More than 50 films have grossed more than a billion dollars at the box office, but this achievement used to be a rare milestone.
In the modern age of blockbuster cinema, it is a common occurrence for a movie to gross more than $1 billion at the global box office. This year, there have been two films - The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Barbie - that have managed to do so. Meanwhile, last year also brought three such success stories with Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion, and Avatar: The Way of Water. In total, there have been 53 films that have passed the billion-dollar mark at the box office, with six of them even going far enough to cross $2 billion.
While it may be a somewhat regular thing for a film to make over a billion dollars at the box office today, that wasn't always the case. It used to be a rare thing for a movie to join the box office billion-dollar club. That club's list of members was small at first, but it has gradually picked up speed in the frequency of inductees over the last 25 years. The very first movie to pass $1 billion at the box office and start the club wasn't released until the late '90s, and after that, it was only joined by new films once every few years.
With that in mind, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the first 10 films that achieved this incredible level of success. Released between 1997 and 2011, these 10 movies managed to excite audiences to degrees that were largely unheard of before then. Before getting started, however, there are two particular films that need acknowledgment - 1993's Jurassic Park and 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
While these are technically two of the earliest-released movies to join the billion-dollar club, they didn't actually pass that box office milestone until their eventual re-releases in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Because of this, they have not made the list, as The Phantom Menace became the 11th movie to join the billion-dollar club, with Jurassic Park eventually being the 17th. With that out of the way, these were the first 10 films to gross more than a billion dollars at the global box office:
Titanic (1997) - $2.264 billion
Titanic
Release DateNovember 18, 1997DirectorJames CameronCastLeonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria StuartRatingPG-13Main GenreDramaRuntime194
The very first film to ever pass the billion-dollar mark at the box office was 1997's Titanic. The movie was the seventh to be directed by the now-legendary James Cameron, following his previous successes with films like The Terminator, Aliens and True Lies. It was an epic and disastrous love story set amid the real-life tragedy that was the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, with an extensive supporting cast ranging from Billy Zane to Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Bernard Hill and more. The movie was an utter sensation upon its release in the late '90s, and it showed incredible legs at the box office as it kept growing until it eventually became the highest-grossing film of all-time (at that point).
How It Fared at the Box Office
On a budget of $200 million, Titanic pulled in a global gross of $1.843 billion during its initial theatrical run in late '97 and throughout the first half of '98. After opening with just $28 million in its domestic opening weekend, the movie showed tremendous staying power and gradually grew to a North American total of just over $600 million over a seven-month theatrical release. Internationally, it brought in an additional $1.2 billion in that same time. In March of '98, it became the first movie to gross a billion dollars, about two-and-a-half months after it opened. In the decades since its debut, Titanic has received several successful theatrical re-releases, which have resulted in the movie's box office total growing from $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion. Today, it is still the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all-time.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - $1.155 billion
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Release DateDecember 1, 2003DirectorPeter JacksonCastNoel Appleby, Alexandra Astin, Sean Astin, David Aston, John Bach, Sean BeanRatingPG-13Main GenreActionRuntime201
After the release of Titanic in late 1997, it would be another six years before a second movie would have the momentum needed to gross over $1 billion at the box office. The movie to break that drought was the final chapter of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King. Released in December 2003, the movie directly followed the immense success of the first two Lord of the Rings movies - The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers - which were released in December 2001 and December 2002, respectively. It was a massive hit with both critics and general audiences, as it went on to be nominated for 11 Oscars, of which it won every single one, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
How It Fared at the Box Office
In North America, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed $377 million in its initial theatrical run, with an additional $763 million coming from overseas markets. This brought its global total to $1.14 billion. On a budget of just $94 million, that's not too shabby. It crossed the billion-dollar mark in mid-February 2004, just over two months after its opening. Like Titanic, the film's success has also been built upon with subsequent cinematic re-releases, which have increased its overall global haul to $1.155 billion.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - $1.066 billion
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Release DateJuly 6, 2006DirectorGore VerbinskiCastJohnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Jonathan PryceRatingPG-13Main GenreActionRuntime150
After The Return of the King became the second film to join the billion-dollar club, it was another three years before Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest came along to expand that elite list just a little further. After the immense breakout success of the first Pirates film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney went all in on this new film franchise by greenlighting two sequels with a connected story that were shot back-to-back. The first of these sequels was Dead Man's Chest, which significantly expanded the scope and lore of the series while also maintaining all the fun swashbuckling antics that made the first movie so lovable.
