Mo' Money
What movies ruled the box office every year since Star Wars took the crown in 1977? Come find out. Just to note: We have compiled this list based on domestic box office figures.
1977: Star Wars
The force was with Star Wars in 1977 and it took home $221,280,994 in its initial domestic run.
20th Century, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
1978: Grease
Grease topped Superman by more than $20 million in 1978, grossing $159,989,585.
1979: Kramer Vs. Kramer
The Dustin Hoffman/Meryl Streep divorce drama ruled the domestic box office with $106,260,000.
Columbia Pictures, Kramer vs. Kramer
1980: The Empire Strikes Back
George Lucas struck back again, topping the North American box office with $209,398,025.
20Th Century, Star Wars- Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981: Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Audiences loved the first Indiana Jones movie, spending $212,222,025 at the box office.
Lucasfilm, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1982: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. did out of this world numbers, becoming the highest grossing movie of all time (at the time), and taking home over $600 million around the world, $359,197,037 of which came from the domestic box office.
Universal, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1983: Return Of The Jedi
Lucas returned to the top of the yearly list with Return of the Jedi in 1983, grossing $252,583,617 domestically.
20Th Century, Star Wars- Episode Vi - Return Of The Jedi (1983)
1984: Beverly Hills Cop
The Ghostbusters couldn't bust their way to number one, falling about $5 million short, behind Beverly Hills Cop's $234,760,478 box office haul.
Paramount, Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
1985: Back To The Future
Hey McFly! Back to the Future earned $211,850,472 at the North American box office in 1985.
Universal Pictures, Back to the Future (1985)
1986: Top Gun
Top Gun flew just ahead of Crocodile Dundee in 1986, taking in $176,781,728 compared to $174,803,506 for the latter.
Paramount Pictures, Top Gun (1986)
1987: Three Men And A Baby
Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, and a cute baby ruled the domestic box office in 1987 with $167,780,960.
Touchstone Pictures, 3 Men and a Baby (1987)
1988: Rain Man
Dustin Hoffman won the Oscar and first place at the domestic box office with Rain Man. The film grossed $172,825,435.
United Artists, Rain Man (1988)
1989: Batman
Tim Burton's dark, comic take on the caped crusader took home $251,188,924 at the North American box office.
1990: Home Alone
The film that made Macaulay Culkin one of the biggest child stars in the history of Hollywood grossed $285,761,243 at the domestic box office.
20th Century, Home Alone (1990)
1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
While the first Terminator movie only grossed $38 million domestically, the awesome sequel won the year in 1991, raking in $204,843,345.
Carolco Pictures, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
1992: Aladdin
Aladdin stayed one jump ahead of every other movie at the domestic box office in 1992, bringing in $217,350,219.
Walt Disney Pictures, Aladdin (1992)
1993: Jurassic Park
Robin Williams almost had a second top-of-the-year movie in a row with Mrs. Doubtfire. But the dinos of Jurassic Park stomped all over that idea with $357,067,947, compared to $219,195,243 for the former.
Universal Pictures, Jurassic Park (1993)
1994: Forrest Gump
Run, Forrest, run, to the top of the 1994 domestic box office—and it did, to the tune of $329,694,499.
Paramount, Forrest Gump (1994)
1995: Toy Story
Woody, Buzz, and the gang took in $191,796,233.
Walt Disney Pictures, Toy Story (1995)
1996: Independence Day
Neither Twister nor Mission Impossible could come close to toppling Independence Day and its $306,169,268 off of the top spot.
20th Century, Independence Day (1996)
1997: Titanic
The actual ship might've sank, but the movie floated above everything else released in 1997, to the tune of $600,683,057.
Twentieth Century Fox, Titanic (1997)
1998: Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan squeaked by Armageddon, with $216,540,909 compared to $201,578,182 at the 1998 North American box office.
