 2). Wonder Woman’s solid domestic numbers were nearly matched internationally, but even those figures came up short of Suicide Squad – and the goal. Another $325,000 and the film would be its highest domestic grosser instead of The Secret Life of Pets, which, along with Minions, would follow Despicable Me 2 with $100-plus million openings. Another fun fact: Anthony and Joe Russo are one of only two filmmakers/filmmaking pairs on this list to have three films in the top 50, It was not officially an Avengers film, but Civil War may as well have been. But Endgame began to show signs early in its run that its impressive sprinting start might not be enough for it to ultimately come out ahead of James Cameron’s epic; it only had the second-biggest second weekend ever and the fourth-best third weekend. The film received several nominations and won awards, including Best Film and Best Screenplay. A series that has existed for 50-plus years is going to get a little help from inflation – Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice would have been $300 million grossers today – but we’re not doing inflation here. After Gore Verbinski’s Pirates trilogy grossed a combined $2.68 billion worldwide, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer were not about to let the series sail into the sunset. Warner Bros. tried to maximize their profits by splitting J.K. Rowling’s final book into two films. After just six weeks of release, Endgame was about $73 million away from dethroning Avatar – substantial ground to make up. Jurassic World (2015) 70% His adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel, Jurassic Park, was a return to the revered popcorn blockbusters he made his name on and it replaced the previous year’s Batman Returns as the top opener ever with $47 million and went on to gross over $357 million that summer. Domestic: $659.4 million (including re-releases) Release date: December 19, 1997. The movie 'Avatar' came second in the list of most successful movies of all time, having raised 2.78 billion US dollars in box office revenue since its release in December 2009. The movie’s $158 million opening weekend broke the previous record-holder, Spider-Man 3, by more than $7 million, and Dark Knight held the record for nearly three years to the day until the final Harry Potter chapter was released. Six sequels have been made so far, with a seventh on the way. It was Burton’s seventh collaboration with Johnny Depp and the director has not had a film gross as much domestically in total as Alice made in its first three days since – not even with his attempt to replicate the success with Dumbo in 2019, which grossed a total of $114.7 million. Pixar is the most represented studio on the list with 15 films. Originals could also break through, with Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune eyed as major contenders to make a box office dent. The movie went on to outgross the third film by over $12 million domestically. The opening is still 17th all-time and the movie’s domestic total haul is the 12th-highest ever. Release date: April 26, 2019 Gargantuan ambitions, and dizzying results: In 2018, the "Avengers" cast ensemble reunited for success. But it was still good enough for 23rd all-time in North America and 13th in overseas dollars. These are the most viewed films of all time. Domestic: $318 million Twelve years after the completion of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, J.J. Abrams was tasked with making Episode VII – a monumental undertaking, and a risky one. Jurassic Park (1993) 91% But it was still good enough for 23rd all-time in North America and 13th in overseas dollars. Even if it came up a bit short internationally, it still became the fourth billion-dollar grosser in Pixar’s history and their third-highest–grossing film overall. James Wan’s second billion-dollar film on the list may have had the second-smallest opening weekend of the Universe, but its prolonged success through the holiday season and beyond – the movie made nearly five-times its opening – was greater than any DC property since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989. | Mobile version. Release date: May 1, 2015 When all was said and done, Nolan’s trilogy had grossed over $2.46 billion worldwide. No wonder Disney and Sony made up: 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, which might have been the end of their association had they not moved past their impasse, is Sony’s highest-grossing film of all time. Tolkien to give audiences the Bilbo Baggins tale. In just eight days, the film had grossed a half-billion domestically. If any film in the top 10 could be considered both a success and a disappointment it would be Joss Whedon’s Avengers sequel. Release date: November 17, 2010 Tolkien to give audiences the Bilbo Baggins tale. In its fourth weekend of release, it became Disney’s sixth billion-dollar film of 2019, pushing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle out of the Top 50 on the same weekend that its sequel The Next Level opened. It became just the seventh film to clear a half-billion dollars in domestic box office. Release date: April 14, 2017 These movies are also most frequently mentioned on the … One by one the records fell, leading many to ignore the words “if” and “can” and focus instead on “when” Avatar’s previous record ($2.787 billion) as the highest-grossing movie would fall. Domestic: $700.1 million – became one of the unlikeliest mega franchises ever. By the end of that summer, the only animated film to have grossed more money worldwide was Toy Story 3. Venice awarded the film its top prize in the Golden Lion; some critics were hailing it a masterpiece. The movie’s run kicked off with the fifth-highest opening in history, earning $179.1 million on opening weekend (that’s now the 11th-highest opening). The Fate of the Furious (2017) 67% The film was universally acclaimed for its patriotic plot, special effects, action sequences and the cast’s performances. But there was no bigger boost to the long-running franchise than Craig’s Skyfall, the first film to cross $300 million domestically and $1 billion globally. Domestic audiences showed up for the revamped outing with Jack Sparrow, just not in the expected droves, and a mammoth international total ($804.6 million) kept Stranger Tides in the record books. It began with the third-highest opening weekend for an animated film (after Pixar sequels Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory) – $130.26 million – and then became the highest-grossing film over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday, which was all the more impressive given it had opened the prior weekend. Release date: November 16, 2001 A nearly-equal international haul filled in the other half needed for Rogue One to join the $1 Billion Club, a goal that Solo: A Star Wars Story came up more than $600 million short of. Simba’s kingly box office performance as well as a stellar result for Frozen II means that Disney now occupies six of the 10 top box office rankings of all time worldwide. Want proof that Avengers work best together? Contact When a film becomes not just a global phenomenon but the highest-grossing film in your canon of animated entertainment, a sequel is inevitable. 