Misc
Box Office Blockbusters: The Top Grossing Movies in the Last 30 Years
The Top Grossing Movies in the Last 30 Years
People have varying opinions on what constitutes a good movie. And while it’s nearly impossible to identify a film’s intrinsic quality—at least, in an objective way—one thing that can be measured is the revenue that a movie generates.
With this in mind, here’s a look at the top grossing movies worldwide since the early 1990s, using data from Box Office Mojo. These figures include box office revenue as of May 2021, but don’t consider other revenue sources like merchandise sales.
The Full List: Top 50 Highest Grossing Movies
Coming in at number one on the list is Avatar—since its release in 2009, this Oscar-winning hit has grossed $2.84 billion in box office sales.
Rank | Title | Lifetime Gross | Year |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Avatar | $2,847,246,203 | 2009 |
2 | Avengers: Endgame | $2,797,501,328 | 2019 |
3 | Titanic | $2,201,647,264 | 1997 |
4 | Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens | $2,068,455,677 | 2015 |
5 | Avengers: Infinity War | $2,048,359,754 | 2018 |
6 | Jurassic World | $1,670,516,444 | 2015 |
7 | The Lion King | $1,657,870,986 | 2019 |
8 | The Avengers | $1,518,815,515 | 2012 |
9 | Furious 7 | $1,515,255,622 | 2015 |
10 | Frozen II | $1,450,026,933 | 2019 |
11 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1,402,809,540 | 2015 |
12 | Black Panther | $1,347,597,973 | 2018 |
13 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | $1,342,321,665 | 2011 |
14 | Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi | $1,332,698,830 | 2017 |
15 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | $1,310,464,680 | 2018 |
16 | Frozen | $1,281,835,246 | 2013 |
17 | Beauty and the Beast | $1,264,434,525 | 2017 |
18 | Incredibles 2 | $1,243,089,244 | 2018 |
19 | The Fate of the Furious | $1,236,005,118 | 2017 |
20 | Iron Man 3 | $1,214,811,252 | 2013 |
21 | Minions | $1,159,444,662 | 2015 |
22 | Captain America: Civil War | $1,153,337,496 | 2016 |
23 | Aquaman | $1,148,485,886 | 2018 |
24 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | $1,142,630,912 | 2003 |
25 | Spider-Man: Far from Home | $1,131,927,996 | 2019 |
26 | Captain Marvel | $1,128,462,972 | 2019 |
27 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | $1,123,794,079 | 2011 |
28 | Skyfall | $1,108,569,499 | 2012 |
29 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | $1,104,054,072 | 2014 |
30 | The Lion King | $1,083,720,877 | 1994 |
31 | The Dark Knight Rises | $1,081,142,612 | 2012 |
32 | Joker | $1,074,251,311 | 2019 |
33 | Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker | $1,074,148,486 | 2019 |
34 | Toy Story 4 | $1,073,394,593 | 2019 |
35 | Toy Story 3 | $1,066,970,811 | 2010 |
36 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | $1,066,179,747 | 2006 |
37 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | $1,056,057,720 | 2016 |
38 | Aladdin | $1,050,693,953 | 2019 |
39 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | $1,045,713,802 | 2011 |
40 | Despicable Me 3 | $1,034,800,131 | 2017 |
41 | Jurassic Park | $1,033,928,303 | 1993 |
42 | Finding Dory | $1,028,570,942 | 2016 |
43 | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace | $1,027,082,707 | 1999 |
44 | Alice in Wonderland | $1,025,468,216 | 2010 |
45 | Zootopia | $1,023,792,558 | 2016 |
46 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | $1,017,003,568 | 2012 |
47 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | $1,006,968,171 | 2001 |
48 | The Dark Knight | $1,005,973,645 | 2008 |
49 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | $977,043,483 | 2010 |
50 | Despicable Me 2 | $970,766,005 | 2013 |
Avatar cost $237 million to produce, meaning it’s turned a considerable profit over the years. But Avatar’s success was fairly unsurprising, considering the stellar track record of the film’s writer and director, James Cameron.
Cameron also directed Titanic, which broke records back in 1998 when it became the first film to break $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue. In fact, Titanic was the top grossing movie for years, until Avatar stole its title in 2009.
Interestingly, in 2019, Avatar was temporarily dethroned by Avengers: Endgame, which held the number one spot for a couple of years. But thanks to a recent theatrical reissue in China (which alone grossed an estimated $21.1 million) Avatar has since reclaimed its title as the top grossing movie worldwide.
