Summary
- The highest-grossing summer blockbusters of all time are a testament to the success and popularity of major movie franchises that continue to thrive in the 21st century.
- These summer blockbusters, such as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Avengers: Age of Ultron, have achieved incredible box office success, breaking records and solidifying their place in cinematic history.
- Films like Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King have reached unprecedented levels of success, becoming some of the highest-grossing movies of all time and setting a high standard for future summer blockbusters.
The highest-grossing summer blockbusters of all time make up some of the biggest films ever made. They have collectively raised the bar of modern blockbusters in the 21st century, breaking all sorts of records at the box office that has cemented them as part of cinematic history for decades to come. Each of the highest-grossing summer blockbusters ever made represents the pinnacle efforts and performance of some of the most beloved movie franchises that have ever been constructed.
These 10 highest-grossing summer blockbusters of all time are indications of the major movie franchise that won't end anytime soon and perhaps never will. Many of these films' remarkable box office success and popularity capture the revolutionary evolution and expansion of 21st-century franchises such as Fast & Furious, Jurassic World, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will come to define the 2010s in cinematic history. Here are the 10 biggest summer blockbusters of all time at the box office (unadjusted for inflation).
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) - $1.3 Billion
The sequel to the original Jurassic World is the 10 highest-grossing summer blockbuster of all time with a whopping worldwide revenue of $1.3 billion. This figure is equivalent to roughly $1.528 million today adjusting for inflation. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom made nearly eight times its budget of $170 million and remains in the top 20 highest-grossing movies at the global box office of all time. It was the third most successful movie at the 2018 box office, which saw five total films cross the billion-dollar threshold at the box office.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) - $1.32bn
The eighth and final installment of the beloved Harry Potter franchise is the ninth highest-grossing summer blockbuster in cinematic history with $1.32 billion at the global box office. It was the best-performing movie of 2011 that saw two other billion-dollar titles, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the eighteenth highest-grossing movie of all time, with a modern-day revenue of $1.79 billion at the worldwide box office adjusting for inflation.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - $1.4bn
Avengers: Age of Ultron is the eighth-biggest summer blockbuster of all time with a total worldwide revenue of just under $1.4 billion or $1.8 billion adjusting for inflation. It was the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2015 and remains the fourteenth highest-grossing movie at the worldwide box office of all time, making over 67% of its total earning overseas. Avengers: Age of Ultron made nearly four times its production budget, which was an enormous $365 million, or roughly $470 million today.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - $1.48bn
Top Gun: Maverick brought large crowds back to the movies after the COVID-19 theater shutdowns, accumulating $1.48 billion globally in 2022. It outperformed just about every 2022 theatrical release with the exception of James Cameron's Avatar 2: The Way of Water which became the third-highest-grossing movie of all time with an astounding $2.32 billion worldwide revenue. Top Gun: Maverick became the launching pad for a big return to the movies in 2022 and played an integral role in revitalizing the suffering movie theater industry.
Furious 7 (2015) - $1.51bn
Furious 7 was only the third highest-grossing movie at the 2015 worldwide box office despite being the sixth-biggest summer blockbuster release of all time. 2015 was an incredibly lucrative year for Hollywood blockbusters and Furious 7 was a major part of that, becoming the eleventh highest-grossing film of all time with a total global revenue of $1.51 billion. Furious 7 is the most popular movie of the Fast & Furious franchise by a long shot, with 2017's The Fate of the Furious coming in second with $1.24 billion globally.
The Avengers (2012) - $1.52bn
The Avengers is the fifth-biggest summer blockbuster of all time with a staggering $1.52 billion at the 2012 box office, which is the modern-day equivalent of $2.02 billion. The Avengers became the highest-grossing movie of 2012 by a wide margin, with only Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey also crossing the billion-dollar mark. The Avengers is still in the top ten highest-grossing films ever made, which might change depending on the box office run of Barbie.
The Lion King (2019) - $1.65bn
The live-action remake of The Lion King is the fourth-biggest summer blockbuster ever made and the ninth-highest-grossing movie of all time with $1.65 billion at the global box office, or $1.97 billion adjusting for inflation. The Lion King sequel Mufasa: The Lion King is set for a 2024 summer release and could break all types of box office records following the massive success of the 2019 installment. The Lion King was remarkably one of nine movies that crossed the billion-dollar mark in 2019 and was only second to Avengers: Endgame at the global box office.
Jurassic World (2015) - $1.67bn
The original Jurassic World is the third-biggest summer blockbuster release of all time and the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time at $1.67 billion at the global box office, which is equivalent to $2.15 billion nowadays due to inflation. Jurassic World was the second highest-grossing movie of 2015, coming in second only to Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens's massive $2.07 billion worldwide box office ($2.67 billion today). Jurassic World was the most profitable installment of a franchise that accumulated over $4 billion across its three films.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - $2.05bn
Avengers: Infinity War is the second-highest grossing summer blockbuster of all time and the biggest movie of 2018 by a wide margin, accumulating $2.05 billion at the global box office or just shy of $2.5 billion adjusting for inflation. Avengers: Infinity War remains the sixth highest-grossing film of all time and the second-biggest installment of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers: Infinity War made nearly seven times its budget of $300 million and had a remarkable opening weekend at the box office of roughly $258 million.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) - $2.79bn
Avengers: Endgame is unsurprisingly the highest-grossing summer blockbuster of all time and the second-biggest movie of all time with a total revenue of $2.79 billion. Due to inflation, Avengers: Endgame would technically be the highest-grossing movie of all time with an adjusted total of $3.33 billion at the global box office. Avengers: Endgame absolutely dominated the 2019 summer box office in a landmark year for theatrical Hollywood releases, marking a culturally significant moment in cinematic history that has set an incredibly high bar for the biggest summer blockbusters to come in the future.
Source: The Numbers