2019-12-25T17:08:00Z The letter F. An envelope. Domestic: $426.8 million By the end of that summer only four films had grossed more domestically in their initial runs than The Dark Knight Rises: Avatar, Titanic, The Dark Knight, and Marvel’s The Avengers, which was the only film to eclipse Rises in all of 2012. The final chapter of the Skywalker saga may have broken the trend set by the other third entries in the franchise’s trilogies (each outgrossed the middle episodes), but it will become record that we may never see broken again. Domestic: $226 million It may not have been able to catch The Force Awakens for the all-time domestic leader, but by the time summer was over, it would pull in front of Avatar and become the king of the world (sorry, James). Release date: July 10, 2015 The 2015 "Avengers" sequel revealed more about the dark past of the Black Widow, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson (picture). What does 2020 have in store? The first summer release for the Toy Story franchise turned into the first $100 million opening weekend for Pixar as well as the studio’s first $400 domestic tally and first worldwide haul of $1 billion. Consider that the first combined outing for Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America bested the $1.4 billion that their origin stories had made combined. Release date: March 4, 2016 Robert Downey Jr.’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director, Shane Black, took over for Jon Favreau and put a twist on some comic-book lore in ways that still draws out disappointment from some fans. It earned generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $248 million worldwide. Outgrossing DC’s Wonder Woman around the world and at home, the breakthrough film was embraced by critics (though its Certified Fresh score of 78% ranks 18th out of the MCU’s 23 films). is not the series’ biggest domestic or international earner. It even fell behind the sixth Furious film domestically, but did incredibly well abroad: it was the sixth film ever to make a cool billion outside the U.S. and Canada alone. Furious 7 (2015) 82% We’ll be here to track the progress of new blockbusters and regularly update this list of top box office performers. The takeaway: Based on one of the most influential female-driven TV series ever, this film was probably the most-anticipated non-action, non-fantasy, non-kids movie event of the century so far. In just under three weeks, The Force Awakens became the all-time domestic champion, passing Avatar and joining the $2 billion club within 54 days. Four other films during the summer of 2019 also exceeded its one-time-record theater count. The film has just taken over Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Jurassic Park, Finding Dory, The Phantom Menace, Aladdin, and Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight on this list, and also earns a place as one of its most profitable films of all time. It may not have been able to catch The Force Awakens for the all-time domestic leader, but by the time summer was over, it would pull in front of Avatar and become the king of the world (sorry, James). Toy Story 4 and Captain Marvel gave Disney even more reason to celebrate last year as they entered the top 50, and the year ended on a high note for the studio, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker joining the list, even if the final(?) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 64% It began with the third-highest opening weekend for an animated film (after Pixar sequels Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory) – $130.26 million – and then became the highest-grossing film over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday, which was all the more impressive given it had opened the prior weekend. The combined power of the Deathly Hallows resulted in $677.1 million domestic and $2.3 billion worldwide alone (but together.). James Wan’s second billion-dollar film on the list may have had the second-smallest opening weekend of the Universe, but its prolonged success through the holiday season and beyond – the movie made nearly five-times its opening – was greater than any DC property since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989. A series that has existed for 50-plus years is going to get a little help from inflation – Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice would have been $300 million grossers today – but we’re not doing inflation here. Brad Bird’s The Incredibles debuted a full four years before the MCU began, a time when the Pixar brand was as close to a guarantee of success (and quality) as the industry had. Even if it came up a bit short internationally, it still became the fourth billion-dollar grosser in Pixar’s history and their third-highest–grossing film overall. Its international haul was only $70 million less than 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, and was even higher than several films above it on this list including Black Panther, Incredibles 2, and numbers 29-32. Domestic: $241.1 million Domestic: $652.3 million But it was the full embrace of the series’ now-signature bombast, as well as the untimely death of Paul Walker, that brought the combo of curiosity and tribute that helped make James Wan’s Furious 7 the franchise’s most successful entry. It was the central piece of what is considered one of the greatest comic-book films ever made. Well, Woody and the gang proved them all wrong. Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor and Hulk were AWOL, sure, but Spider-Man received his welcomed introduction into the MCU, as did Black Panther. The top 12 films on this list are also among the top 50 worldwide highest-grossing films of all time, ranking 7th, 10th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 31st, 32nd, 38th, 40th, 43rd, 47th, and 48th, respectively. Venice awarded the film its top prize in the Golden Lion; some critics were hailing it a masterpiece. The eye-popping epic made $1.4 billion at the box office. The first 150 minutes missed getting close to the $300 million mark, perhaps as some fans figured they could catch up on home video just before Part 2 hit theaters the following summer. The movie featured one of the gutsiest cliffhangers in any franchise’s history, leaving audiences to wait in shock for an entire year to discover how Phase 3 of the epic series would end. The 11 highest-grossing Disney movies at the global box office of all time. Just shy of 10 years since it began, the Marvel Cinematic Universe gathered nearly every one of its characters for a galaxy-wide showdown with the series’ Big Bad, Thanos. It became just the seventh film to clear a half-billion dollars in domestic box office. But he did. A planned two-parter turned into a full-blown trilogy and critics were feeling the bloat: While Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films all scored over 90% on the Tomatometer, the Hobbit films never rose above 74%, with the first film right in the middle with 64%. (And, if you are are keeping track, it is the 12th Disney property in the top 20. Release date: December 18, 2009 It was no slacker overseas, either: When Return finished its run, only Titanic had a greater number outside of the U.S. and Canada. Twelve years after the completion of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, J.J. Abrams was tasked with making Episode VII – a monumental undertaking, and a risky one. The Oscar-winning song that has tortured parents for nearly a decade was just part of what made Frozen the highest-grossing animated film in history. On day 10 it was over $621 million. Peter Jackson’s (first) epic trilogy unfolded over three straight holiday seasons and its finale was rewarded in every fashion: Return of the King historically won all 11 Oscars that it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director; it was one of the best-reviewed films of the year (Certified Fresh at 93%); and it became the fourth-highest domestic grosser of all time behind just Titanic, The Phantom Menace, and Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) 33% That made sense given that the 1994 original, at the time, was one of the studio’s most successful films in the middle of its rebirth, and director Jon Favreau’s CGI-fueled version traced it for a new generation. Domestic: $335 million Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 17% Release date: July 15, 2011 The culmination of the journey that began in 2001 also ushered in a new trend of splitting final chapters in halves. Avatar held that record for five years and eleven months and went on to become the only film ever to earn $2 billion outside of the U.S. and Canada, making it the world’s highest grosser at the time. Shia LaBeouf was replaced with Mark Wahlberg as the franchise’s central hero, and the fourth film from Michael Bay approached a near three-hour running time at 165 minutes. In its fourth weekend of release, it became Disney’s sixth billion-dollar film of 2019, pushing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle out of the Top 50 on the same weekend that its sequel The Next Level opened. The only Transformers sequel under the direction of Michael Bay to rank higher than 20% on the Tomatometer (a whopping 35%!) Fourteen years later and deep into the superhero cinematic explosion, Bird’s sequel more than doubled the original’s box office and became the highest-grossing animated film ever at the domestic box office. 1. The Best Movies of 2021 – Best New Films of the Year, Them Creator and Stars on Making a Show Out of Real-Life Jumpscares, Kung Fu Star Olivia Liang on Martial Arts and Demystifying Asian Stereotypes. Domestic: $504 million Adding Batman into their Superman storyline couldn’t do it. Why isn’t it even higher in the list? Despicable Me is the most represented franchises with four films. The movie bested Toy Story 3 by over $71 million at home – even if it came up a bit short of that film internationally – and showed Pixar’s sequel business was really starting to thrive. It was the ninth film to cross the $600 million mark in North America and remains in the top 10 all-time earners domestically. One by one the records fell, leading many to ignore the words “if” and “can” and focus instead on “when” Avatar’s previous record ($2.787 billion) as the highest-grossing movie would fall. When a film becomes not just a global phenomenon but the highest-grossing film in your canon of animated entertainment, a sequel is inevitable. Release date: May 24, 2019 After getting tag-teased at the end of Infinity War, Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers made her debut in the MCU as the universe’s first headlining female superhero in 2019’s Captain Marvel. The film became a sort of litmus test for left vs. right, and in doing so, received huge amounts of free publicity, becoming the "talked about" movie of the moment. The Lion King (2019) 52% Alice in Wonderland (2010) 51% Incredibles 2 (2018) 93% Domestic audiences showed up for the revamped outing with Jack Sparrow, just not in the expected droves, and a mammoth international total ($804.6 million) kept Stranger Tides in the record books. Though still Fresh (67% on the Tomatometer), it was the lowest-scored Fast and Furious movie among critics since the fourth film. Audiences that had been holding their breath for an entire year after perhaps the biggest cliffhanger since Empire Strikes Back could not wait to buy their tickets – and did they ever buy those tickets when they finally could. We included dollars earned in re-releases, and in each of our descriptions, we look at where the film stood record-wise at the time of its run, and dive into things like critical and audience reception. Aquaman (2018) 65% To this day, Zootopia remains the second-highest–grossing animated Disney film not connected with Pixar. Dumbo was a bit of a bust, Aladdin was a success, but The Lion King truly roared. The movie featured one of the gutsiest cliffhangers in any franchise’s history, leaving audiences to wait in shock for an entire year to discover how Phase 3 of the epic series would end. Domestic: $303 million George Lucas returned to the director’s chair after more than two decades to give fans what they thought they wanted 16 years after the release of Return of the Jedi.