Paramount Pictures, Saving Private Ryan (1998)
1999: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
After 16 years, audiences were jonesing for a new Star Wars movie and they plunked down $431,088,295 to see The Phantom Menace.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
2000: Mission: Impossible II
The first Mission: Impossible couldn't do it, but topping the box office was a mission possible for the sequel, with its $215,409,889 haul.
Paramount Pictures, Mission - Impossible II (2000)
2001: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone
With Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring released in the same year, it was a close battle for box office supremacy. In the end ,The Boy Who Lived eked out the win, with $317,575,550 compared to $313,364,114.
Warner Bros., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
2002: Spider-Man
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones all did big business, but when it came to the domestic box office in 2002, they all paled in comparison to the $403,706,375 Spider-Man took in.
Columbia Pictures, Spider-Man (2002)
2003: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Finally, with the third film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings took home the most box office bucks, with $377,027,325.
New Line Cinema, LOTR The Return of the King (2003)
2004: Shrek 2
Everyone's favorite green ogre rocked $441,426,807 at the 2004 domestic box office.
2005: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
Fans, excited to finally see Darth Vader become Darth Vader, ponied up $380,270,577 domestically.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
2006: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The film's domestic box office chest was filled with $423,315,812.
Walt Disney, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
2007: Spider-Man 3
Spidey once again took the top spot with $336,530,303.
Columbia Pictures, Spider-Man 3 (2007)
2008: The Dark Knight
What Spidey did in 2007, Batman did in 2008, when The Dark Knight racked up $533,345,358.
Warner Bros., The Dark Knight (2008)
2009: Avatar
If you thought what James Cameron did with Titanic was impressive, he topped himself (at least box office-wise) with Avatar's $749,766,139.
2010: Toy Story 3
Alice in Wonderland did impressive business with a $334,191,110 domestic haul. But Toy Story 3 took the top spot with $415,004,880.
Walt Disney, Toy Story 3 (2010)
2011: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort brought in a domestic tally of $381,011,219.
Warner Bros., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2012: The Avengers
The Avengers assembled and racked up $623,357,910.
Marvel Studios, The Avengers (2012)
2013: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Three films took home over $400 million domestically: Iron Man 3, Frozen, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But it was the latter, with $424,668,047, that won the year.
Lionsgate Films, The Hunger Games- Catching Fire (2013)
2014: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
The Hunger Games did it again, for a second year in a row. This time with a $337,135,885 total.
Lionsgate Films, The Hunger Games- Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
2015: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
After 10 years without a Star Wars movie, fans went bonkers for The Force Awakens and it took home a domestic tally like we'd never seen before: $936,662,225.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars- Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Again, Star Wars ruled the box office. Rogue One made $532,177,324 domestically.
Lucasfilm, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
2017: Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
And it was Star Wars again. This time, it pulled in $620,181,382.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
2018: Black Panther
Marvel ruled the top two spots on the box office chart in 2018. Avengers: Infinity War hit $678,815,482 and Black Panther raked in $700,059,566.
2019: Avengers: Endgame
No other 2019 film came within $300 million of Avengers: Endgame's $858,373,000 domestic total.
Marvel, Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2020: Bad Boys For Life
What you gonna do when they come for the domestic box office crown? The film made $206,305,244.
Columbia Pictures, Bad Boys for Life (2020)
2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home
This one's the easiest victory we've ever seen. In second place in 2021, you had Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with a domestic box office total of $224,543,292. In first place was Spider-Man: No Way Home with $804,793,477.
Columbia Pictures, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
2022: Top Gun: Maverick
Beating out Avatar: The Way of Water on the domestic front was Top Gun: Maverick with its $718,732,821 box office tally.
Paramount Pictures, Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
2023: Barbie
Forget about Barbie's Dream House. This was Barbie's Dream Domestic Box Office: $636,238,421.
2024: Inside Out 2?
With a few months left in 2024, Inside Out currently holds the box office crown ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine, bringing in $651,011,872 compared to $605,188,101.
