The Top Five Highest Domestic Grossing Blockbuster Movie Films of All Time

Here are the Top Five Highest Grossing Domestic films of all time. Although I do believe there is more to a movie than how much popcorn it sells, I will say there is a pretty consistent correlation between the quality of a movie and how much money it makes (sorry cult-lovers).

These films have not been adjusted for inflation and are from figures only grossed in the United States (These top five films have grossed over 2.5 billion US dollars) and some of these films have been re-released. Hopefully an international list and an inflation-adjusted list are soon to come. So go ahead and take a scroll down and look at the results, you may be surprised.

Directed By: Andrew Adamson

Date of release: May 19, 2004

Genre: Computer Animated Fantasy/Comedy

The highly anticipated sequel to the fairy-tale-flipping, Disney bashing Shrek. The film was given very positive reviews, being rated just as good as the original or even better. This film is hilarous, keeping true to its quarky humor and poking fun at classic fairy tales, with a good dose of adult undertones. All while still being completley kid-friendly.

With an All-Star cast with names like Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, just to name a few, Shrek 2 is a surefire way to spend the night laughing on the edge of your seat with the kids.

Directed By: George Lucas

Date of Release: 05-25-1977

08-13-1982 01-31-1997

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

This one may come as a bit of a surprise, but Star Wars was released three times in theatres, was part of a franchise that has grossed over 4 billion dollars, and has at least 10,000 people who identify Star Wars as their active religion. Ok maybe its not that surprising. Geeks and Magic Players everywhere have a copy of this somewhere, probably more like two or three.

Star wars is a fantastic space opera shrouded in myth and originality. Heavily based on Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress, with influence from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars takes place in a star system millions of light years away. Introducing hyperspeed and weird furry aliens from distant planets, Star Wars truly is the first of its kind (Take that Star Trek).

Director: Christopher Nolan

DOR: 07-18-2008

Genre: Superhero/Action Adventure.

The sequel to Batman Begins, this film is the second installment in a revitalized Batman Franchise.The film follows Batman as he chases down the chaotic Joker. The story tells the escalation between Good vs. Evil vs. Chaos.Truly a dark tale of justice true to the Batman tradition. This film rises the question of righteousness against chaos, good vs. evil all within in a modern context.

There are just too many reasons why you should see this film. Even Maggie Gyllenwhatever couldn't ruin this film. Aaron Eckhart provides a riveting transformation from white knight to fallen angel. Christian Bale returns as the masked crusader torn between what is right and his personal life. Heth Ledger's second best movie (Imaginarirum of Dr. Panarsuss) he was awarded posthumously as best supporting actor. To be honest his death somewhat hampers the reward, because this was honestly the best performance in the history of modern film and should have won it anyways. This film clicks on so many levels that its a mistake to miss it.

Director: James Cameron

DOR: December 19, 1997

Genre: Romance/Historical

This movie follows a poor American artist (DiCaprio) and an upscale lady looking to take a walk on the wild side (Winslet). In a classic Romeo and Juliet style romance, the two fall in love and try to make their love work when the whole world is against them. O yeh, and the ship hit an iceberg and will be at the bottom of the Atlantic in less than hour, too.

The historical movie of the 1990's that you took your kids to, even if there was a little bit of "naughty" parts in it. Today we called this artistic but I digress. Leo dominates the screen as usual, with Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Cathy Bates, and a host of other great actors that make this movie worthwhile. With state-of-the-art effects which are still pretty decent by today's standards, this was (at the time) James Cameron's most commercially successful movie. Throw in the old string quartet play music as the ship goes down, and a couple of other historical cameos and you got yourself one killer box office hit. "I'll never let go jack." Neither will we, neither will we.

Director: James Cameron

DOR: December 10, 2009 (London premiere)
December 18, 2009 (United States) (2009-12-10) (2009-12-18)

Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

A paraplegic marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) goes to a far away moon, Pandora, to replace his scientist twin brother, in hopes of getting his legs back. Classic/Cliche Big Bad Industry vs. Humble Nature. There are plenty of political and social allusions and suggestions throughout the film. Sully even puts a Mountain Banshee (the weird dragon bird the Na'vi fly around on) into some kind of MMA hybrid Arm-bar/Headlock... you'll see what I mean.

The movie was shot entirely behind a blue screen, but there is no way you would have guessed it. Despite the cliche theme and storyline, and the borderline racist war cries of the Na'vi, The movie is pretty good. The special effects are nothing short of mind-blowing. I mean, the world literally comes to life. Most definitely worth the two and half hours.