Only 44 movies have ever hit $1 billion at the box office — here they are

Minions movie mic drop Bob
Minions movie mic drop Bob

Illumination

  • Without adjusting for inflation, only 44 movies have made $1 billion or more at the box office.

  • "Joker" just joined the list and became the first R-rated movie to ever cross the billion-dollar mark.

  • See all the other billion-dollar films below.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more.

With movie ticket prices increasing and the resurgence of franchises like "Star Wars," films earning over $1 billion worldwide may become commonplace. But for now, there are only 43 movies from the last 25 years that have managed to join this exclusive club.

Using data from Box Office Mojo, we compiled a list of the highest-grossing movies that made $1 billion or more (not adjusting for inflation).

From "Minions" to "Aquaman" and more, keep reading for a look at the biggest box-office hits.

44. "Joker" (2019)

Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros

Total gross revenue: $1,000,000,000 (and counting)

This DC comic movie is the first R-rated movie to ever make $1 billion at the box office. Deadline announced the milestone, which came about six weeks after the movie premiered worldwide. Last month, "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds snarkily congratulated "Joker" on becoming the highest-grossing R-Rated movie of all time.

"Joker" already has Oscar-buzz, with critics praising Joaquin Phoenix's leading performance in the role of Arthur Fleck.



43. "The Dark Knight" (2008)

WB via YouTube

Total gross revenue: $1,004,600,000

Back in July of 2008, people began speculating that Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel starring Heath Ledger as the Joker might have the box-office power to set a world record.  "There are even whispers starting whether 'Dark Knight' can beat the incredible worldwide numbers posted by the all-time $1.8 billion benchmark of 'Titanic,'" Deadline reported.

Unfortunately "The Dark Knight" remains in nearly last place when it comes to highest-grossing movies of all time.



42. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012)

Warner Bros.

Total gross revenue: $1,021,100,000

When Peter Jackson's first "Hobbit" movie crossed the $1 billion mark, it appeared a good indication the subsequent two sequels would perform equally well, if not better, at the box office. But neither of the second two "Hobbit" films wound up crossing that box-office landmark. Both "The Desolation of Smaug" and "Battle of the Five Armies" made around $960,000,000 each.



41. "Zootopia" (2016)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,023,800,000

Disney's "Zootopia" is one of four animated features the studio has made that have crossed the $1 billion mark.

"Not only did it earn Disney Animation's biggest opening ever — debuting to $75 million," Entertainment Weekly reported in July 2016. "But it also set a record for the biggest animated March opening of all time."



40. "Alice In Wonderland" (2010)

Disney via YouTube

Total gross revenue: $1,025,500,000

When Tim Burton's take on the original Disney classic hit $1 billion at the box office in 2010, it was only the sixth ever film to do so. In the years since, more than 20 other films have joined the club — but the sequel to this live-action "Alice In Wonderland" was not among them. "Alice Through the Looking Glass" (2016) grossed $299,500,000 worldwide.



39. "Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace" (1999)

YouTube/LucasFilm

Total gross revenue: $1,027,000,000

"The Phantom Menace" was the first "Star Wars" movie to earn $1 billion, thanks to its 3D re-release in theaters 13 years after the original debut. Without that second surge of ticket purchases, the film would have stayed under $1 billion along with the original three movies.



38. "Finding Dory" (2016)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,028,600,000

Moviegoers flocked back to theaters in the summer of 2016 for Disney Pixar's "Finding Nemo" sequel. It was the second animated feature of 2016 to pass the $1 billion mark ("Zootopia" is the other). The box-office numbers also make "Finding Dory" the fifth highest-grossing animated movie of all time.

 



37. "Jurassic Park" (1993)

Universal

Total gross revenue: $1,029,200,000

Similar to "The Phantom Menace," a 3D re-release is responsible for putting "Jurassic Park" over the edge and into the $1 billion club. "Jurassic Park" wasn't originally released in China in 1993, according to a report from The Wrap. But the 20th anniversary international re-release included China — and the difference in ticket sales showed.



