There is nothing more appealing to an onlooker than an adventure in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. In cinema, this genre goes back to before the golden age. The 1902 silent film titled A trip to the moon represented a new era of filmmaking. It transported the audience from our own world to a world we’ve never seen before.
Science fiction movies are hugely profitable, especially if they’re a bit nostalgic. The highest-grossing films are actually all just part of four (and more coming soon avatar, five) franchises — Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Transformersand the MCU. This is undoubtedly the highest grossing genre in cinema, but crossing the billion dollar mark is an achievement only a few have set. But which films have achieved this and why have they succeeded so well?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – $1,058,682,142
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the first of the Star Wars solo stories and possibly the most popular among fans. It sent audiences back to the original trilogy timeline and connected it to the prequel trilogy with a fairly smooth bridge. Which, however, helped bring spectators to the theater for this solo Star Wars adventure was the marketing with subtle hints at Darth Vader’s return to the big screen. This return is everything fans could have wished for, and it even gave a much darker layer to the character that we’ve never seen before.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – $1,074,149,279
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the movie to end the Skywalker Saga, of course it would have a huge interest from the start. However, many fans of the franchise were disappointed with the film’s commercial appeal and cookie-cutter performance instead of delivering on its promises.
While Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a completed deviation from what Star Wars had proven to be, it was inventive and new. However, this final installment in the saga was as safe as it could have been, still grossing over a billion dollars worldwide.
Transformers: Age of Extinction – $1,104,054,072
Transformers: era of extinction was the fourth film in this explosive live-action franchise. However, it was the first that did not feature the star of the first three films, Shia LaBeouf. The earlier movie in the franchise, Transformers: Dark of the Moon also showed a departure from Megan Fox’s character following disputes between director Michael Bay.
However, Transformers: era of extinction used a formula that guaranteed financial success. It featured Mark Wahlberg as the protagonist and brought back fan favorite Autobots including Optimus Prime. The movie ran for nearly three hours and was as loud and explosive as it gets…and it paid off financially.
Jurassic Park – $1,109,802,321
Steven Spielberg was on the “Mount Rushmore” of filmmakers long before this 1993 masterpiece, but Jurassic Park brought cinema (and the 1990s) into a whole new era. Technology changed for the better and dinosaurs became real again. The cast had a dynamic that we feel to this day. John Williams’ epic music and Richard Attenborough’s iconic line transported audiences around the world to a park we now know all too well.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon: $1,123,794,079
Transformers: Dark of the Moon tried to take the franchise in a new direction, and that’s meant literally. The Autobots and Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) somehow find themselves in a space race to the moon. Similar to the first two Transformers live action movies, Dark of the moon was nominated for three Academy Awards in the technical categories. The film is a roller coaster of explosions and giant robot battles. This is a surefire way to get the audience in their seats, and they came en masse.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: $1,310,466,296
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the second installment of the Jurassic world franchise. After the immensely overwhelming financial success (which we’ll get to in a minute) of its predecessor, this movie had a lot to live up to. Audiences saw the return of fan favorite Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) and Dr. Wu (played by BD Wong) promised. This sequel teased a possible reunion of the original cast and the new one, which we got to see in the next episode, Jurassic World: Dominion which also surpassed $1 billion at the box office.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: $1,332,698,830
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is one of the most divisive and controversial films ever made. This may have contributed to it being one of the most profitable of all time because… people wanted to see what the fuss was all about. However, it showed a huge shift in tone and visual presentation compared to all the other films in the saga.
Director Rian Johnson went completely rogue about this (no pun intended). In addition, at nearly three hours in length, it is the longest film in the entire series. The audience was shocked, confused and in awe of the spectacle.
Jurassic World: $1,671,537,444
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Jurassic world was one of two explosive films in 2015. Director Colin Trevorrow, who almost had a draw Star Wars also the sequel saga certainly provided a fun ride to a new world. Chris Pratt had already become a headliner after his role as Star-Lord in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Universe just a year earlier.
Pratt and the nostalgia for the existing franchise helped get audiences into their seats, the compelling visuals and sequences like Bryce Dallas Howard’s now-famous high-heeled sprint from a T. rex brought us back again and again. There are also new dinosaurs, and they are much bigger.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – $1,916,306,995
We live in the greatest nostalgia boom of all time. With the success of avengers: endgame, Fans thought they had seen it all. But with Spider-Man: No Way Home, what else would Marvel have in store? Two extra webslingers, that’s what!
These web-slingers are all too familiar, and it just felt right to see the three Spider-Men join the fight against well-known villains like Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. It made sense and it had a heart. The key to this movie’s success was in the writing, all three Spideys had an arc, continued or new, and this movie helped either wrap up or continue their story.
Avengers: Infinity War: $2,048,359,754
There will be no experience like seeing Avengers: Infinite War For the first time. Audiences have returned time and time again to see the beginning of an indescribable conclusion to a decade-long Infinity Saga. Josh Brolin brought humanity to Thanos and the movie told the story from this villain’s perspective. The movie was brutal but so satisfying, making for one of the biggest sci-fi blockbusters of all time, and the highest grossing.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: $2,069,521,700
2015 was a whole year; in addition to Jurassic world roaring into the cash register, we’d have a brand new one Star Wars movie that Christmas. The build up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens was unlike any movie we had ever seen before. It introduced a new audience (the younger audience) and the already established fanbase to a new set of characters, but also promised to bring back the original trilogy cast, like Mark Hamill…well not quite, but he’s in the movie. However, there are cool new droids! The power awakens felt like one Star Wars movie and did its job of transporting audiences back to a galaxy far, far away.
Avengers: Endgame – $2,797,501,328
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Avengers: Endgame was as good an ending as you can imagine. It had everything fans wanted and more. Kevin Feige, The Russo Brothers, alongside the core Avengers cast, sent audiences into the stratosphere with this incredible work of comic books.
While filmmakers like Scorsese and Tarantino have dabbled in Marvel movies, the audience’s reaction to Captain America wielding the hammer and the entire cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming together in one sequence is why this movie was so widely watched. The common experience of seeing this hit in the theaters cannot be denied or ignored.
Avatar – $2,922,917,914
The highest-grossing sci-fi movie of all time is also the biggest blockbuster ever made – avatar. James Cameron’s idea was not easily implemented. He and the visual effects team had to come up with new ways to develop motion capture and make the audience believe that what they’re seeing is a real world they could visit for themselves. Finally, with the help of Disney Imagineers, they were able to do that. However, avatar was clearly a commercial success, but the connection to nature and the cultural relevance in this film has made it a cinema staple and a modern classic.