Avengers: Endgame remains a close second, with $2.80 billion in gross revenue. It’s one of 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and besides Endgame, eight other movies from the MCU also appear on the top grossing movies list:
- Avengers: Infinity War – #5
- The Avengers – #8
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – #11
- Black Panther – #12
- Iron Man 3 – #20
- Captain America: Civil War – #22
- Spider-man: Far From Home – #25
- Captain Marvel – #26
Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment back in 2009. And while Marvel honored its existing contracts with other distributors, Disney owns the lion’s share of Marvel film rights and has earned over $18.2 billion as a result.
The Top Distributors
Marvel movies aren’t the only Disney productions to make the list. In fact, 26 of the 50 top grossing films were originally released by Disney, making it the top distributor.
Rank | Film Studio | # of Top Grossing Titles |
---|---|---|
1 | Disney | 26 |
2 | Universal Studios | 8 |
3 | Warner Bros | 8 |
4 | 20th Century Fox | 2 |
5 | Paramount | 2 |
6 | New Line Cinema | 1 |
7 | Dreamworks | 1 |
8 | Sony | 2 |
Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures tie for second. Warner Bros. was the domestic distributor of some pop culture classics like Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, and The Hobbit, while Universal Pictures released Fast and Furious, Despicable Me, and Jurassic Park.
It’s worth mentioning that several of the distributors on the list are labels of larger studios. For instance, Warner Bros. is the parent company of New Line Cinema, Dreamworks is a branch of Universal, and 20th Century Fox was recently bought by Disney and rebranded to 20th Century Studios.
The COVID-19 Impact
The entertainment business was significantly impacted by the global pandemic, like many other industries across the globe. In 2020, global box office revenue totaled $12.4 billion—a 70% dip from 2019.
Despite recent setbacks, industry professionals are feeling confident that things will recover post-pandemic. In a recent interview with The Deadline, Chairman of STXfilms Adam Fogelson said, “People like leaving their homes and having fun, emotional, communal experiences together…I don’t think that will change.”
Misc
Charted: Car Brand Loyalty in 2024
This ranking of car brand loyalty shows what percentage of owners would buy from the same brand for their next vehicle.
Car Brand Loyalty in 2024
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
This graphic visualizes the best and worst car brands in terms of brand loyalty. This is measured by the % of current owners who would buy from the same brand for their next vehicle.
Data comes from Consumer Reports’ owner satisfaction survey, which includes responses from owners of more than 330,000 vehicles.
Car Brands With the Most Loyal Customers
Rivian takes the top spot in this ranking, with 86% of owners saying they would buy from the brand again. The EV startup has carved an interesting niche for itself with its outdoor adventure-focused models, and despite several recalls, appears to have won the hearts of its early customers.
Company | % who would buy again |
---|---|
🇺🇸 Rivian | 86 |
🇩🇪 Mini | 77 |
🇩🇪 BMW | 76 |
🇩🇪 Porsche | 76 |
🇺🇸 Tesla | 74 |
🇰🇷 Genesis | 73 |
🇯🇵 Lexus | 73 |
🇯🇵 Subaru | 70 |
It’s interesting to note that Tesla held the #1 spot in last year’s ranking.
Car Brands With the Least Loyal Customers
At the other end of the spectrum we have brands with the least loyal customers, suggesting that owners are less satisfied with their purchase.
Company | % who would buy again |
---|---|
🇺🇸 Cadillac | 61 |
🇺🇸 Chrysler | 60 |
🇩🇪 Mercedes-Benz | 59 |
🇩🇪 Audi | 59 |
🇺🇸 Jeep | 58 |
🇯🇵 Nissan | 55 |
🇩🇪 Volkswagen | 51 |
🇯🇵 Infiniti | 43 |
At the bottom of this table is Nissan’s luxury marque, Infiniti, with only 43% of owners saying they would revisit the brand for their next car.
Infiniti dealerships are aware of this alarming trend, and have attributed it to the brand’s aging lineup. In a recent interview, Steve Lapin, Chairman of the Infiniti National Dealer Advisory Board, said: “Product is king. Infiniti doesn’t have the right products right now to compete in the marketplace.”
Interested in learning more about the automotive industry? Check out this graphic, which ranks the world’s top 10 exporters of automotive products.
-
Misc5 days ago
Mapped: Asia’s Population Patterns by Density
-
Markets1 week ago
Ranked: The 20 Top Chinese Stocks by Market Cap, and Performance YTD
-
Markets1 week ago
Will Tesla Lose Its Spot in the Magnificent Seven?
-
Technology1 week ago
Charted: The Jobs Most Impacted by AI
-
Markets1 week ago
Visualizing the Biggest Companies on Major Stock Exchanges
-
Money1 week ago
The World’s Top 50 Largest Banks by Consolidated Assets
-
Demographics1 week ago
Visualizing the Declining Birth Rate in Japan
-
Technology1 week ago
The World’s Largest Corporate Holders of Bitcoin