36. "Despicable Me 3" (2017)

Universal

Total Gross Revenue: $1,033,500,000 

"Despicable Me 3" was a sleeper hit of 2017. With the return of Gru, Lucy, and of course the Minions, this is the second movie in the franchise to gross over one billion dollars. The introduction of "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker as a new villain was clearly a smart move.



35. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (2011)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,045,700,000

There are four total "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies in the franchise — and two of them have joined the billion dollar club. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" sit behind the "Dead Man's Chest" installment of this particular Disney franchise.



34. "Aladdin" (2019)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,050,693,000 

Like many of the Disney live-action versions of animated classics, "Aladdin" did very well at the box office. "Aladdin" became one of Disney's record-breaking five movies to hit one billion dollars in 2019.



33. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016)

Disney/Lucasfilm

Total gross revenue: $1,056,100,000 

"Rogue One" cemented its place in the "Star Wars" franchise by raking in $1 billion just 39 days after the global release. The spinoff became the fourth and final movie of 2016 to make $1 billion at the box office. It's also worth noting that all four billion-dollar movies of 2016 were made by Disney.

 



32. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,066,200,000

Back in 2006, when the sequel to Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" hit theaters, it took just three months for the movie to make $1 billion at the box office. At that time, it was the third ever film to do so.



31. "Toy Story 3" (2010)

Pixar

Total gross revenue: $1,067,000,000

The third movie in the "Toy Story" franchise crossed the $1 billion mark in 2010 and made Disney history as Pixar's highest-grossing film of all time. The success of "Toy Story 3" helped push a fourth movie into Disney's animated movie plan.

Read more: 10 things you didn't know about 'Toy Story 4'



30. "Toy Story 4" (2019)

Disney/Pixar

Total gross revenue: $1,073,166,000 

With "Toy Story 4" also crossing this milestone, Disney became the first movie studio to create five billion-dollar movies in a single year. The movie joined its Disney comrades "Captain Marvel," "Aladdin," "Avengers: Endgame," and "The Lion King."



29. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)

Warner Bros.

Total gross revenue: $1,084,900,000 

Christopher Nolan's follow-up to "The Dark Knight" had became the 13th film in history to reach $1 billion in 2012. This achievement was remarkable, especially given concerns that the movie's success would be dampened after the Aurora theater shooting took place during a midnight screening of the film.

 

 



28. "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014)

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Total gross revenue: $1,104,000,000

Ah yes, the unstoppable box-office power of the "Transformers" franchise. According to The Wrap, "Age of Extinction" (the fourth movie) was made specifically with international audiences in mind — and it paid off. Almost a third of the total box-office revenue came from China alone.



27. "Skyfall" (2012)

Sony

Total gross revenue: $1,104,000,000

Ah yes, the unstoppable box-office power of the "Transformers" franchise. According to The Wrap, "Age of Extinction" (the fourth movie) was made specifically with international audiences in mind — and it paid off. Almost a third of the total box-office revenue came from China alone.



25. "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003)

New Line Cinema

Total gross revenue: $1,119,900,000

People came out in droves for the final installment of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. After only 10 weeks in theaters, "Return of the King" became the second movie ever in history to make $1 billion ("Titanic" was the first in 1997). The film went on to break an Academy Award record by sweeping all 11 categories for which it was nominated.



25. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011)

Paramount

Total gross revenue: $1,123,800,000

The third "Transformers" movie was the first Paramount picture to reach $1 billion at the box office. Just like with "Age of Extinction," the boost in ticket sales came largely from international movie audiences. This was the last "Transformers" movie which starred Shia LaBeouf.



24. "Captain Marvel" (2019)

Disney/Marvel

Total gross revenue: $1,098,100,000 (and counting)

Just over three weeks after its release date and record-breaking opening weekend, "Captain Marvel" crossed the billion-dollar mark for global box office sales.

