10 Best Selling Films

Wantt o know what the 10 best selling films are? Even in hard economic times, the movie industry has survived while continuing to produce best selling films. In 2009, during the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, “Avatar” became the first movie to surpass $2 billion while U.S. box office alone surpassed $10.6 billion. Since 1997, six movies have broke the billion dollar box office mark.

1. “Avatar” - “Avatar” has many things going for it. The advent of 3D filmmaking made the film a curiosity. James Cameron mastered the technique like no other film before it and, as a result, people flocked to see it. It is both the domestic and worldwide best selling film of all time. It is also the only film to surpass $2 billion worldwide with $2.73 billion.
2. “Titanic” - The same man who directed the top film on the list also directed the number two best selling film of all time. In 1997, James Cameron recreated the sinking of the Titanic in a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The movie won eleven Oscars and brought in $1.84 billion worldwide.
3. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” - The final chapter in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy won eleven Academy Awards and surpassed $1 billion in under ten weeks. The 2004 Academy Award winning Best Picture earned $1.12 billion as one of the best selling films worldwide.
4. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” - The sequel to the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” made more than $500 million more than its predecessor did. The movie received four Academy Award nominations and earned 1.06 billion worldwide.
5. “Alice in Wonderland” - “Alice in Wonderland” is a movie that might have received help from the advent of 3D filmmaking. 3D films cost more to attend then the 2D versions and that allows the amount of money earned to inflate. The interesting thing about the movie is it only earned $334 million in the U.S. but surpassed $1.02 billion worldwide.
6. “The Dark Knight” - The Christopher Nolan reboot of the “Batman” franchise is the only comic book adaptation to reach the $1 billion mark worldwide. The movie earned Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his performance as The Joker, one of the reasons “The Dark Knight” remains one of the best selling films of all time.
7. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” - Three “Harry Potter” films rank on the Top 10 best selling films list. The first is the original movie in the series, “The Sorcerer’s Stone.” The movie was the best selling movie of 2001, bringing in $969 million worldwide.
8. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End” - The third film in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise is the second film from the series on this list. While it is the lowest critically rated movie in the trilogy on “Rotten Tomatoes”, fans still flocked to see it, making it one of the best selling films with $958 million worldwide.
9. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” - The second “Harry Potter” film on the list is the sixth movie in the series, “Order of the Phoenix.” Based on the longest book in the series, the movie earned $937 million worldwide to earn a spot on the best selling films list.
10. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” - The third “Harry Potter” film on the list is 2009’s “Half-Blood Prince.” The tenth best selling film of all time earned $933 million with $301 million in the U.S. alone.