Summary
- The highest-grossing movies of the 2000s marked the rise of blockbuster franchises, including Avatar, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Lord of the Rings.
- Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time, set a record with $2.9 billion and paved the way for its sequel, Avatar: Way of Water.
- The Harry Potter franchise earned a collective $7.7 billion at the box office, making it one of the most profitable fantasy film franchises of the 21st century.
Apart from making tons of money, the 10 highest-grossing movies of the 2000s represent a distinct stage in the evolution of Hollywood: the era of the blockbuster franchise. Even Avatar, which was a standalone film until the 2022 sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, was originally envisioned as the first in a planned movie series. From the first Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean movies to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the 2000s loudly proclaimed the arrival of blockbuster franchises.
Even after a decade, some movies from the turn of the century still number among the highest-grossing movies ever. This includes several of the earliest films to have crossed the billion-dollar mark at the box office. Today, it's become much more common for films to make over $1 billion worldwide, while a handful have even broken the $2 billion ceiling. For comparison, here are the 10 highest-grossing movies of the 2000s.
10 Avatar (2009)
Avatar remains the highest-grossing movie of all time. Making a record $2.9 billion at the worldwide box office, Avatar is also the only film in the history of cinema to have very nearly crossed the $3 billion mark. From its universally-relatable environmental themes to the engrossing work of the hundreds of artists at Weta Digital perfectly executing James Cameron's vision, Avatar was and continues to be celebrated as a technical breakthrough in CGI-heavy storytelling. The sequel, Avatar: Way of Water didn't do too bad either, earning $2.3 billion at the box office and the third spot in the highest-grossing movies ever. Not surprisingly, Avatar 3 is already in production.
9 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The third movie in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is also one of the highest-grossing movies of the 2000s. While the first two also fared well at the box office, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the only movie from the original trilogy to have crossed the $1 billion mark, making a total of $1.14 billion worldwide. Today, Return of the King retains its reputation for being arguably the best film in what is universally acclaimed to be the greatest epic fantasy film trilogy in cinema history. Collectively, all three original LOTR films made a total of $2.9 billion at the box office.
8 Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
The second movie in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is one of two Pirates of the Caribbean movies that made $1 billion in theaters. The second is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which was released in 2011. Back in the 2000s, Dead Man's Chest breaking the billion-dollar ceiling was a huge jump from the first movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl, which earned only $650 million worldwide. This ultimately paved the way for Pirates of the Caribbean to number among the highest-grossing franchises of the 21st century, with all 5 Pirates movies netting a total $4.5 billion in global box office earnings.
7 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
The movie that launched one of the most beloved fantasy franchises of all time, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone earned a little over $1 billion at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2001. The only other time the Harry Potter franchise broke the billion-dollar ceiling was in the last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, which grossed $1.3 billion worldwide. In total, all the Harry Potter movies have earned a collective $7.7 billion at the box office, making them one of the most profitable live-action fantasy film franchises of the 21st century.
6 The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise started with Batman Begins, which earned just $370 million worldwide. However, this was followed by The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, both of which earned around $1 billion each. In particular, The Dark Knight is heralded as the best of the three, chiefly because of the performances of Heath Ledger as Joker and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, as well as its overall tone and quality. The Dark Knight isn't actually that famous for being one of the highest-grossing movies of the 2000s. It's more known for revolutionizing the superhero genre and starting the trend of gritty, realistic comic book-based movies.
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
In terms of the overarching plot, the third installment in the franchise, At World's End, is where Pirates of the Caribbean should've ended. However, after grossing more than $960 million at the box office, At World's End becoming 2007's most profitable film made a strong case for the franchise to continue. After Dead Man's Chest, At World's End is the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie to make around a billion worldwide, a streak that ended with On Stranger Tides. The fifth and last movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, notably earned a comparatively low $790 million in 2017.
4 The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The second movie in Peter Jackson's groundbreaking fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers earned over $940 million worldwide - a slight jump from The Fellowship of the Ring's $890 million earnings. While many of the highest-grossing movies of the 2000s are also disappointing sequels, this wasn't the case with The Two Towers, chiefly because Jackson stayed loyal to the source material - even dividing the trilogy in accordance with the three volumes in the original novel. The Two Towers is fondly remembered for The Battle of Helm's Deep, which has become a pivotal example of how massive medieval fantasy battles should be shot and executed.
3 Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)
Order of the Phoenix is the fifth film in the main franchise, and it made more than $940 million at the box office. It would've been the highest-grossing movie of 2007 if it wasn't for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Notably, Order of the Phoenix was also the first to be directed by David Yates, who went on to direct Half-Blood Prince and the two-part finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Apart from being one of the highest-grossing movies of the 2000s, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is also regarded to be among the best movies in the Harry Potter franchise.
2 Finding Nemo (2003)
If The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wasn't in the picture, Finding Nemo would have been the highest-grossing movie of 2003, as it made an estimated $940 million worldwide. At the time of its release, the Pixar adventure comedy-drama also became the most profitable animated movie ever as well as the highest-earning G-rated movie - at least until the release of Pixar's own Toy Story 3. Apart from launching its own foundational franchise, not many viewers remember that Finding Nemo also won both the Oscar and Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. Two decades later, a Finding Nemo series is reportedly in development at Disney.
1 Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)
With Half-Blood Prince joining the highest-grossing films of the 2000s by earning $930 million worldwide, the Harry Potter franchise dominated the decade by taking 3 spots out of the top 10 most profitable 2000s movies. Half-Blood Prince is also second only to Avatar in terms of being the highest-earning movie of 2009. The sixth installment in the Harry Potter franchise and the second to be directed by David Yates, Half-Blood Prince was also the most expensive Harry Potter movie - with a budget that's estimated at $250 million. In total, the entire Harry Potter franchise cost $1.1 billion to make but earned over $7.7 billion worldwide.