Top Performing Movies Global

Ever wonder which movies actually made the most money worldwide? This page ranks the top 50 highest-grossing films of all time, so you can see the numbers, where they made the most, and what genres keep showing up at the top.

Every year a handful of movies pull in more money than entire industries. This list looks at the 50 biggest earners of all time, ranked by how much they made outside the US and Canada.

A few names show up again and again. Marvel movies, Avatar sequels, and Star Wars films dominate the top spots, but they're not alone.

China has become the market that decides whether a movie becomes a true blockbuster. Most of the films below list China as their top-earning country.

Animated films and family adventures also punch above their weight. Frozen, Zootopia, and Inside Out all cracked the top 20.

Release dates matter too. Summer and December are still the go-to windows for a film chasing box office records.

Scroll through the table to see the full ranking, then check out the breakdown and glossary below for more context on what the numbers mean.

Table 1. Top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time, ranked by all-time international box office gross.
Rank Movie Release Date Biggest
Territory		 Genre All-Time International Gross
1 Avatar Dec 17, 2009 China Action $2,138,484,377
2 Ne Zha 2 (哪吒之魔童闹海) Jan 29, 2025 China Action $1,977,903,876
3 Avengers: Endgame Apr 23, 2019 China Action $1,859,130,922
4 Avatar: The Way of Water Dec 9, 2022 China Action $1,634,092,522
5 Titanic Dec 18, 1997 Japan Drama $1,548,588,773
6 Spider-Man: Brand New Day Jul 20, 2026 China Action $1,516,250,953
7 Zootopia 2 Nov 26, 2025 China Adventure $1,442,179,131
8 Avengers: Infinity War Apr 25, 2018 China Action $1,369,342,759
9 Furious 7 Apr 1, 2015 China Action $1,157,058,375
10 Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force … Dec 16, 2015 United Kingdom Adventure $1,119,384,610
11 The Lion King Jul 11, 2019 China Adventure $1,117,816,360
12 Spider-Man: No Way Home Dec 14, 2021 United Kingdom Action $1,106,395,051
13 The Odyssey Jul 15, 2026 United Kingdom Adventure $1,086,427,499
14 Avatar: Fire and Ash Dec 17, 2025 China Action $1,086,046,702
15 Inside Out 2 Jun 12, 2024 Mexico Adventure $1,045,883,622
16 Jurassic World Jun 9, 2015 China Action $1,017,657,016
17 Frozen II Nov 20, 2019 China Musical $974,279,738
18 The Fate of the Furious Apr 7, 2017 China Action $963,244,567
19 Avengers: Age of Ultron Apr 22, 2015 China Action $936,311,111
20 Harry Potter and the Deathly … Jul 13, 2011 United Kingdom Adventure $929,323,867
21 The Avengers Apr 25, 2012 China Action $891,742,301
22 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Jun 6, 2018 China Action $890,603,542
23 Frozen Nov 22, 2013 South Korea Musical $868,300,409
24 Transformers: Age of Extincti… Jun 25, 2014 China Action $858,614,996
25 Minions Jun 17, 2015 United Kingdom Adventure $821,225,989
26 Aquaman Dec 6, 2018 China Action $813,800,000
27 Barbie Jul 19, 2023 United Kingdom Comedy $810,900,000
28 Skyfall Oct 26, 2012 Germany Action $806,166,704
29 Iron Man 3 Apr 24, 2013 South Korea Action $805,638,684
30 Pirates of the Caribbean: On … May 19, 2011 Australia Adventure $804,642,000
31 Wolf Warrior 2 (战狼2) Jul 27, 2017 China Action $788,259,983
32 The Super Mario Bros. Movie Apr 4, 2023 Japan Adventure $784,291,945
33 Transformers: Dark of the Moon Jun 29, 2011 Action $771,403,536
34 Despicable Me 3 Jun 14, 2017 China Adventure $768,185,357
35 Hi, Mom (你好, 李焕英) Feb 12, 2021 China Drama $767,409,308
36 Beauty and the Beast Mar 16, 2017 Japan Musical $755,747,521
37 The Battle at Lake Changjin Sep 30, 2021 China Action $754,584,694
38 Captain America: Civil War Apr 22, 2016 China Action $743,815,237
39 Joker Oct 2, 2019 France Thriller/Suspense $743,300,000
40 The Lord of the Rings: The Re… Dec 17, 2003 Japan Adventure $742,764,991
41 Spider-Man: Far From Home Jun 27, 2019 China Action $740,936,182
42 Ne Zha (哪吒之魔童降世) Jul 17, 2019 China Adventure $739,022,963
43 Top Gun: Maverick May 20, 2022 United Kingdom Action $733,430,541
44 Ice Age: Continental Drift Jun 27, 2012 Germany Adventure $718,443,294
45 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Jou… Dec 11, 2012 Germany Adventure $711,934,977
46 Captain Marvel Mar 6, 2019 China Action $702,746,255
47 Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last … Dec 13, 2017 United Kingdom Adventure $702,399,689
48 Deadpool & Wolverine Jul 24, 2024 United Kingdom Action $701,327,787
49 The Hobbit: The Desolation of… Dec 12, 2013 Australia Adventure $701,116,914
50 Alice in Wonderland Mar 4, 2010 Japan Adventure $691,300,000
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Spotlight: China's Box Office Dominance

Biggest Territory, Top 5 Films
RankMovieBiggest Territory
1AvatarChina
2Ne Zha 2China
3Avengers: EndgameChina
4Avatar: The Way of WaterChina
5TitanicJapan

Look at the top 5 movies and a pattern jumps out: four out of five made their biggest money in China. Titanic is the outlier, and that makes sense, it came out in 1997, long before China had the theater chains it does now. These days, if a blockbuster wants to break records, it pretty much has to win over Chinese audiences. That's not a small trend either; it holds up across most of the top 50.

Glossary of Key Terms

All-Time International Gross
How much money a movie has made from ticket sales outside the US and Canada, added up over its entire run. Not adjusted for inflation.
Biggest Territory
Whichever country brought in the most money for that movie.
Territory
Basically a market, usually a country, like China, Japan, or the UK, tracked separately in box office reports.
Genre
The type of movie it is, like Action, Drama, or Musical.
Wide Release
When a movie opens in tons of theaters at once instead of rolling out slowly, usually so it can rack up a big opening weekend.
Box Office
The money a movie earns from ticket sales. It's the main way people measure a film's success.