Out of all the movies that have ever been released, only nineteen have generated at least $1 billion dollars in the box office. For a film maker and a studio, hitting that number is an absolute dream and it makes your film one of the most successful movies ever. Many films can have difficulties recuperating their costs, but these billion dollar films have no issues. We are going to look at ten movies that have grossed at least $1 billion dollars, and they are also the highest grossing films of all time. Remember these numbers only account for what the film made in the worldwide box offices, and do not include the sales of DVD’s after the movie has come out.
10. Transformers: Age of Extinction – $1,087,404,499
The first movie on our list is Transformers: Age of Extinction. Directed by Michael Bay and starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, and Peter Cullen this film is the fourth installment of the Transformers series. The film was released in June of 2014, and went on to be the highest-grossing film that year. Despite an extremely negative critical reception, the film managed to gross over $1.08 billion dollars.
9. Skyfall – $1,108,561,013
Coming out in 2012, Skyfall was the most recent James Bond film to have been released and it is also the twenty-third Bond film. This Bond film was directed by Sam Mendes and starred Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and Naomie Harris. The film was extremely well received, and won two Academy Awards. It managed to gross over $1.1 billion in the box offices.
8. The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King – $1,119,929,521
Released in 2003, The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King was the epic conclusion to the very popular fantasy series. Directed by Peter Jackson, the film was a smash hit, and arguably the best Lord of The Rings movie in the series. The film won eleven Academy Awards, including best picture (the first time a fantasy film took that prize), and managed to make over $1.1 billion in the box offices around the world.
7. Transformers: Dark of The Moon – $1,123,794,079
We see another Michael Bay film make the list. Transformers Dark of The Moon was the third film in the science-fiction series and was the last film to feature Shia LaBeouf. Like the other Transformer film on the list, despite getting pretty bad reviews across the board, the film managed to still make over $1.12 billion dollars.
6. Iron Man 3 -$1,215,439,994
Out of all the standalone Marvel superhero movies, Iron Man has been the most popular. In Iron Man 3, we see Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) reprise his popular role as he fights villains and deals with the aftermath of the events from The Avengers. The film was directed by Shane Black, and grossed over $1.2 billion dollars, making it the most successful Iron Man movie.
5. Frozen – $1,279,852,693
Grossing more that $1.27 billion dollars worldwide, Frozen was not only the most successful Disney film ever, but also the most successful animated film of all time. The film went on to win many awards, and was very popular among all age groups. Frozen also had an extremely popular soundtrack as well, which it won an Academy Award for “Best Original Song”.
4. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $1,341,511,219
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the epic conclusion to the massive Harry Potter film franchise. The film came out in 2011 and was extremely well received by critics and fans alike. It also went on to win some awards, and was nominated for a few Academy Awards. Directed by David Yates and starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, the film generated over $1.34 billion in the box offices.
3. The Avengers – $1,518,594,910
The Avengers was the 2012 epic, superhero film that featured an all-star cast consisting of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the movie we see all of Marvel’s main superheroes band together to thwart an alien invasion. The film was extremely well received and generated over $1.5 billion in the box offices, making it the third highest grossing film of all time.
2. Titanic – $2,186,772,302
James Cameron’s Titanic, was a romance film that also depicted the events surrounding the most famous ship disaster in the world. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, Titanic was extremely well received. At the time, the film was the most expensive film ever made. The movie won many awards, including fourteen Academy Awards. It generated more than $2.1 billion in the box office, and is only one of two films that have generated more than $2 billion in the box office.
1. Avatar – $2,787,965,087
Finally the highest grossing film ever, is another James Cameron film: Avatar. The epic science-fiction film was released in 2009, and makes extensive use of special effects and CGI. Development of the film began in 1994, but Cameron knew the technology was not available to make his epic film. Avatar won nine Academy Awards and grossed over $2.7 billion dollars in the box offices across the world.
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