"Captain Marvel" joins ranks with "Black Panther," all three "Avengers" movies, "Iron Man 3," and "Captain American: Civil War" for of billion-dollar Marvel movies.



23. "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019)

Sony Pictures

Total gross revenue: $1,131,846,000

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of this new milestone for the Spider-Man franchise as "Spider-Man: Far From Home" crossed the one-billion mark less than a month after its US premiere on July 2.

Read more: 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' has 2 end-credit scenes — here's what they mean for future Marvel movies



22. "Aquaman" (2018)

Warner Bros.

Total gross revenue: $1,147,100,000 (and counting)

On January 13, The Hollywood Reporter announced that "Aquaman" had become the first DC superhero movie to make one billion dollars at the box office. The movie was already breaking records in China before it had opened in the US in early December, and clearly it was all up from there.



21. "Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

Marvel

Total gross revenue: $1,153,300,000

And here we begin with the seemingly unstoppable success of Marvel universe movies. "Captain America: Civil War" was a blockbuster hit in 2016, and the first movie of that year to rake in $1 billion.



20. "Minions" (2015)

Illumination

Total gross revenue: $1,159,400,000

The 2015 prequel to "Despicable Me" focused only on the overall-wearing Minions the world had come to love. People clearly appreciated the yellow henchman's standalone film, since neither of the two "Despicable Me" movies have breached $1 billion.



19. "Iron Man 3" (2013)

Disney / Marvel

Total gross revenue: $1,214,800,000

Tony Stark swept away comic fans with the third movie of his trilogy, "Iron Man 3." It only took 23 days in the box office for the film to hit $1 billion. If anyone doubted the power of Robert Downey Jr.'s  success as Iron Man before, this movie was the final confirmation of his vital role in Marvel's franchise.



18. "The Fate of the Furious" (2017)

Universal

Total gross revenue: $1,235,800,000

In April 2017, the eighth movie in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise joined the billion dollar club.  Clearly Vin Diesel's creative control of these action-packed movies is paying off. This is the second movie from the franchise to make more than $1 billion.



17. "Incredibles 2" (2018)

Disney

Total Gross Revenue: $$1,242,800,000 

Despite the 14-year gap between the first Pixar original movie "The Incredibles" and its sequel, the critically acclaimed "Incredibles 2" created a new record as fastest animated film to gross one billion dollars at the box office.



16. "Beauty and the Beast" (2017)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,263,500,000

Also in April 2017, Walt Disney Studios announced that its live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast" had officially passed the $1 billion mark for global box-office sales. Its total revenue makes "Beauty and the Beast" the highest grossing film of 2017.

 



15. "Frozen" (2013)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,276,500,000

The global success of "Frozen" continues to maintain records for Disney. The movie currently holds the #1 spot as the highest-grossing animated feature of all time. "Frozen" joined the billion dollar club in the same week it nabbed two Oscars, as well.



14. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018)

Universal

Total Gross Revenue: $1,309,500,000

The second installment in Universal's rebooted "Jurassic Park" trilogy had an impressive opening weekend and then quickly grossed one billion dollars after just two weeks. The impressive numbers for "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" are a good indicator that the coming third film will be just as popular.



13. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017)

Lucasfilm

Total Gross Revenue: $1,332,500,000

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" crossed the $1 billion mark just three weeks after its release. This second installment in the new franchise made $500 million in its first weekend alone — though "The Force Awakens" still holds the record for biggest "Star Wars" opening weekend of all time with $529 million.



12. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two" (2011)

Warner Bros.

Total gross revenue: $1,341,500,000

Following the trend of some other franchises in our top list, the final "Harry Potter" film is the only one of the bunch that raked in $1 billion or more. The only other movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling's work that came close was "Sorcerer's Stone," which remains at $975 million total.



