We all remember the movies that made our childhoods – “Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Toy Story” and its sequels – or maybe non-Disney classics like “Iron Giant,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” or “Pokémon: The First Movie.” (If you’re a Disney fan, you may be interested in the best Disney movies of all time.)
Whether you watched them in theaters, on VHS or DVD, or through streaming services, these movies were mainstays that helped make sleepovers, birthdays, and weekends so memorable.
As children, we likely didn’t realize how much our ticket purchase and subsequent viewership was helping the media giants producing these films, or how such financial success led to the creation of famous sequels like “Toy Story” Nos. 2, 3, and 4. But you might be surprised to know now just how much money each of these hit children’s movies made at the time of their release. (These are the highest-grossing kids’ movies of all time.)
To determine not just the highest-grossing but the most profitable kids movies of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on worldwide box office and production budgets for movies rated “G” by the Motion Picture Association from The Numbers, an online movie database owned by Nash Information Services. (G-rated films not obviously aimed at children – like “Gone With the Wind” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” were excluded from consideration.)
Movies were ranked based on the ratio of worldwide box office receipts to production budget, with data for both adjusted for inflation using historical ticket prices from the National Association of Theater Owners. Supplemental data on average user ratings from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, and Tomatometer scores from Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, are current as of March 2022.
40. Toy Story 3 (2010)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.34
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $1.2 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $232.2 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (805,717 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (309 reviews)
The penultimate film in the Toy Story franchise, “Toy Story 3” tells the bittersweet tale of Andy’s departure to college and our favorite toys’ adventures from Andy’s house to a chaotic daycare to a new child. Did you know that Pixar teased “Cars 2” inside Andy’s room in this movie?
39. Toy Story 4 (2019)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.37
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $1.1 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $200 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (234,149 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (453 reviews)
The fourth and final installment of the Toy Story film series gives a warm-hearted sendoff to everyone’s favorite cowboy, as Woody leaves Buzz and the gang for Bo-Peep, with the two living in the world on their own, without a child to care for. The film also has an all-star cast, including Key and Peele, Keanu Reeves, Carl Weathers, and more.
38. Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.38
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $223.8 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $41.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (55,033 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55% (129 reviews)
This garden-set spin on the Shakespearean classic stars James McAvoy and Emily Blunt voicing the title characters. Initially, Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet were set to star as the star-crossed lovers, but were later recast.
37. Rio (2011)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.42
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $563.1 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $104 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (220,968 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 72% (150 reviews)
In a lesser-known animated film by 20th-Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, “Rio” stars Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway voicing the tale of a Minnesota-raised blue macaw who winds up in Rio de Janeiro without knowing how to fly. The plot was partially based on the true story of Presley, a rare Brazilian Spix’s macaw found living in Colorado.
36. Chicken Run (2000)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.42
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $387.1 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $71.4 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (187,103 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (173 reviews)
This stop-motion animated feature by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations tells the tale of Rocky Rhodes (Mel Gibson), a circus rooster who crash-lands into a barn full of desperate chickens, who he helps escape. Many of the small-scale objects in the film were real; sewing was done with toothpicks and that was a real lightbulb in Hut 17.
35. Pokémon the Movie 2000 (1999)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.45
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $296.2 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $54.3 million
> IMDb user rating: 6/10 (21,985 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (69 reviews)
Sometimes known with the subtitle “The Power of One,” this film centers around prophecy and such legendary Pokémon like Lugia, the god of the sea, the underworld, and the weather. Fun fact: Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were both considered for the role of the Collector, Lawrence III, in the movie’s English dubbed version. (The role went to a little-known actor names Neil Stewart.)
34. Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land (2002)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.49
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $173.5 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $31.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (19,981 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 45% (97 reviews)
A lesser-known sequel in the Disney franchise, “Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land” was released almost 50 years after the release of the original animated classic. One of the biggest reveals in this sequel is the names of the Lost Boys, which were never spoken in the original movie.
33. The Princess Diaries (2001)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.51
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $268 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $48.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (139,655 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 49% (117 reviews)
Directed by Garry Marshall, this hit comedy stars Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, with Hathaway, a teen from San Francisco, flying off to the imaginary principality of Genovia to learn the ways of royalty. The movie was co-produced by singer Whtiney Houston.
32. Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.64
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $206.6 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $36.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (41,894 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (134 reviews)
First TV, then film? It’s the best of both worlds. “Hannah Montana: The Movie” features all the sitcom’s stars, as well as Lucas Till and Melora Hardin of “Macgyver” and “The Office” fame, respectively.
31. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.64
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $527.2 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $93.5 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (33,048 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (28 reviews)
This 1954 film based on the famous novel of the same name by Jules Vern embarks a crew of mariners on the hunt for an alleged sea monster destroying ships out on the ocean. The film stars the late, great Kirk Douglas, father of actor Michael Douglas.
30. Toy Story 2 (1999)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.68
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $925.7 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $162.9 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (561,111 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (170 reviews)
Perhaps one of the most financially successful children’s movie sequels, “Toy Story 2” adds now-beloved toys Jessie (played by Joan Cusack) and Bullseye the Horse to the cast, and includes the gut-wrenching song “When Somebody Loved Me” by Sarah McLachlan.
