100 Top Grossing Movies Of All Time

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” was the second highest grossing film in 2013, trailing only “Iron Man 3.” Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes found the second entry in the Hunger Games franchise “smart, smoothly directed, and enriched with a deeper exploration of the franchise’s thought-provoking themes.” The movie maintains a 90% Freshness score, and an 89% approval rating from audiences.

The second film in the trilogy, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” outgrossed the first film, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which was released one year prior. The Oscar-winning sequel has the highest rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes among franchise films, with an exceptional 95% Freshness rating.

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” grossed what amounts to more than $469 million domestically in today’s dollars since its release, and it was the top grossing movie of 2009. Like the first Transformers film, released in 2007, director Michael Bay helmed this sequel and brought back lead actors Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and Josh Duhamel. Only 20% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a positive review, compared with 57% of audiences.

“Toy Story 3” is the second-most financially successful of the series, grossing more than $476 million at the domestic box office after adjusting for inflation. It was also the second-highest grossing movie in 2010. Like previous Toy Story entries, “Toy Story 3” features the winning team of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, who help deliver the laughs, adventure, and sentiment that Pixar has come to be known for.

Six years after the original was released, Disney’s “Frozen II” topped the first Frozen film in domestic box office gross. According to Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel “can’t quite recapture the showstopping feel of its predecessor, but it remains a dazzling adventure into the unknown.” Among audience members on Rotten Tomatoes “Frozen II” holds an approval score of 92%.

This classic, noteworthy for its dance scenes as much as for its soundtrack, arguably made John Travolta famous. The actor earned his first of two Oscar nominations playing the ambitious paint-store clerk who wants to make it in this world.

The final entry in George Lucas’s second Star Wars trilogy is the highest rated of the three by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with a Freshness score of 80%. As with most Star Wars films, “Episode III” was a massive box office hit, grossing more than $108 million domestically on its opening weekend and more than $480 million total, the latter figure adjusted for inflation.

Mel Gibson directed and co-wrote this film about the hours leading up to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Despite relatively poor reviews from critics — the movie currently has a 49% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes — it is the top grossing religious film of all time.

Disaster movie “The Towering Inferno” follows a group of people trapped inside a massive burning building. The film’s ensemble cast includes Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, and O.J. Simpson. The movie won three Oscars in 1975, including Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

The Spider-Man franchise has been extremely profitable, producing four films that have grossed more than $350 million after adjusting for inflation. Among these is “Spider-Man 2,” which brought in $486.2 million in 2019 dollars. Much of the original cast of “Spider-Man” (2002) returned for the sequel, as did director Sam Raimi. The movie has a 93% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics.