It’s not that easy to become part of this exclusive club as only a handful of films fall under the ‘Top Highest Grossing Movies’ category. In this article, we have compiled a list of mega-blockbusters that sold an insane amount of tickets to become one of the biggest films in history.
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James Cameron certainly has a knack for making some of the biggest hits at the box office with three of the top four biggest titles, including Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Titanic, which are followed by the success of Marvel as it holds six of the top 15 slots in the list.
Top Highest Grossing Movies
Here are the Top Highest Grossing Movies at the Box Office:
1. Avatar (2009)
Box Office: $2.92 billion
Director: James Cameron
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Released in 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar went on to become the biggest film of all time as it even surpassed Titanic, which had kept held the number one spot for some time. Avatar made $2.79 Billion worldwide and over $858 Million domestically.
2. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Box Office: $2.80 billion
Directors: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
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Marvel’s Avengers, released in 2019, is the only film to ever come close to toppling the behemoth known as Avatar. Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of what’s known as the Infinity Saga, which began with 2008’s Iron Man and was built up with stories from 21 movies before coming to end with Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers Endgame is also one of the most expensive films ever made with a reported budget of around $356 million to $400 million.
3. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Box Office: $2.32 billion
Director: James Cameron
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Avatar: The Way of Water, originally planned for release in 2014, is the sequel to 2009’s Avatar that finally made it to theaters 13 years after the release of the first film. Avatar: The Way of Water did not perform as well as the original Avatar, but $2.32 billion isn’t bad either.
The movie was also one of the most expensive films to ever be made with a reported budget of $350 million to $460 million.
4. Titanic (1997)
Box Office: $2.22 billion
Director: James Cameron
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James Cameron’s third film on the list, Titanic, is the first film to ever cross the $1 billion mark worldwide and it was the highest grossing film for years until Cameron’s own Avatar dethroned it in 2009.
In 2012, Titanic made a return to theaters with a 3D re-release and became the second film to cross $2 billion mark after James Cameron’s Avatar.
5. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
Box Office: $2.07 billion
Director: J.J. Abrams
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Star Wars – The Force Awakens was the first film in the franchise since controversial prequal trilogy and it was the first major project following the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Lucasfilm.
The movie was able to make over $2 billion at the worldwide box office, marking the height of the Star Wars’ box office performance with The Last Jedi coming in with $1.03 billion and The Rise of Skywalker with $1.07 billion.
6. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Box Office: $2.05 billion
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
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Avengers: Infinity War proved that Marvel had what it takes to make one of the highest grossing movies. Avengers: Infinity War was released 18 films after the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) started and it brought together all the heroes for one ultimate battle against the big bad Thanos.
The movie, which featured one of the gutsiest cliffhangers in any franchise’s history, was able to make $2.05 billion in just 48 days at the box office and set an opening weekend record with $257.6 million.
7. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Box Office: $1.92 billion
Director: Jon Watts
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Spider-Man: No Way Home is no Avengers movie, but it brought together so many characters from the Spider-Man universe that it was bound to be a success. While it wasn’t confirmed until its release, there were rumors that Marvel planned to bring together Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey McGuire in one film.
The film also brought back almost every villain from the previous Spider-Man, which was a nostalgic treat for many fans. The film was able to gross $1.92 billion and proves Marvel knows what it’s doing most of the time.
8. Jurassic World (2015)
Box Office: $1.67 billion
Director: Colin Trevorrow
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Jurassic World is the fourth entry to the Jurassic Park franchise and an important step in Chris Pratt’s movie career. It was the second best reviewed film in the Jurassic Park series and managed to make $1.67 billion globally.
9. The Lion King (2019)
Box Office: $1.66 billion
Director: Jon Favreau
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After the success of the live-action re-imagining of the Jungle Book and Beauty and The Beast, Disney continued with the trend and made three more films, including Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
While the live-action remake of Dumbo didn’t create much hype, Aladdin was a success and The Lion King was made to make it big at the box office. The live-action remake of the 1994 original was also to become one of Disney’s most successful films grossing $1.66 billion.
10. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
Box Office: $1.52 billion
Director: Joss Whedon
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The first Avengers movie proved that Marvel was one the right track by bringing all the MCU heroes together. Marvel’s The Avengers was able to make $1.52 billion worldwide and it was only the first of many team-ups between much-loved heroes.
The table below continues with the next movies falling next in the list of Top Highest Grossing Movies at the Box Office:
Rank | Movie | Gross Total | Year |
---|---|---|---|
11 | Furious 7 | $1,515,341,399 | 2015 |
12 | Top Gun: Maverick | $1,495,696,292 | 2022 |
13 | Frozen II | $1,453,683,476 | 2019 |
14 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1,405,018,048 | 2015 |
15 | Black Panther | $1,349,926,083 | 2018 |
16 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | $1,349,857,189 | 2023 |
17 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | $1,342,359,942 | 2011 |
18 | Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi | $1,334,407,706 | 2017 |
19 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | $1,310,466,296 | 2018 |
20 | Frozen | $1,284,540,518 | 2013 |
21 | Beauty and the Beast | $1,266,115,964 | 2017 |
22 | Incredibles 2 | $1,243,225,667 | 2018 |
23 | The Fate of the Furious | $1,236,005,118 | 2017 |
24 | Iron Man 3 | $1,215,577,205 | 2013 |
25 | Minions | $1,159,444,662 | 2015 |
26 | Captain America: Civil War | $1,155,046,416 | 2016 |
27 | Aquaman | $1,148,528,393 | 2018 |
28 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | $1,147,633,833 | 2003 |
29 | Skyfall | $1,142,471,295 | 2012 |
30 | Spider-Man: Far from Home | $1,131,927,996 | 2019 |
31 | Captain Marvel | $1,131,416,446 | 2019 |
32 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | $1,123,794,079 | 2011 |
33 | Jurassic Park | $1,109,802,321 | 1993 |
34 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | $1,104,054,072 | 2014 |
35 | The Dark Knight Rises | $1,081,169,825 | 2012 |
36 | Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker | $1,077,022,372 | 2019 |
37 | Joker | $1,074,458,282 | 2019 |
38 | Toy Story 4 | $1,073,841,394 | 2019 |
39 | Toy Story 3 | $1,067,316,101 | 2010 |
40 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest | $1,066,179,747 | 2006 |
41 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | $1,058,682,142 | 2016 |
42 | Aladdin | $1,054,304,000 | 2019 |
43 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | $1,046,721,266 | 2011 |
44 | Despicable Me 3 | $1,034,800,131 | 2017 |
45 | Finding Dory | $1,029,266,989 | 2016 |
46 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | $1,027,082,707 | 1999 |
47 | Zootopia | $1,025,521,689 | 2016 |
48 | Alice in Wonderland | $1,025,468,216 | 2010 |
49 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | $1,023,842,938 | 2001 |
50 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | $1,017,030,651 | 2012 |
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