How It Fared at the Box Office
When it was released in the summer of 2006, Dead Man's Chest quickly became the defining blockbuster film of the season. It brought in $423 million in North America and $642 million overseas, totaling out to a global gross of $1.066 billion. The second Pirates movie also set a new record for the quickest movie to join the billion-dollar club, as it passed the mark in early September after only 63 days in theaters. While it remains the highest-grossing film in the Pirates franchise, and its follow-up, At World's End, fell just short of joining the same exclusive box office club, it is not the only film in the series to gross more than a billion dollars, nor is it the only Pirates movie on this list.
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The Dark Knight (2008) - $1.003 billion
The Dark Knight
Release DateJuly 14, 2008DirectorChristopher NolanCastChristian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary OldmanRatingPG-13Main GenreActionRuntime152
It was at this point that it became clear that the period of time between each new entry in the billion-dollar club was shrinking. It was just two years between the third and fourth films to join the list, as 2008's The Dark Knight became the next film to pass the mark. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight was the director's second Batman movie (following 2005's Batman Begins), and it is still regarded as one of the best comic-book movies of all-time to this day. In addition to the truly incredible filmmaking and storytelling on display in the movie, much of this praise is directed to Heath Ledger for his instantly-iconic portrayal of the Joker, which still remains the definitive film adaptation of the character.
How It Fared at the Box Office
Domestically, The Dark Knight grossed an impressive $533 million, with $470 million coming from overseas - which makes this the only entry on this list that grossed more in North America than it did internationally. With a total of $1.003 billion, The Dark Knight became the highest-grossing movie of 2008 and the highest-grossing DC movie of all-time. While The Dark Knight became the fourth film to reach the billion-dollar milestone, it just barely did so. Although the film was released in July 2008, it didn't break a billion until seven months later, after a re-release of the film was put out in order to give the film (which had already grossed $995 million) enough fuel to pass that mark and build more momentum going into that year's Oscars ceremony.
This wound up being a successful effort from Warner Bros., as the film joined the billion-dollar club in February 2009, and it won two Oscars - Best Supporting Actor (for Ledger) and Best Sound Editing - just a few days later.
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Avatar
Release DateDecember 18, 2009DirectorJames CameronCastSam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, Giovanni RibisiRatingPG-13Main GenreActionRuntime162
It is fitting that the fifth film to pass this immense milestone at the global box office also marked the return of James Cameron to the world of blockbuster filmmaking, after Titanic became the foundational film of the billion-dollar club over a decade prior. What is there to say about Avatar that hasn't already been said a million times? The movie was the definition of a global sensation, and it single-handedly kickstarted the craze of 3-D movie releases that dominated the 2010s.
How It Fared at the Box Office
Although Avatar had a decently strong domestic opening of $77 million, the film's real box office story unfolded in the following weeks and months after it opened. Despite no dramatic change in its theater-count, Avatar's box office receipts managed to do the impossible and actually go up from week one to week two. From there, the film continued to show incredible endurance at the box office for months on end. It grew to a total of $749 million in North America and $1.993 billion overseas, achieving a global total of $2.743 billion.
It crossed the billion-dollar mark after just 19 days at the box office, shattering the previous record held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest with 63 days. This also established Avatar as the first film to gross more than $2 billion at the box office, and it easily made it the highest-grossing movie of all time. While it temporarily lost that title to 2019's Avengers: Endgame, it reclaimed the top spot once again with a 2021 re-release. After an additional re-release in 2022 to build anticipation for the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, the first Avatar film currently sits at a global total of $2.923 billion.
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Alice in Wonderland (2010) - $1.025 billion
Alice in Wonderland
Release DateMarch 3, 2010DirectorTim BurtonCastMia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt LucasRatingPGMain GenreAdventureRuntime108
After the record-shattering success of Avatar in late 2009 and early 2010, the next film to join the billion-dollar club was Disney's live-action retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, 2010's Alice in Wonderland was an unexpectedly massive success. The success of the film was largely attributed to Depp's star power immediately coming off the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, as his take on the Mad Hatter character was not too far off from what he'd done with Jack Sparrow previously.
How It Fared at the Box Office
Burton and Depp's Alice in Wonderland hit theaters in March 2010, and it opened with $116 million in North America. It then went on to pull in a total of $334 million domestically. Most of the film's success, however, came from overseas. The movie grossed $691 million internationally, which accounted for nearly 70% of its total $1.025 billion haul. It passed the billion-dollar mark in late May, 85 days after its opening. It was only the second Disney film to join the billion-dollar club, following Dead Man's Chest. It was also only the second-highest-grossing film of 2010 as a whole, with one other Disney movie coming along to outperform it only a few months later.
