Table of Contents
Summary
- Box office records shattered: Cinemas make a comeback post-lockdown with impressive earnings from a variety of genres, including animation, superhero, and biopic.
- Avengers: Endgame reigns briefly: Highest opening weekend and highest-grossing movie of all time, surpassing Avatar, but then losing the top spot after a brief re-release.
- Female directors break records: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie becomes the first $1 billion movie by a solo female director.
Following the end of the COVID-19 lockdowns, cinemas have well and truly made a comeback with many of the most impressive box office records being smashed since 2019. The box office is much more useful than just offering a bird’s eye view of the highest-grossing movies of all time. It also provides details about specific genres, earnings over holidays or specified periods of time, and how quickly films are able to reach specific figures.
Since 2019, cinema has seen the highest-grossing movie of all time change hands twice; new record earnings for a PG movie, and also for an R-rated movie, as well as record high earnings from female directors. The films that claimed these records also come from a wide variety of genres, with animation, superhero, biopic, action, and adventure-comedy. As the box office continues to evolve and filmmakers become more innovative and creative, the landscape of these records and the films in the top spots will likely change, but it still provides a great snapshot of contemporary popular culture.
10 Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Highest Opening Weekend And (Briefly) Highest Grossing Movie Of All Time
Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of a decade of movies from the MCU. Having steadily built its audience and developing an incredible cast over time, the film sparked incredible excitement which bubbled over into making it the highest opening weekend of any film domestically, earning more than $357 million immediately after release (via Box Office Mojo). However, the more impressive feat was what happened in the following weeks as Avengers: Endgame secured its position as the highest-grossing movie of all time, overtaking Avatar, which held the record since 2010. Ultimately, Endgame lost the top spot to Avatar again when it had a brief re-release in 2021, and just managed to reclaim its position.
9 The Lion King (2019)
Highest-Grossing PG Movie Of All Time
Jon Favreau enjoys the privilege of having kicked off the MCU in 2008 with Iron Man, and then directing the live-action (though entirely CGI) remake of The Lion King. The Lion King shares many things in common with the original animated film that it was based on, with some new music, slightly altered events, and a largely new voice cast. When it was released in 2019, lockdowns were in flux, but that didn’t stop The Lion King from becoming the highest-grossing PG movie of all time, earning over $1.663 billion at the box office (via Box Office Mojo).
8 Joker (2019)
Highest Grossing R-Rated Movie Of All Time
Todd Phillips created a brand-new origin for DC Comics’ Joker in his 2019 film starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. Following Arthur Fleck, a man struggling with his mental health and slowly being broken down by the decaying world around him, Fleck begins to take action to create the world he dreams about. The movie is suitably R-rated as it tells the story of Batman’s most sinister and dark rival, and the success of the project was made evident by its surpassing $1 billion (via Box Office Mojo). One of only a handful of DC films ever to reach that milestone, with only Aquaman, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises also crossing the threshold.
7 Frozen II (2019)
Highest-Grossing Animated Movie Of All Time
In 2019, the long-awaited sequel to 2013’s Frozen was finally released. Frozen II comfortably overtook the original, knocking it from the top spot as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time with a box office total of $1.453 billion (via Box Office Mojo). Whether Frozen III will be able to continue the tradition and assume the coveted number one position remains to be seen, but regardless, the innovative take on the Disney Princess story continues to enjoy incredible success.
6 Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Highest Grossing Memorial Day Weekend Opening
Top Gun: Maverick is the long-awaited second installment of the Top Gun franchise that began back in 1986. The sequel opened over Memorial Day weekend and managed to set a new record for the highest-grossing opening over that period with $126 million (via Box Office Mojo). Following that, the movie continued to dominate the box office and claim the title as the highest-grossing film of 2022 with $1.495 billion earned by the end of its theatrical release.
5 Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022)
First Post-Pandemic Movie To Break $2 Billion At The Box Office
Avatar: The Way of Water premiered in December 2022 and continued the success of the original film, earning well over $2 billion at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). What was even more impressive about this feat was the fact that it was the first and, so far, the only film to do so after the pandemic. The sequel did earn significantly less than the 2009 original, Avatar, but with several more sequels due to be released by James Cameron, there are plenty more opportunities to break the box office.
4 The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Biggest Animated Opening Weekend And Highest Grossing Video Game Adaptation
While Frozen II clings on to the top spot for highest-grossing animated film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, starring Chris Pratt as Mario, claimed the record for the biggest opening from an animated movie. The film earned in excess of $146 million in its premiere weekend, before continuing on to earn a total of $1.361 billion at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). This places it firmly in the position of the highest-earning movie based on a video game as well, having made almost three times more than the runner-up, Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
3 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023)
Highest Earning Animated Comic Book Movie
Just one month later, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse was released, and it claimed the top spot as the highest-earning animated comic book film with total earnings of $690 million (via Box Office Mojo). Across the Spider-Verse is a sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which focuses on Miles Morales as Spidey as opposed to following Peter Parker as the main character. The art style and storytelling have been widely praised for the Spider-Verse series, and a third film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is due to be released soon.
2 Barbie (2023)
First $1 Billion Movie By Solo Female Director and Highest Grossing Live-Action Movie By A Female Director
Greta Gerwig set the world alight with Barbie, released right alongside Oppenheimer in July 2023. Rather than suffering because of the competition, the simultaneous release sparked a global trend for #Barbenheimer. Gerwig’s film quickly gained incredible success and widespread praise for the unique story and outstanding visuals, combined with humor that manages to shine a light on the dependence and faults of either men or women exclusively ruling society.
Fittingly, this film also marks the first movie to make $1 billion with a solo female director, with others like Captain Marvel, and the Frozen films both having a directorial duo. The film also earned a grand total of $1.441 billion at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), which makes it the highest-grossing live-action movie by a female director, again beating out Captain Marvel. Barbie’s incredible success hopefully just marks the beginning for more talented female creatives directing and bringing blockbuster movies to the big screen.
1 Oppenheimer (2023)
Highest Grossing Biopic Of All Time
The other half of the incredible Barbenheimer phenomenon, Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the life of the infamous J. Robert Oppenheimer managed to snag a box office record of its own. With a total of $950 million earned at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo), Oppenheimer claimed the top spot as the highest-grossing biopic of all time. Oppenheimer claimed the top spot, replacing the biopic about Queen’s late leading man, Freddie Mercury, in Bohemian Rhapsody.
