The Best Movies That Made More Than $1 Billion

These days, it seems like every couple of weeks a new Hollywood blockbuster tops $1 billion at the box office. It’s not exactly that frequent (though we’re sure the studios would love if it was), but it’s happening more and more often. As budgets for the biggest tentpoles of the summer and the fall seasons continue to inflate into the hundreds of millions, distributors are pulling out all the stops to make sure they make good on their investment. Sometimes, when the stars align, it all pays off, and audiences flock to the multiplex in droves to snag a ticket for the latest must-see movie. But are all of these movies really worth the money they cost or earn?

We’d say some of them definitely are, and for this list we’re counting down the ten best movies that earned $1 billion at the global box office. Our picks include a sequel to a beloved animated kids’ movie, one of the best popcorn adventure films ever made, and eight more titles in between. Sure, there are plenty of worthy contenders for this list that didn’t quite make enough at the box office to make the cut, but you’ve gotta admit, all of the films below are pretty great.