How do you define a popular movie? Do we consider the amount of money it made? The reviews it received? The impact it has had and continues to have on popular culture?
Well, how about all of those things, and more?
We’ve created a list of the 10 most popular movies of all time according to data from RottenTomatoes, Wikipedia, and Box Office Mojo. Bear in mind that neither we nor the statistics are saying that these are necessarily the best movies ever made … but they all had a huge impact on the moviegoing public.
10. Avatar (2009)
Worldwide gross: $2,923,706,026
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 82%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 81%
Oscars: 9 nominations, 3 wins (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects)
James Cameron’s Avatar is still, to this day, the highest-grossing movie of all time. You probably won’t see it on many “best of” lists, though. Its plot and characters are nothing to write home about, and the politics of the franchise are awful. But it did absolutely conquer the box office—as did its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. There’s no denying that Avatar is very popular …. you’re just not likely to see much in the way of actual fandom for it.
9. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Worldwide gross: $2,797,501,328
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 90%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 94%
Oscars: 1 nomination
The conclusion to the MCU’s Infinity Saga was a big, exciting, very successful event movie. You’ll find plenty of people who think the MCU should have ended with Endgame, actually, and gone out on a high.
The universe-ending stakes of this movie and the deaths of some beloved characters ensured that Endgame was a film people would be talking about for years to come. It’s still considered one of the best MCU flicks … and it’s the second highest-grossing film of all time.
8. Jaws (1975)
Worldwide gross: $476,512,065
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 90%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 97%
Oscars: 4 nominations, 3 wins (Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound)
Probably no other film has had the negative environmental impact Jaws did. Yep, this, unfortunately, was a case of a film’s massive popularity leading to something bad. “I truly, and to this day, regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and the film,” director Steven Spielberg told BBC Radio 4 in 2022.
Luckily, these days, sharks are much better understood. You’re staggeringly unlikely to be killed by one. And now, most people have come to realize that the real villain of Jaws was the mayor.
7. Frozen (2013)
Worldwide gross: $1,290,000,000
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 85%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 90%
Oscars: 2 nominations, 2 wins (Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song)
The biggest Disney film of its era. Frozen tells the story of a magical ice princess, Elsa, and the devastation she accidentally causes with her magic powers. Only her sister, Anna, can hope to save her.
This wasn’t Disney’s first film about sisters, but it perfected the studio’s formula so well that it remains a massively popular film and franchise. Frozen II came out in 2019 and grossed even more than the original, and a third film is in the works right now.
6. Jurassic Park (1993)
Worldwide gross: $1,037,535,230
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 91%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 91%
Oscars: 3 nominations, 3 wins (Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects)
So, how many times do you mutter “Life, uh, finds a way,” in day-to-day life? Lots? Maybe that one is just me. But Jurassic Park had a huge impact on both the movie world (it’s still the gold standard for realistic CGI) and the world of paleontology. “I was a teenager when Jurassic Park came out, and although I was already interested in dinosaurs by that time, its massive popularity meant I was no longer embarrassed about talking about such a career. I didn’t feel like a nerd,” scientist Dr Susannah Maidment told The Guardian in 2018.
Here’s to the nerds.
5. Titanic (1997)
Worldwide gross: $2,257,844,554
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 69%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 88%
Oscars: 14 nominations, 11 wins (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects)
Another James Cameron movie. Titanic is the sad tale of the famous maritime disaster that claimed the lives of 1,517 people, as told through the lens of an epic romance between rich girl Rose (Kate Winslet) and poor artist Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). It’s the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, and many people think that’s well-deserved. Just don’t think too much about whether Jack could have fit on that floating door with Rose.
4. Black Panther (2018)
Worldwide gross: $1,347,280,838
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 79%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 96%
Oscars: 7 nominations, 3 wins (Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Production Design)
No MCU film has yet had the cultural impact that Black Panther had. This tale of a young king, his country, his enemy, and his superpowers was the first superhero movie to get a nomination for Best Picture, and it still holds the record for the highest-grossing film by a Black director, Ryan Coogler.
Sadly, star Chadwick Boseman passed away from cancer in 2020. This film is a great showcase for his acting talents and a sad reminder that he wouldn’t ultimately have the long, illustrious career he deserved.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Worldwide gross: $1,147,997,407
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 86%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 94%
Oscars: 11 nominations, 11 wins (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects)
The Lord of the Rings was the franchise that put fantasy movies back on the map, and its third installment, The Return of the King, made for the perfect end to an incredible movie trilogy. The One Ring is cast into the fires of Mount Doom and destroyed, Sauron is defeated, but all the characters are forever changed by the journey they took towards their victory.
Even the relatively negative reception the Hobbit movies received couldn’t take away from the sheer power of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
2. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Worldwide gross: $29,690,032
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 89%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 98%
Oscars: 6 nominations, 2 wins (Best Original Score, Best Song), plus honorary Oscar for Judy Garland
The Wizard of Oz has stood the test of time in a way very few films have done. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who hasn’t seen bits of The Wizard of Oz on TV at some point or at least heard one or two of the songs.
The Wizard of Oz‘s technological advancements changed the film industry forever, so it’s a shame that other aspects of the movie are a stain on it. Judy Garland was treated appallingly behind the scenes, as she was for most of her early career, and she carried that abuse with her long after she’d left Dorothy behind.
1. Star Wars (1977)
Worldwide gross: $3,443,000,000
RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 96%
RottenTomatoes Critic Score: 93%
Oscars: 11 nominations, 7 wins (Special Achievement Academy Award for sound designer Ben Burtt, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects)
We know this movie now as Episode IV: A New Hope, but back in the day it was just Star Wars. And it changed everything.
Suddenly, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia were in the world. Lightsabers were a thing, and they were so, so cool. Kids went to sleep dreaming of epic space battles. “May the Force be with you” became a common greeting among geeks all over the world. Everything we love about the Star Wars franchise now is thanks to that one little movie George Lucas didn’t even think would be successful—what an achievement.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/20th Century Fox)
