In 1937, Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the year's highest-grossing film, proving animated features weren't just for kids, and could be a financially lucrative genre. In the decades that followed, numerous studios followed Disney's lead, releasing animated films that not only earned critical acclaim, but set box office records as well.

Not every animated film is a guaranteed hit, as notorious flops like Titan A.E. and Strange Worlds have proven. Many animated films, however, exceeded expectations at the box office, appealing to all demos and making hundreds of millions of dollars.

These are the highest-grossing animated films of all time, ranked by global earnings according to The-Numbers.com.

Updated on April 10, 2024, by Vic Medina: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.

25 Monsters University (2013)

Worldwide Gross: $743 Million

Would it have been better for Disney to go with their original idea for Monsters, Inc. 2? Sure, but at least fans got to spend more time with John Goodman's fuzzy James P. Sullivan and Billy Crystal's adorable green cyclops Mike Wazowski in the prequel film Monsters University. A college-set comedy, it's basically Animal House for kids, and that's an interesting take, but it also marked a further step towards more shallow than deep narratives for Pixar.

How Much Did Monsters University Make?

There are two ways to look at Monster University's box office performance. On one hand, if adjusted for inflation, 2001's Monsters, Inc. sold a heck of a lot more tickets. But, for a long-delayed prequel that doesn't even really seem to need to exist, the film's $268.5 million domestic take (less than the original, even without a decade-plus of inflation) and $475 million overseas totals were respectable. At the end of the day, it made money.

24 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2017)

Worldwide Gross: $747 Million

Dreamworks' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted features an all-star voice cast, including Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, and Sacha Baron Cohen, as a group of Central Park Zoo animals mistakenly sent to Madagascar and eager to return home. For the third installment, the band of misfits is traveling with a circus in Europe, and their attempts to get home are sidetracked through a series of misadventures. A group of scene-stealing penguins and a witty script won over audiences in droves.

How Much Did Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Make?

Madagascar 3 was the second highest-grossing animated film of 2012, topped only by Ice Age: Continental Drift. Domestically, it earned over $216 million, and more than doubled that in overseas markets, with $531 million at the box office. Worldwide, the film earned more than Disney's two films released that year, Brave and Wreck-It-Ralph. Despite its success, a fourth Madagascar film remains stuck in development hell.

23 Shrek Forever After (2010)

Worldwide Gross: $756 million

Billed as the final film in the series, Shrek Forever After reunited the main cast, including Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. The plot involves Shrek crossing paths with Rumpelstiltskin, who is out for revenge and has a plan to erase Shrek from existence. Released to mixed reviews, the film's success helped spawn the Puss in Boots spinoff, although a rumored fifth film remains unannounced.

How Much Did Shrek Forever After Make?

The film played strongly both domestically and overseas. It earned over $238 million in North America and an additional $518 million at the international box office. With a total box office of over $756 million worldwide, it's surprising the franchise hasn't continued.

22 Coco (2017)

Worldwide Gross: $797 Million

Pixar's Coco tells the story of Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez), a young Mexican boy whose love of music leads him to the fabled Land of the Dead, where his deceased relatives help him return home. Despite a strong focus on death and the afterlife, the film turned out to be a joyful celebration of life and family, and audiences embraced the film. Coco won two Oscars, for Best Animated Film and Best Original Song.

How Much Did Coco Make?

The film opened in Mexico and became a box office phenomenon, eventually knocking off Marvel's The Avengers to become the biggest box office hit in Mexico's history. It earned over $586 million in international markets, and with more than $210 in sales at the domestic box office, Coco earned nearly $797 million worldwide.

21 Shrek the Third (2007)

Worldwide Gross $807 Million

DreamWorks' animation department got off to one heck of a start with Shrek. With four films (and counting), it's not an IP that's lost its financial viability, even if it's widely accepted the first two Shrek films are far superior to the latter two. In this third installment, Shrek is attempting to have someone take his place as King while Fiona fends off a rebellion from Prince Charming.

How Much Did Shrek the Third Make?

While Shrek the Third didn't generate as much audience interest as Shrek 2, that's understandable. The first sequel rode the first film's capturing of the zeitgeist to great effect, and the fact that it was an even better film than the original certainly didn't hurt. Considering the Third doesn't hold a candle to Shrek 2, its $323 million domestic tally and $485 international haul is nothing to scoff at. Not to mention, its budget was a pretty reasonable $160 million, so the final product quintupled what it cost to make it.

20 Inside Out (2015)

Worldwide Gross: $851 million

Pixar's Inside Out signaled a shift toward telling more sophisticated stories. Pixar still offered child-oriented films, but Inside Out took a very mature turn with its story about the emotions in a young girl's mind, which take the form of personalized characters like Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), and Anger (Lewis Black). It was still accessible to kids, however, and the film was a hit, earning critical acclaim and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

How Much Did Inside Out Make?

Inside Out certainly stirred happy feelings among moviegoers, racking up over $356 million at the domestic box office and over $494 million internationally. Selling over $850 million in tickets means only one thing at Disney: a sequel, with more emotions and a focus on the anxiety of puberty, according to director Kelsey Mann.

19 Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)

Worldwide Gross: $880 million

2012's Ice Age: Continental Drift is the fourth film in the highly popular series from Blue Sky Studios, and proved the franchise still had legs after a decade of films. Continental Drift finds Scrat the saber-toothed squirrel (voiced by Chris Wedge) accidentally stranding the main cast (including Ray Romano's Manny the Woolly Mammoth) on an iceberg, where they cross paths with prehistoric pirates.

How Much Did Ice Age: Continental Drift Make?

Continental Drift grossed an impressive $880 million worldwide, and in America, was the highest-grossing animated film of 2012 and the fifth-biggest film of the year overall with a $161 million haul domestically. It set box office records in Russia, France, Sweden, and throughout Latin America, where it became the second highest-grossing film of all time. It grossed over $718 million internationally.

18 The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Worldwide Gross: $886 Million

The Secret Life of Pets follows Max, a terrier with an owner all to himself until she adopts the bigger, fluffier Duke. When they get lost in the middle of New York City, they have to survive speeding cars, rude people, and run-ins with the human-hating bunny Snowball.

How Much Did The Secret Life of Pets Make?

With a $369 million domestic tally and $517 million international haul, The Secret Life of Pets finished its run with a $886 million total. It stands as a major success, particularly as Illumination and Universal produced it on a respectively small budget of $75 million. With its lovable pet characters, it was also a goldmine for merchandise sales. The sequel, however, didn't make half that, and it came out in 2019, so there's no COVID excuse to be found.

17 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Worldwide Gross: $886.7 million