All Billion-Dollar Movies In Order (Avatar: Fire and Ash)
The latest: Following in the footsteps of Ne Zha 2, Lilo & Stitch, and Zootopia 2, Disney’s Avatar: Fire and Ash reaches the $1 billion milestone in less than three weeks.
We heard it in a Hollywood movie once: “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.”
And in this town, it’s true. A movie making that minimum seven figures isn’t cool, it’s a box office bomb. But 10 figures? Now we’re talking. Cracking a billion dollars globally requires a mighty recipe of the hottest stars, the shiniest filmmaking technology, and an engaging plot with twists and turns that never becomes super-duper complicated. And, of course, you’ll need an audience willing to turn out in droves the world over, from America to Lebanon to Zambia.
It’s a compelling window into our era of blockbusters and inflation. The Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean series each have multiple entries, in the years before the franchises were run into the ground. Alice in Wonderland showed the way for Disney and these newfangled live-action remakes. The last Lord of the Rings was rewarded by fans with the highest gross of the trilogy, goodwill that transferred into The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and then evaporated after that. The presence of the Jurassic and Star Wars movies, along with Skyfall, shows you can still wring plenty of money out of the long-running James Bond franchise.
Then there’s the superheroes. The Dark Knight movies officially ushered in the era of big business for those who take their comic-book moviemaking seriously. Marvel took a lighter step, focusing on interconnected stories that create serious FOMO for those who skip the multiplex line, in movies like Avengers, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther.
Re-releases of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was enough to get it over the edge, while Spider-Man: No Way Home had no problem swinging over the line the first time. In 2022, Top Gun: Maverick landed in the billion zone, followed by Jurassic World: Dominion‘s slow crawl to the finish line. And James Cameron had one last wet stocking stuffer: Avatar: The Way of Water.
And in 2023, Super Mario Bros. went and foot-stomped the competition, hitting the billion-dollar goal in just 26 days. Then Barbie painted the world pink, reaching the milestone in just 17 days, and becoming the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman.
With 2024, Inside Out 2 shook off the box office doldrums (and revitalized Pixar‘s reputation as a theatrical studio) with its 19-day sprint to the billion line, the fastest ever for an animated movie. And in its seventh week, it surpassed Frozen II as the highest-grossing animated movie ever, reaching $1.46 billion worldwide. And Disney continues the streak with Deadpool & Wolverine, the naughty/nostalgic roast of the MCU and tribute to the Fox era of Marvel movies.
For 2025, Lilo & Stitch is the first billion dollar-grossing American production, following China’s animated sequel Ne Zha 2 and Disney’s Zootopia 2.
And if you want to go more in-depth, check out our article on The 50 Highest-Grossing Movies Ever, which includes some of those lesser specimens that couldn’t quite break a billion.
66%
90%
91%
96%
72%
91%
91%
98%
91%
94%
78%
94%
88%
83%
59%
95%
96%
99%
76%
92%
29%
77%
93%
97%
96%
94%
94%
90%
91%
95%
79%
45%
77%
92%
68%
89%
57%
94%
52%
88%
51%
86%
96%
79%
93%
84%
85%
92%
66%
72%
47%
48%
91%
41%
71%
79%
67%
72%
58%
53%
98%
92%
94%
84%
90%
89%
84%
87%
93%
84%
81%
82%
75%
82%
72%
78%
55%
49%
18%
50%
89%
85%
79%
78%
92%
86%
91%
91%
87%
90%
64%
83%
96%
89%
35%
55%
32%
54%
98%
90%
51%
55%
81%
82%
94%
94%
53%
72%
94%
86%
80%
82%
54%
59%
88%
69%
91%
91%