11. "Black Panther" (2018)

Disney

Total Gross Revenue: $1,346,900,000

"Black Panther" crossed this milestone in just 26 days after breaking the record for best February opening weekend of all time. This movie was the 16th Disney film to gross over one billion dollars.



10. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)

Marvel

Total gross revenue: $1,405,400,000

"Transformers," "The Dark Knight," and "Pirates of the Caribbean" are three franchises which each have two movies in the billion dollar club — and you can add "The Avengers" to that list.

The 2015 follow-up ensemble movie added James Spader as the terrifying new villain, and (surprising no one) "Age of Ultron" opened in the number one spot around the world.



9. "Furious 7" (2015)

Universal

Total gross revenue: $1,516,000,000

"Furious 7" broke records when it raced past the $1 billion box office mark in just 17 days. As Entertainment Weekly reported "that makes 'Furious' 7 the fastest live-action film to reach that number." But two other 2015 movies (coming later on our list) eventually bumped it to third place.

This was the last "Fast and Furious" movie to include Paul Walker, which some believe helped boost box-office numbers.

 



8. "Marvel's The Avengers" (2012)

Marvel

Total gross revenue: $1,518,800,000

The first "Avengers" movie brought together an all-star cast of comic book heroes — and Marvel's efforts were rewarded at the box office. The film passed $1 billion in ticket sales in just 19 days — which means it's tied for third place in the list of fastest grossing movies alongside "Avatar" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two."



7. "The Lion King" (2019)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $1,655,151,910 

After just under three weeks in theaters, Disney's remake of "The Lion King" crossed $1 billion dollars in total box-office gross. This was the fourth movie of 2019 to join the billion-dollar club.

The first three were "Spider-Man: Far From Home," "Avengers: Endgame," and "Captain Marvel".



6. "Jurassic World" (2015)

Universal

Total gross revenue: $1,670,400,000

"Jurassic World" broke all sorts of records. It bumped "Furious 7" out of the number one spot for fastest movie to make $1 billion when it broke the record in only 13 days. At the time it also stunned box-office analysts with the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time, besting "Marvel's The Avengers," with $208.8 million. Worldwide, it opened to over $500 million, making it the first movie to ever crack that number opening weekend.

That record didn't last long, however.



5. "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)

Marvel

Total gross revenue: $2,002,100,000 (and counting)

The third "Avengers" film broke the all-time world record with a $630 million opening weekend, proving the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise is stronger than ever. By mid-June, "Avengers: Infinity War" became only the fourth movie to ever crack the two-billion dollar ceiling as well.



4. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015)

Lucasfilm

Total gross revenue: $2,068,200,000

The seventh movie in the "Star Wars" franchise broke the "Jurassic World" records when box-office numbers tallied $1 billion after only 12 days. And it didn't stop there — "The Force Awakens" went on rake in more than $2 billion, solidifying its number three place on our list and becoming the highest-grossing "Star Wars" movie of all time.



3. "Titanic" (1997)

20th Century Fox

Total gross revenue: $2,187,500,000

Two decades later, James Cameron's "Titanic" is holding steady in its number-three spot for box-office records. The movie made around $1.8 billion during its initial 1997 release, and then topped $2 billion after it was re-released in 3D in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the iconic ship's sinking.



2. "Avatar" (2009)

Fox

Total gross revenue: $2,788,000,000

James Cameron's "Avatar" is also sitting pretty as the second-highest-grossing movie of all time. With more than $2.7 billion in box office revenue, it was miles ahead of other films on the list. But Disney's epic Marvel adventure "Avengers:Endgame" knocked it out of the top spot in the summer of 2019.



1. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019)

Disney

Total gross revenue: $2,797,800,000

Marvel's major endcap to its run of 22 comic-book based films broke the record for fastest movie to reach one-billion dollars in international box-office totals. On the Sunday of its opening weekend, Disney estimated "Avengers: Endgame" had made $1,209,000,000 within the first five days of its global debut.