Nothing compares to watching a movie. With those we love most, as well as others, they can take us to any one of a multitude of universes and make us laugh, weep, and cheer like never before. However, some stand out from the crowd and develop into unique cultural events that pull endless amounts of people from all walks of life and force those same individuals to cancel all other plans in order to get some popcorn and locate a seat, regardless of the circumstances. The staggering number of tickets sold for these blockbuster films allows you to start spotting trends in what it takes to join this exclusive club. However, there are other big hitters here from the biggest movie franchises, and we are jotting down the top 15 highest grossing movies of all time.
With its ground-breaking animation and motion tracking, breathtaking 3D effects, and the debut of a planet Pandora that would inspire a plan for at least four sequels, Avatar made a significant statement when it debuted in theatres back in 2009. The movie was an instant hit with audiences, and ticket sales poured in right away and didn’t stop until it almost reached $3 billion off of a about $237 billion budget. Avatar’s dominance at the top of the list of all-time highest-grossing films has mostly remained unchallenged for almost 14 years. To this day it ranks #1 in the top 15 highest grossing movies of all time.
Only Avengers: Endgame, the conclusion of the nearly 21-year Infinity Saga, which started with 2008’s Iron Man and was built up with stories from 21 previous films, has ever come close to overthrowing Avatar. The anticipation was unprecedented as fans had to wait a whole year to learn the full consequences of Thanos’ Snap. Avengers: Endgame was one of the costliest films ever made, despite the fact that it doesn’t seem like much in light of its box office success. This is still the second-highest grossing movies of all time.
It served as a timely reminder for everyone not to undervalue James Cameron and the influence of Pandora when the sequel to 2009’s Avatar debuted. Even though it didn’t quite reach the heights of the first Avatar, the $2.31 billion in worldwide box office receipts isn’t the worst kind of reward. James Cameron himself stated that Avatar: The Way of Water would need to be the third or fourth biggest grossing movie of all time in order to turn a profit. The film’s budget was anticipated to be between $350 million and $460 million.
James Cameron isn’t satisfied with just two of his films ranking among the top five highest-grossing pictures of all time. No, he had to have a third with his sad portrayal of the Titanic’s fateful trip across the sea, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Given that Titanic was the costliest movie ever filmed at the time and experienced an unexpected delay from the top summer blockbuster berth, it was generally expected to be a historic, crippling studio failure. It was, nevertheless, the first movie to gross more than $1 billion globally. Titanic made history in 2012 when it returned to theatres for a 3D re-release and became only the second movie to gross over $2 billion.
The announcement and release of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens were major events. It was not only the first installment in the series since Revenge of the Sith and the contentious prequel trilogy, but it was also the first movie and significant undertaking after The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm. Without George Lucas, The Force Awakens would forge a fresh path in that far-off galaxy and may want to pay homage to the past as well as introducing what Star Wars will become in the future.
Avengers: Infinity War was the movie that showed the world that Marvel could pull it off, even though Avengers: Endgame may have triumphed at the box office. Infinity War, on the whole, lives up to the expectations after 18 flicks and hints of Thanos and our heroes teaming up for one final struggle to preserve everything. The promise of what was to come, even before that was known, was sufficient to fill countless millions of seats all around the world.
Even though Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t an Avengers picture, it sure felt like one because it brought together so many Spider-Man characters that it was almost as big of an event as any other movie. Although it wasn’t verified until the movie’s release, fans all around the world assumed it would reunite Tom Holland with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield for an epic adventure, which encouraged them to purchase tickets. Although the plot as a whole had some flaws, it succeeded in evoking memories and received some very remarkable applause in the cinemas.
Along with everyone’s love of enormous dinosaurs, Jurassic World has everything going for it. With a solid $1.67 billion box office haul, Jurassic World made a triumphant return to theatres after grossing just $368.78 million and $978.16 million, respectively, in the first and third Jurassic Park films, respectively. In the new trilogy, the sequels could never quite match the original’s heights, but both films showed that dinosaurs are here to stay.
Many people think that Disney’s 1994 version of The Lion King, which earned $968.51 million worldwide, is one of the studio’s best pictures. The Lion King resembles the beloved animated classic more like a bloodless X-ray than a more “realistic” remake. The picture is diligently put together, and Favreau delivers the same tenacious professionalism he did in The Jungle Book, a movie that shares many of the same issues as this one. It has great tunes, a tonne of entertaining supporting characters, and a universally compelling tale.
A much easier accomplishment can be found hidden among the flashy box office results of Joss Whedon’s movie. Yes, Whedon’s directing abilities should be praised for The Avengers. Yes, the movie’s release and reaction provide a logical “And that’s when it was official” moment when the MCU officially took over Hollywood. But for comic book enthusiasts in particular, The Avengers is the first movie to successfully capture and maintain the superhero team dynamic.
Furious 7 raises the bar significantly for a series of films where the level of physics-defying stunts has been steadily increasing. The outcome is a tonne of fun. Furious 7 is a mix of a daring heist, a revenge thriller, and a heartfelt farewell to a close friend. The movie is heavily influenced by the life and death of franchise star Paul Walker, who passed away in a car accident before the final scenes were shot. You watch in anticipation of Brian O’Conner’s demise as his character goes through one terrifying adventure after another.
Many people anticipated that Top Gun: Maverick would be a big event, but nobody anticipated just how big of a deal it would actually turn out to be. Tom Cruise returned in the follow-up to 1986’s Top Gun, and the creative team behind the movie created a plot with both new and old characters that received acclaim from critics everywhere. Not only was there a lot of heart in the plot, but the fast-paced moments with fighter jets, which were accomplished with ground-breaking realistic effects, all combined to produce the ideal storm of a movie that remained generating ticket sales weeks after its debut.
Let It Go from Frozen, which was heard millions of times when the movie originally came out in 2013, may be one of the most recognisable Disney songs of all time, but its sequel came out ahead. The Frozen sequel has a sensation of decreasing returns, as if it was only made because Disney didn’t want to pass up an easy million-dollar deal rather than for any compelling aesthetic or narrative reasons.
There remains a lot to admire in this thrilling tale, despite the fact that it at times feels like a bridge to the next Avengers adventure. James Spader does a fantastic job voicing the godlike Ultron, an AI character that is delightfully conceited and childish and whose performance is only let down by storyline. However, as Tony Stark’s guilt over creating Ultron is a major factor in his participation in the epic Civil War, we might remember Age of Ultron more for the MCU storylines it helped to inspire.
Black Panther, the sixth picture from the MCU to receive this distinction, completes our list of the 15 highest-grossing films ever made. The late Chadwick Boseman’s performance in this movie helped it become the highest-grossing solo superhero film, the third-highest-grossing MCU film, the highest-grossing superhero movie, and the highest-grossing movie by a Black director. Additionally, it was the first superhero movie to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and the first MCU movie to take home multiple awards.
That concludes our list of top 15 highest grossing movies of all time. Hopefully, this includes some of your favourite highest grossing movies of all time.
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