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The Top 10 Sci-Fi Films Ranked by Box Office
For the last few weeks, we’ve been ranking the virus and pandemic movies in a variety of ways. Now let’s change it up just a little and take a look at sci-fi films ranked by box office ticket sales. So what should you do with these lists? How about challenging yourself to binge every one of them? Or maybe they can lead to a great discussion about which movie is better. Is a movie better than another because it made more at the box office? Which Avengers movie should really be number one? Let us know what you think, but in the meantime, let’s take a closer look at all of them.
The Top 10 Sci-Fi Films Ranked by Box Office
10. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Every movie on this list has grossed more than one billion worldwide at the box office. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the 2018 sequel to Jurassic World rounds out the top 10 list with a bottom line of $1,308,467,44. Once again, the movie stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum. The movie focuses on Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as they rescue dinosaurs before a volcanic eruption destroys the island.
9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
In ninth place is Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a great movie from 2017 that was the second installment of the Lucasfilm trilogy. It didn’t do as well as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it still makes an impressive showing with $1,332,539,989 in worldwide ticket sales. What a cast with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Frank Oz.
8. Black Panther
Coming in eighth is one of the best Marvel superhero films. Released in 2018, Black Panther is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It starred Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. The story focuses on T’Challa is crowned king of Wakanda following his father’s death, but it isn’t that easy as Killmonger begins a global revolution. The movie grossed $1,346,913,161.
7. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Once again, a sequel that didn’t do as well as its predecessor, but not by much and still makes more than a billion dollars anyway. The 2015 movie Avengers: Age of Ultron is the sequel to the 2012 The Avengers and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson. In this movie, the Avengers fight Ultron which can cause human extinction. It’s considered the second most expensive movie budget ever at $365 million and grossed $1,405,403,694.
If it were up to the Marvel cinematic universe, the Avengers movies probably wouldn’t end and for good reason. They were fun, action-packed movies that knew how to draw audiences. The Avengers was released in 2012 and focuses on Nick Fury and the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. who recruit Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, and Thor to stop Loki from destroying Earth. The movie grossed $1,518,812,988.
5. Jurassic World
Back to the dinosaurs and the 2015 Jurassic World which was a sequel the 1993 classic Jurassic Park. The sequel is set 22 years later and still takes place on Isla Nublar. Does this sound familiar — the plot is that a dinosaur escapes from its enclosure and goes on a rampage. Audiences love the franchise and the movie grossed $1,671,713,208.
4. Avengers: Infinity War
Remember, this list is based on box office receipts, not personal opinions as to what was right and wrong with the Avengers series. You can debate it forever, but you can’t debate its success. Avengers: Infinity War was released in 2018 as the sequel to The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). This film includes the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy as they team up to prevent Thanos from collecting the six all-powerful Infinity Stones and killing the world. The movie grossed $2,048,359,754.
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Released in 2015, this film was the first installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following Return of the Jedi (1983). There’s so much history and storytelling to write about in this franchise and you can write books about it, so instead we’ll focus on the numbers, which are impressive. The movie grosses $2,068,223,624.
2. Avatar
James Cameron’s Avatar came out in 2009 and the box office exploded. The film was thrilling and used new cinematic technologies and audiences absolutely loved it. It’s set in the mid-22nd century when humans are colonizing Pandora, when a paraplegic Marine becomes torn between following his orders and protecting his world. The movie grossed a whopping $2,789,679,794.
- Avengers: End Game
Taking the top spot away from Avatar which held the spot for 10 years is Avengers: The End Game, which eeked in over Avatar with $2,797,800,564. The movie was released in 2019 and is the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, featuring an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin. Did the group finally capture or eliminate Thanos or not? The film had an absolutely thrilling emotional ending worthy of its accolades.
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