29. Fantasia (1940)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$5.81
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $578.5 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $99.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (93,933 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (56 reviews)
Fantasia was one of Disney Animation Studio’s most ambitious projects to date, combining classical music with their stunning animation and featuring Disney’s most iconic character, Mickey Mouse. The sorcerer in the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” segment was named Yen Sid – Disney spelled backwards.
28. Ponyo (2008)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$6.03
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $261.7 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $43.4 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (137,824 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (172 reviews)
One of the small selection of Studio Ghibli classics, this film stars Matt Damon, Tina Fey, and Liam Neeson, and tells the heartwarming tale of a goldfish princess named Ponyo who falls in love with a boy from the land, Sosuke.
27. Pocahontas (1995)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$6.31
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $730.9 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $115.8 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (181,654 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55% (56 reviews)
Telling the tale of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower and their conflict with the Native Americans, “Pochahontas” is a story inspired by true people and events – as told by Disney. (Did you know that Pochahontas and John Smith never actually got married? The real life princess married John Rolfe.)
26. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$6.38
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $639.1 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $100.1 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (40,794 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 70% (37 reviews)
After a driver in a traffic jam tells the other drivers of his hidden treasure, he dies, and the assembled drivers race to get to the loot first. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards (winning the Best Sound Effects Oscar). The all-star cast of famed comedians included Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jonathan Winters (who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance), and Buddy Hackett.
25. Cars (2006)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$6.59
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $645.6 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $97.9 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (400,521 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 74% (202 reviews)
Owen Wilson stars as Lightning McQueen, the cocksure racecar gunning to be the world’s best and fastest racer in the circuit. As with any Pixar movie, the animation is top-notch. Every frame of the film reportedly took 17 process hours to render.
24. The Land Before Time (1988)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$6.66
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $182.7 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $27.4 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (86,323 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 70% (33 reviews)
This beloved dinosaur series began in 1988, following five young dinosaurs on a journey through a ravaged landscape in the hopes of reaching the legendary Great Valley and reuniting with their families. It was nominated for Best Family Animation or Fantasy Motion Picture”\ at the 10th annual Youth in Film Awards, losing out to Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice.”
23. The Jungle Book 2 (2003)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$7.00
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $212.6 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $30.4 million
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (16,120 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 18% (92 reviews)
A direct sequel to the 1967 animated film, “The Jungle Book 2” stars John Goodman as Baloo, and Haley Joel Osment as Mowgli, and reunites the rambunctious duo after Mowlgi has returned to the man village.
22. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$7.00
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $603.1 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $86.2 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (26,866 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 69% (42 reviews)
“Around the World in 80 Days” is a wondrous global adventure as Phileas Fogg embarks on a quest to win a bet that he can circumvent the planet in 80 days – while being chased by a policeman. The 1956 film won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
21. A Bug’s Life (1998)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$8.07
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $709.2 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $87.9 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (283,979 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (89 reviews)
The second official film out of Pixar Animation Studios, “A Bug’s Life” often gets confused with DreamWorks’ “Antz,” and is considered the sophomore slump of Pixar’s filmography. Still, the movie made an adjusted $709.2 million at the box office, and is reviewed well on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
20. Babe (1995)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$8.20
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $518.2 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $63.2 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (123,193 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (70 reviews)
Babe is a brilliant little piggie, and he can herd sheep. This 1995 movie was released in the Year of the Pig – and due to the rapid growth rate of piglets, 48 baby pigs had to be cast in the making of the movie.
19. The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$8.37
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $188.8 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $22.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 7/10 (26,945 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (19 reviews)
The fourth film of the Pink Panther franchise, this movie included a Julie Andrews cameo that ended up being cut. (She was meant to be a maid removing the unconscious, ever-bumbling Inspector Clouseau – Peter Sellers – from another character’s room.)
18. Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$9.40
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $312.9 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $33.3 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (122,953 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 51% (115 reviews)
Willem Dafoe stars alongside Rowan Atkinson in “Mr. Bean’s Holiday,” a 2007 comedy set in the south of France. There are red carpet scenes in the film, which were filmed at the actual Cannes Film Festival that year.
17. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$9.49
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $1.2 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $122.1 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (385,976 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (161 reviews)
One of the all-time classics of cinema, “The Wizard of Oz” has remained a movie masterpiece for almost 100 years. Many scenes featuring the Wicked Witch of the West, one of the most infamous cinema villains of all time, had to be cut from the movie, as her performance was thought to be too frightening for audiences.
16. The Muppet Movie (1979)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$9.58
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $284.3 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $29.7 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (35,415 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (52 reviews)
The Muppets meet for the first time in “The Muppet Movie,” a loveable 1979 film about Kermit the Frog’s ambition to become a movie star. Although it may look easy, the scene of Kermit riding a bicycle was one of the most technologically difficult feats of the whole film.
15. Finding Nemo (2003)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$9.96
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $1.4 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $142.8 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (1 million votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (269 reviews)
“Finding Nemo” is a film that blends family love with the very real, dark horrors of the ocean as a father clownfish searches desperately for his son. This film won the 2004 Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
14. The Lion King (1994)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$11.83
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $2.1 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $178 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1 million votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (130 reviews)
It’s the circle of life. “The Lion King” is considered by many to be Disney Animation Studios’ very best, with memorable moments and foot-tapping songs that every child and adult alike fell in love with. (Matthew Broderick, the voice of Simba, didn’t sing any of his lines. Simba’s singing voice was dubbed by lead singer of Toto, Joseph Williams.)
13. Toy Story (1995)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$12.18
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $769.2 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $63.2 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (953,300 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (92 reviews)
Pixar’s first official movie as an animation studio, “Toy Story” starred the already famous Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, and was considered an instant classic. The Academy of Motion Pictures awarded director John Lasseter a special Oscar in 1996 “for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film”, as the film’s advancements in CGI at the time were unprecedented.
12. Peter Pan (1953)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$13.25
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $990.5 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $74.8 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (135,731 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (37 reviews)
Although it now includes many problematic sequences and illustrations, “Peter Pan” remains one of the more successful films out of Disney Animation Studios. Here’s a little-known fact: The character of Peter Pan originally appeared in J.M. Barrie’s adult novel “The Little White Bird” as a seven-day-old boy taught by fairies and birds to fly.
11. The Black Stallion (1979)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$14.00
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $140.2 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $10 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (12,643 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (29 reviews)
A young boy named Alec and a magnificent black horse manage to survive a shipwreck off the coast of Africa, and when they’re safe on dry land, the boy teaches the horse to race. Walter Farley, author of the original novel, was afraid of having his work adapted to film, but later said “They did a beautiful job” after witnessing its commercial success.
10. Mary Poppins (1964)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$17.05
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $768.1 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $45 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (167,891 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (55 reviews)
“Mary Poppins,” starring Julie Andrews and Diсk Van Dyke, managed a miraculous blend of live action and animation in a movie teaching children the importance of positivity, fun, and play. The magical, musical nanny is based on a character from a series of books by Australian-born author P .L. Travers.
9. Aladdin (1992)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$18.00
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $1.1 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $61.8 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (396,294 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (74 reviews)
A diamond in the rough… it’s Aladdin of Agrabah. Filled with iconic songs and performances, most notably from the late Robin Williams as the Genie of the Lamp, this animated classic was adapted from the Arabic folktales collected in “One Thousand and One Nights.”
8. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$20.58
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $895.5 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $43.5 million
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (436,398 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (118 reviews)
This wondrously creepy feature out of Disney Animation tells the tale of a prince-turned-beast seeking love before he is trapped in his beastly form forever. Based on a classic French fairytale, the film adaptation won Best Musical Score and Best Original Song at the 1992 Academy Awards.
7. Pinocchio (1940)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$22.50
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $2.2 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $100 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (140,694 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (56 reviews)
Pinnochio was a box office monster in 1940, bringing in $2.2 billion when adjusted for inflation. Every cuckoo clock in Geppetto’s home was built to function in real life before the animators could properly animate them?
6. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$23.99
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $1.5 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $63.6 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (193,827 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (54 reviews)
This classic fairytale by Walt Disney won him an honorary custom-made Academy Award, consisting of one standard Oscar alongside seven small ones. It was also nominated for Best Original Music.
5. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$24.94
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $350.1 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $14 million
> IMDb user rating: 4.9/10 (61,544 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 63% (131 reviews)
The last of this famous musical trilogy of the 2000’s, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” did not go into production without its share of scandals. Following a leak of nudе pictures of star Vanessa Hudgens, there was speculation as to whether or not she would be involved – but happily, Disney kept her in the film.
4. March of the Penguins (2005)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$39.20
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $190.5 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $4.9 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (57,642 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (184 reviews)
Narrated by the godly voice of Morgan Freeman, “March of the Penguins” follows the long annual journey of emperor penguins across the Antarctic. A French effort, it won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
3. Benji (1974)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$63.12
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $153 million
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $2.4 million
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (4,764 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (7 reviews)
Benji is one smart pup. This film sets him on an adventure to save two of his favorite human children from their captors, while he falls in love with a Maltese named Tiffany. Alfred Hitchcock once revealed that this film was a guilty pleasure for him.
2. Cinderella (1950)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$90.89
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $5.5 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $60.3 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (155,712 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (35 reviews)
Perhaps the most famous princess of all, Cinderella made her Disney movie debut in 1950, bringing an inflation-adjusted $5.5 billion at the box office. Walt Disney himself said that one of his favorite pieces of animation comes in this film – the moment when Cinderella spins, her torn dress turning into a beautiful white ball gown.
1. Bambi (1942)
> Box office return per dollar invested in production: +$276.40
> Worldwide box office, inflation-adjusted: $8.9 billion
> Production budget, inflation-adjusted: $32.2 million
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (139,352 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (53 reviews)
One of the most successful animated features of all time, “Bambi” tells the tale of a young buck who loses his mother to hunters, and explores the forest with his friends to discover the beauty and horror that the natural world has in store. “Man,” who is the No. 20 villain on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains in film, is the only one who never appears on camera.