#10 The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated epic musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The Lion King proved that everybody loves talking animals. Or if nothing else, The Lion King's climb up the box office, grossing $951,583,777, has left the phrase "hakuna matata" seared into the pop culture landscape.
#9 Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated and live action fantasy film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Alice in Wonderland won for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It earned $116 million in its first week, totaling $334 million in the United States after its eighteen week release. Receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film grossed a worldwide total of $1 billion.
#8 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. Seven years after the conclusion of his magnum opus hexalogy, George Lucas has returned to the beginning and rereleased the highest grossing episode in the series. The film earned $64.8 million in its first week, ending with a strong $474 million domestic total and a worldwide sum of $1 billion.
#7 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a 2011 fantasy adventure film and the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Gore Verbinski, who had directed the three previous films, was replaced by Rob Marshall, while Jerry Bruckheimer again served as producer. Like the other movies in the movie franchise reviews were mixed. Acting, directing and visuals were praised, but script-writing, excessiveness, and lack of originality were criticized. The film earned $90 million in its first week, culminating to a domestic total of $241 million and a worldwide total of $1 billion.
#6 Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama family film, and the third film in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Toy Story 3 was nominated for five Academy Awards - Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, and Best Sound Editing. The film earned $648 million abroad. The final worldwide total reached $1.1 billion.
#5 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. This film is the only first and only fantasy film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. At $1,119,929,521, it was the highest-grossing film of 2003, beating out the likes of Disney's blockbuster Finding Nemo.
#4 Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a 2011 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers toy line. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The most successful was the third installment Transformers: Dark of the Moon. All three movies were directed by the renowned Michael Bay. The movie earned $771 million in foreign countries, bringing the worldwide total to $1.2 billion.
#3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is a 2011 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Years after the first books and movies, no one was ready to say goodbye to Harry Potter, but everyone was dying to see the final installment of the film which is one of the best reviewed films of 2011, racking up $1,328,111,219 in box office.
#2 Titanic
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film directed, written, co-produced, co-edited and partly financed by James Cameron. What movie is more epic and romantic than Titanic? Another James Cameron hit, the tale is a fictionalized account of the historic shipwreck. Already intriguing, but add a young Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and you've got $2,160,404,935 in box office gold.
#1 Avatar
Avatar is a 2009 American science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi and Sigourney Weaver. It took James Cameron 15 years to make Avatar, but it was definitely worth the wait. The movie is the biggest budgeted and highest grossing film of all time, selling $2,782,275,172 in tickets and eking out a win over Titanic by a slim $600 million. It's safe to say that the buzz around this film isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
