The 100 highest-grossing movies of all time
Even though the majority of movies are crafted for the express purpose of making as much money as possible, it’s difficult to predict which ones have what it takes to stand out from the crowd and go down in the history books as ranking among cinema’s biggest-ever hits.
Unless their name is James Cameron, directors don’t set out with the intention of rinsing the box office to record-breaking proportions, even if the most famed purveyors of blockbuster excellence are confident enough in their abilities to know that audiences will be ready, willing, and able to fork over their hard-earned cash on opening night.
Cameron may have directed the top-earning film of all time twice over, but Steven Spielberg has done it three times after steering Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park to the top of the pile. The Terminator creator is the only person to have helmed a trio of films to cross $2 billion, though, and it would be foolish to bet against him doing it again at least once.
To become one of the highest-grossing titles to ever hit cinemas, the benchmark has been set at $813 million, which is a fair chunk of change. Unsurprisingly, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and comic book adaptations in general are all over the top 100, while several of cinema’s foremost directors make multiple appearances, too.
Despite his aforementioned accomplishments, Jurassic Park is the only Spielberg effort to crack the all-time earnings list, while Cameron is completely absent after occupying three of the top four spots. Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Michael Bay, Christopher Nolan, and David Yates all hold multiple spots, driven largely by their associations with one lucrative property above all others.
With ticket prices continuing to rise, it’s not a shock to discover there aren’t too many older titles among the biggest hits, Jurassic Park being the longest in the tooth by far, having been released in 1993. All but three of them hail from Hollywood, with China being the only other country that is a factor in the equation.
Cameron’s all-conquering Avatar is going to take some dislodging either way, but if he couldn’t manage to do it himself with The Way of Water, then who else possibly stands a chance?
The 100 highest-grossing movies of all time:
- Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
- Avengers: Endgame (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2019)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (James Cameron, 2022)
- Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015)
- Avengers: Infinity War (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2018)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts 2021)
- Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015)
- The Lion King (Jon Favreau, 2019)
- Marvel’s The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012)
- Furious 7 (James Wan, 2015)
- Top Gun: Maverick (Joseph Kosinski, 2022)
- Frozen II (Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, 2019)
- Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015)
- Frozen (Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, 2013)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, 2023)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (David Yates, 2011)
- Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017)
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (J.A. Bayona, 2018)
- Beauty and the Beast (Bill Condon, 2017)
- Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird, 2018)
- The Fate of the Furious (F. Gray Gray, 2017)
- Iron Man 3 (Shane Black, 2013)
- Minions (Pierre Coffa and Kyle Balda, 2015)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)
- Captain America: Civil War (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2016)
- Aquaman (James Wan, 2018)
- Skyfall (Sam Mendes, 2012)
- Spider-Man: Far from Home (Jon Watts, 2019)
- Captain Marvel (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, 2019)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Michael Bay, 2011)
- Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg,1993)
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (Michael Bay, 2014)
- The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012)
- Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019)
- Toy Story 4 (Josh Cooley, 2019)
- Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Gore Verbinski, 2006)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016)
- Aladdin (Guy Ritchie, 2019)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Rob Marshall, 2011)
- Despicable Me 3 (Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, 2017)
- Finding Dory (Andrew Stanton, 2016)
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (George Lucas,1999)
- Zootopia (Byron Howard and Rich Moore, 2016)
- Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, 2010)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Chris Columbus, 2001)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, 2012)
- The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates, 2007)
- Jurassic World Dominion (Colin Trevorrow, 2022)
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Jake Kasdan, 2017)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (David Yates, 2010)
- Despicable Me 2 (Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, 2013)
- The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)
- The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau, 2016)
- Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023)
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Peter Jackson, 2014)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Gore Verbinski, 2007)
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Peter Jackson, 2013)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Sam Raimi, 2022)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002)
- Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, 2003)
- Minions: The Rise of Gru (Kyle Balda, 2022)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (David Yates, 2009)
- Shrek 2 (Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon, 2004)
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer, 2018)
- The Battle at Lake Changjin (Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, and Dante Lam, 2021)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell, 2005)
- Spider-Man 3 (Sam Raimi, 2007)
- The Secret Life of Pets (Chris Renaud, 2016)
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Carlos Saldanha, 2009)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002)
- Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (Jon Watts, 2017)
- Ice Age: Continental Drift (Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier, 2012)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016)
- Wolf Warrior 2 (Wu Jing, 2017)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005)
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, 2013)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn, 2017)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ryan Coogler, 2022)
- Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015)
- Venom (Ruben Fleischer, 2018)
- Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2017)
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Bill Condon, 2012)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (James Gunn, 2023)
- Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Michael Bay, 2009)
- Spider-Man (Sam Raimi, 2002)
- Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins, 2017)
- Hi, Mom (Jia Ling, 2021)
- Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (David Yates, 2016)
- Coco (Lee Unkrich, 2017)
- Shrek the Third (Chris Miller, 2007)