Hollywood has come up with box office record-breakers that have mesmerized the world with their telling and special effects.
“Avatar” (2009), directed by James Cameron, tops the list with a gross revenue at the global box office of around $2.92 billion. This sci-fi epic set on an alien planet called Pandora created new dimensions in 3-D cinema and holds standards against which visual effects will be judged.
Coming in a close second is “Avengers: Endgame” from 2019, which raked in approximately $2.79 billion. This Marvel Cinematic Universe ensemble put a bevy of superheroes together in one majestic fight against Thanos, wrapping up a storyline a decade long.
To come next best would be James Cameron’s “Titanic,” 1997, with an approximate earning of $2.2 billion. This romantic drama, played over the backdrop of the infamous shipwreck, swept audiences with its emotional depth and groundbreaking effects.
“Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” (2015) was a reboot of the very beloved franchise, and it netted something in the order of $2.07 billion. It treaded the line between nostalgia and fresh characters enough that older and newer fans flocked to theaters.
The highly-anticipated sequel to “Avatar,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022), also doled its magic with approximately $2.32 billion. This one, too, carried on the story of Pandora and fleshed it out a little more with other lore.
The films demonstrate that the Hollywood media machine can really turn on the style, fusing innovative technology with compelling narratives to create cinematic experiences that resonate around the world.
| Rank | Movie Name | Lifetime Gross | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar | $2,923,706,026 | 2009 |
| 2 | Avengers: Endgame | $2,799,439,100 | 2019 |
| 3 | Avatar: The Way of Water | $2,320,250,281 | 2022 |
| 4 | Titanic | $2,264,750,694 | 1997 |
| 5 | Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens | $2,071,310,218 | 2015 |
| 6 | Avengers: Infinity War | $2,052,415,039 | 2018 |
| 7 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | $1,922,598,800 | 2021 |
| 8 | Jurassic World | $1,671,537,444 | 2015 |
| 9 | The Lion King | $1,663,079,059 | 2019 |
| 10 | The Avengers | $1,520,538,536 | 2012 |
| 11 | Furious 7 | $1,515,342,457 | 2015 |
| 12 | Top Gun: Maverick | $1,495,696,292 | 2022 |
| 13 | Frozen II | $1,453,683,476 | 2019 |
| 14 | Inside Out 2 | $1,445,645,197 | 2024 |
| 15 | Barbie | $1,445,638,421 | 2023 |
| 16 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1,405,018,048 | 2015 |
| 17 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | $1,361,992,475 | 2023 |
| 18 | Black Panther | $1,349,926,083 | 2018 |
| 19 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | $1,342,480,797 | 2011 |
| 20 | Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi | $1,334,407,706 | 2017 |
| 21 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | $1,310,469,037 | 2018 |
| 22 | Frozen | $1,285,048,126 | 2013 |
| 23 | Beauty and the Beast | $1,266,115,964 | 2017 |
| 24 | Incredibles 2 | $1,243,225,667 | 2018 |
| 25 | The Fate of the Furious | $1,236,009,236 | 2017 |
| 26 | Iron Man 3 | $1,215,577,205 | 2013 |
| 27 | Minions | $1,159,457,503 | 2015 |
| 28 | Captain America: Civil War | $1,155,046,416 | 2016 |
| 29 | Aquaman | $1,152,028,393 | 2018 |
| 30 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | $1,151,462,071 | 2003 |
| 31 | Spider-Man: Far from Home | $1,132,679,685 | 2019 |
| 32 | Captain Marvel | $1,131,416,446 | 2019 |
| 33 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | $1,123,794,079 | 2011 |
| 34 | Skyfall | $1,108,594,137 | 2012 |
| 35 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | $1,104,054,072 | 2014 |
| 36 | Jurassic Park | $1,103,086,582 | 1993 |
| 37 | The Dark Knight Rises | $1,085,289,416 | 2012 |
| 38 | Joker | $1,078,958,629 | 2019 |
| 39 | Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker | $1,077,022,372 | 2019 |
| 40 | Toy Story 4 | $1,073,841,394 | 2019 |
| 41 | Toy Story 3 | $1,067,316,101 | 2010 |
| 42 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest | $1,066,179,747 | 2006 |
| 43 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | $1,058,684,742 | 2016 |
| 44 | Aladdin | $1,054,304,000 | 2019 |
| 45 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | $1,046,721,266 | 2011 |
| 46 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | $1,046,515,409 | 1999 |
| 47 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | $1,037,913,579 | 2001 |
| 48 | Despicable Me 3 | $1,034,800,131 | 2017 |
| 49 | Finding Dory | $1,029,266,989 | 2016 |
| 50 | Zootopia | $1,025,521,689 | 2016 |