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101 Top Grossing Films of all Time | by Craig Easom
Box Office Smash Hit!
Was you aware that Avatar was the highest grossing film?
Box Office Hits
Most people have an idea of the amount of money which films make, with the summer blockbusters, winter spectaculars, and all of the others, which seem as though they must be grossing a fortune.
Well, surprisingly enough, not all of those seemingly overly successful films make it straight to the top of this list, not unless the buzz was phenomenal for the film on its release date, which breaks ticket sales records for all time high amount.
Most of the top box office hits are from more recent films, as this list is not adjusted for inflation, which would alter the figures. It will come as a shock to some, and not such a shock to others when looking through the list, but do remember, we are living in a golden age for movies, with special affects, CGI, and animation at a whole new level, which has changed film making forever.
What We Need To See On The Box Office Chart
Films on the 'box office' have grossed millions, hundreds of millions, even making more than a billion, and on a rare occasion, making a whopping 2 billion or more in gross. But what we haven't yet seen is a film gross 3 billion dollars, and now, how insane would that be, to take the earnings to the next level.
From what we have seen it is mostly epic dramas, actions, and fantasy films which gross above the billion mark, so I would imagine if a film was going to hit 3 billion, then it would need to be something spectacular which gets a buzz like nothing ever seen before.
It seems the Avengers did exceedingly well grossing more than $1.5 billion, so I wonder how 'Justice League' will hold up at the 'box office' when released, which will need to be something of a phenomenon to beat 'The Avengers' ranking on the list. It would seem more likely that 'The Avengers' follow up, 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', would be a likely contender to make more than 'The Avengers', possibly making more than $1 billion, but most likely not $3 billion.
Which film out the following upcoming 2014 cinema releases, do you think is most likely to gross more than $1 billion worldwide?
A Few Fun Facts Related To The Box Office List
Box Office Related Facts:
- The two top grossing films of all time, Avatar, and Titanic were both directed by James Cameron.
- Johnny Depp is the only actor to appear in 3 of the 17 films to gross $1 billion with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
- 'Frozen' (2013) is history's top-grossing animated film.
- The highest grossing film in North America in 2013 was 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire', which made $424.11 million.
- The films included in the '101 top grossing films of all time' which were released in 2014 include The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Top 10 Grossing Films Of All Time
#1. Avatar - A breathtaking masterpiece with ground-breaking special effects and CGI, which made the film something of a timeless piece, which will be enjoyed by future generations.
#2. Titanic - Another ground-breaking film, based on true events which deserved to be told, and who better to recreate a tragic event than the talented director James Cameron, whose prior directorial work included the likes of Aliens and The Terminator.
#3. Marvel's The Avengers - A superhero spectacular unlike any other action-packed film ever made before, with Marvel fan favourite superhero characters joining together to fight evil like never before. This was an unexpected achievement which deserves gratification as possibly the best action/adventure film ever made.
#4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - The Harry Potter series finale, where anything was possible but one thing was for sure, it was going to end with the battle of a lifetime, so epic it has to be seen twice.
#5. Frozen - This was a fun, humorous, animated adventure which is said by a lot of people to be overrated, but the earnings don't lie. This was a popular film which has been credited for its classic Disney feel, wrapped up in a modern masterpiece.
#6. Iron Man 3 - There's no doubt that this is a film with more than enough action to satisfy anyone's hunger for brute force, as the film takes on a new light with more shooting and explosions than ever before.
#7. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Surprisingly, this is the highest grossing Transformers film so far, even though the first and fourth in the series were better by most peoples opinions. However it was an end to an era, with most expecting it to be the last at the time for the Transformers films, ending as a trilogy, which probably explains its high gross. Even though the film wasn't the best, it certainly had plenty of action to feed off, making it a descent action blockbuster.
#8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The third in The Lord of the Rings trilogy which ended extremely well, exceeding expectations which made this a film to re-watch. Its not often the ending to a trilogy was almost as good as the first, but this one certainly was.
#9. Skyfall - The third 'Bond' film starring Daniel Craig as 'James Bond' (AKA '007'), which had to be the best 'Bond' film so far, with the perfect villain to match the perfect 'Bond'.
#10. The Dark Knight Rises - The third in the 'Dark Knight' trilogy, which sees 'Batman' face someone who is capable of breaking him, which is a first for the caped superhero. An all out action-packed blockbuster, which is darker than any other superhero film ever created before.
101 Highest Grossing Films... Of All Time!
I now present the top 101 grossing films of all time, as it currently stands:
101. The Smurfs
Worldwide Gross - $563.7M
100. Night at the Museum
Worldwide Gross - $574.5M
99. Iron Man
Worldwide Gross - $585.2M
98. I Am Legend
Worldwide Gross - $585.3M
97. Quantum of Solace
Worldwide Gross - $586.1M
96. The Hangover: Part II
Worldwide Gross - $586.8M
95. The Croods
Worldwide Gross - $587.2M
94. Men in Black
Worldwide Gross - $589.4M
93. War of the Worlds
Worldwide Gross - $591.7M
92. Tangled
Worldwide Gross - $591.8M
91. Casino Royale
Worldwide Gross - $599M
90. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Worldwide Gross - $603.9M