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Toy Story 3 (2010) - $1.067 billion
Toy Story 3
Release DateJune 16, 2010DirectorLee UnkrichCastTom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael KeatonRatingGMain GenreAnimationRuntime103
The second Disney film to gross more than a billion dollars in 2010 was Toy Story 3, which also became the first animated film to join the billion-dollar club. It was the seventh film overall to pass the billion-dollar mark, and it was able to do so thanks to the incredible goodwill and love that Pixar had built with the Toy Story series since its debut in 1995. Toy Story 3 was billed as the final film in that series, which has since proven to be untrue, but it was convincing enough at the time to get people to come out to see it in a theater. It also went on to become the third animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
How It Fared at the Box Office
In North America, Toy Story 3 was one of the biggest pop culture sensations of 2010, and it ultimately grossed $415 million domestically. This success translated overseas as well, where the film brought in an additional $652 million. With a global total of $1.067 billion, that secured Toy Story 3's place as the highest grossing movie of the year. This also made 2010 the first year in history to have two billion-dollar-grossing movies released within it. It was easily the highest-grossing Pixar movie so far, and it held that top spot until 2018, when it was unseated by Incredibles 2. It passed the billion-dollar mark in late August 2010, 71 days after its debut in June.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) - $1.046 billion
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Release DateMay 14, 2011DirectorRob MarshallCastJohnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Sam ClaflinRatingPG-13Main GenreActionRuntime137
After 2010 became the first year to feature two billion-dollar-grossing movies, expectations were high for the blockbuster fare being offered in 2011. That year did not disappoint, as it brought not two but three new entries to the billion-dollar club. The first of these movies was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth entry in the Pirates series and the first new one since the release of At World's End in 2007.
How It Fared at the Box Office
This film was yet another example of Johnny Depp's immense box office sway in the early 2010s, as it became the fourth Disney film to gross more than a billion dollars, and it was the third of which to feature Depp in the starring role. Despite its overall success, On Stranger Tides did not perform great in North America, as it brought in just $241 million, which was over $60 million less than the previous three entries in the series. However, it was easily the highest-grossing movie of the franchise overseas. On Stranger Tides brought in $805 million internationally, which was $150 million more than any other Pirates film had. This drove On Stranger Tides to a global total of $1.046 billion, and it made the movie the third-highest grossing movie of 2011.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - $1.342 billion
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Release DateJuly 7, 2011DirectorDavid YatesCastRalph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma WatsonRatingPG-13Main GenreAdventureRuntime130
Later that same summer, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 became the next film to excite the box office enough to pull in more than a billion dollars worldwide. This wasn't a terrible surprise, as the movie was the final culmination of the mega-popular Harry Potter film series that had been dominating the box office for a decade already. If anything, the most surprising thing was that Deathly Hallows - Part 2 was the first film in the Harry Potter series to pass the billion-dollar mark, though the franchise had come very close on numerous occasions before, as four previous movies in the series grossed over $900 million.
How It Fared at the Box Office
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 wasn't just the latest film to cross a billion dollars, nor was it merely the highest-grossing film in its series, the movie ended up becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2011 worldwide, which was an immensely impressive feat as 2011 was a spectacular year at the box office. It reached the billion-dollar milestone after only 19 days in theaters, which tied Avatar's record for the fastest movie to reach a billion. Domestically, the movie grossed $381 million, while it brought in $960 million overseas.
This brought the overall total to $1.342 billion, making the final Harry Potter movie the third-highest-grossing movie of all time as of that point, only behind Titanic and Avatar. Today, the movie still lands high on the all-time highest-grossing list, in the 18th spot, above Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Frozen but just below Black Panther and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
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Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) - $1.123 billion
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Release DateJune 28, 2011DirectorMichael BayCastShia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Julie White, Kevin Dunn, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese GibsonRatingPG-13Main GenreActionRuntime157
Finally, the 10th movie to join the billion-dollar club was the third live-action Transformers movie from Michael Bay, Dark of the Moon. The first two Transformers movies, which starred Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, were some of the biggest blockbusters of the late 2000s, with each individually grossing over $700 million worldwide. Dark of the Moon, like Toy Story 3 the year prior, was sold as the epic finale to the series, even though it was quickly followed with additional sequels and spin-offs only a few years later.
How It Fared at the Box Office
Although Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part Two managed to make it to a billion dollars faster than the third Transformers movie did, Dark of the Moon actually hit theaters worldwide about two weeks prior to the final Harry Potter flick. The Transformers movie's box office run took a solid hit with the release of Deathly Hallows - Part 2, but it managed to recover and still work its way to becoming the 10th movie to gross more than a billion dollars worldwide. It crossed that threshold on Aug. 3rd, just over a month after it hit theaters, and only a few days after the new Harry Potter film reached the same goal on July 30th.
This was a real sign of a changing box office; instead of two billion-dollar films over the course of six years, there were two movies that hit a billion dollars within a week of one another. Overall, Dark of the Moon ended up grossing $352 million in North America and $771 million overseas, for a global total of $1.123 billion, making it the second-highest grossing movie of 2011, ahead of On Stranger Tides but behind Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
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