89. Life of Pi
Worldwide Gross - $609M
88. Mamma Mia!
Worldwide Gross - $609.8M
87. The Passion of the Christ
Worldwide Gross - $611.9M
86. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Worldwide Gross - $618.6M
85. Ratatouille
Worldwide Gross - $623.7M
84. Iron Man 2
Worldwide gross - $623.9M
83. Men in Black 3
Worldwide Gross - $624M
82. Hancock
Worldwide Gross - $624.4M
81. Fast Five
Worldwide Gross - $626.1M
80. The Incredibles
Worldwide Gross - $631.4M
79. Kung Fu Panda
Worldwide Gross - $631.7M
78. Thor: The Dark World
Worldwide Gross - $644.8M
77. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Worldwide Gross - $649.4M
76. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Worldwide Gross - $654.3M
75. Ice Age: The Meltdown
Worldwide Gross - $655.4M
74. Kung Fu Panda 2
Worldwide Gross - $665.7M
73. Man of Steel
Worldwide Gross - $668M
72. The Sixth Sense
Worldwide Gross - $672.8M
71. Forrest Gump
Worldwide Gross - $677.4M
70. The Hunger Games
Worldwide Gross - $691.2M
69. Mission: Impossible - Ghost protocol
Worldwide Gross - $694.7M
68. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Worldwide Gross - $698.5M
67. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Worldwide Gross - $708.2M
66. Transformers
Worldwide Gross - $709.7M
65. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Worldwide gross - $709.8M
64. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Worldwide Gross - $712.2M
63. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Worldwide Gross - $714M
62. Gravity
Worldwide Gross - $716.4M
61. Up
Worldwide Gross - $731.3M
60. Maleficent
Worldwide Gross - $736.1M
59. The Matrix Reloaded
Worldwide Gross - $742.1M
58. Monsters University
Worldwide Gross - $743.6M
57. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Worldwide Gross - $743.8M
56. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe
Worldwide Gross - $745M
55. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Worldwide Gross - $746.9M
54. Shrek Forever After
Worldwide Gross - $752.6M
53. The Amazing Spider-Man
Worldwide Gross - $757.9M
52. The Da Vinci Code
Worldwide Gross - $758.2M
51. 2012
Worldwide Gross - $769.7M
50. Star Wars
Worldwide Gross - $775.4M
49. Spider-Man 2
Worldwide Gross - $783.8M
48. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Worldwide Gross - $786.6M
47. Fast and Furious 6
Worldwide Gross - $788.7M
46. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Worldwide Gross - $792.9M
45. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Worldwide Gross - $796.7M
44. Shrek the Third
Worldwide Gross - $799M
43. Independence Day
Worldwide Gross - $817.4M
42. Spider-Man
Worldwide Gross - $821.7M
41. Inception
Worldwide Gross - $825.5M
40. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
Worldwide Gross -$829.7M
39. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Worldwide Gross -$836.3M
38. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Worldwide Gross -$848.8M
37. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Worldwide Gross -$864.6M
36. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Worldwide Gross -$871.5M
35. Ice Age: Continental Drift
Worldwide Gross -$877.2M
34. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Worldwide Gross -$879M
33. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Worldwide Gross -$886.7M
32. Spider-Man 3
Worldwide Gross -$890.9M
31. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Worldwide Gross -$896.9M
30. Shrek 2
Worldwide Gross - $919.8M
29. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Worldwide Gross -$926M
28. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Worldwide Gross - $934.4M
27. Finding Nemo
Worldwide Gross -$936.7M
26. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Worldwide Gross -$939.9M
25. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Wordlwide Gross -$958.4M
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Worldwide Gross -$960.3M
23. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Worldwide Gross - $963.4M
22. Despicable Me 2
Worldwide Gross -$970.8M
21. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Worldwide Gross -$974.8M
20. The Lion King
Worldwide Gross -$987.5M
19. The Dark Knight
Worldwide Gross -$1,004.6M
18. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Worldwide Gross -$1,017.0M
17. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Worldwide Gross -$1,025.5M
16. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Worldwide Gross -$1,027.0M
15. Jurassic Park
Worldwide Gross -$1,029.2M
14. Transformers: Age of Extinction
Worldwide Gross -$1,032.4M
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Worldwide Gross -$1,045.7M
12. Toy Story 3
Worldwide Gross -$1,063.2M
11. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Worldwide Gross -$1,066.2M
10. The Dark Knight Rises
Worldwide Gross -$1,084.4M
9. Skyfall
Worldwide Gross -$1,108.6M
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Worldwide Gross -$1,119.9M
7. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Worldwide Gross -$1,123.8M
6. Iron Man 3
Worldwide Gross -$1,215.4M
5. Frozen
Worldwide Gross -$1,274.2M
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Worldwide Gross -$1,341.5M
3. Marvel's The Avengers
Worldwide Gross -$1,518.6M
2. Titanic
Worldwide Gross -$2,186.8M
1. Avatar
Worldwide Gross -$2,788.0M
Summary...
The highest grossing films change more often than one might think, as whenever another film is released and it is a hit, making an unbelievable amount of money at the 'box office', the list suddenly changes making way for the new 'box office' hit.
Its always interesting knowing which films are making the most, as it is only by first knowing a films profit, that we can then judge the likelihood of their being a sequel. As when a films grossing hundreds of millions at the 'box office', it only makes sense to release a follow up, so that the production companies can maximise their earning potential with safe film producing choices.
Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or questions then please leave them in the comments box below.
Comments
- Author
Thanks for the comment Billy. I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed reading the hub, and your certainly right, it's a safe bet for action flicks at the box office.
No problem, glad to be following!
I love lists like this...curiosity more than anything else....it pays to make action flicks, doesn't it? Thanks for the follow.