Luke Owen keeps track of the highest grossing superhero movies of all-time…
Still to come in 2017: Wonder Woman, Justice League, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok.
NOTE: You can debate what classifies as a ‘superhero’ in the comments section at the bottom of the page. We’re happy to take feedback on board and add any in you feel we missed. Our Editor-in-Chief doesn’t think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are superheros, but I think they are. See – it’s all up for debate!
| # | Title | Domestic total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Avengers | $623,357,910 |
| 2 | The Dark Knight | $533,345,358 |
| 3 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $459,005,868 |
| 4 | The Dark Knight Rises | $448,139,099 |
| 5 | Iron Man 3 | $409,013,994 |
| 6 | Captain America Civil War | $408,084,349 |
| 7 | Spider-Man | $403,706,375 |
| 8 | Spider-Man 2 | $373,585,825 |
| 9 | Deadpool | $363,070,709 |
| 10 | Spider-Man 3 | $336,530,303 |
| 11 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $333,176,600 |
| 12 | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | $330,360,194 |
| 13 | Suicide Squad | $324,700,206 |
| 14 | Iron Man | $318,412,101 |
| 15 | Iron Man 2 | $312,433,331 |
| 16 | Man of Steel | $291,045,518 |
| 17 | The Amazing Spider-Man | $262,030,663 |
| 18 | Captain America: The Winter Solider | $259,766,572 |
| 19 | Batman | $251,188,924 |
| 20 | X-Men: The Last Stand | $234,362,462 |
| 21 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | $233,921,534 |
| 22 | Logan | $224,508,170 |
| 23 | Big Hero 6 | $222,527,828 |
| 24 | X2: X-Men United | $214,949,694 |
| 25 | Thor: The Dark World | $206,362,140 |
| 26 | Batman Begins | $205,343,774 |
| 27 | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | $202,853,933 |
| 28 | Superman Returns | $200,081,192 |
| 29 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) | $191,204,754 |
| 30 | Doctor Strange | $186,238,475 |
| 31 | Batman Forever | $184,031,112 |
| 32 | Thor | $181,030,624 |
| 33 | Ant-Man | $180,202,163 |
| 34 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | $179,883,157 |
| 35 | Captain America: The First Avenger | $176,654,505 |
| 36 | Batman Returns | $162,831,698 |
| 37 | X-Men | $157,299,717 |
| 38 | Fantastic Four (2005) | $154,696,080 |
| 39 | X-Men: Apocalypse | $155,442,489 |
| 40 | X-Men: First Class | $146,408,305 |
And here’s the worldwide grosses…
| # | Title | Worldwide total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Avengers | $1,519,557,910 |
| 2 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1,405,413,868 |
| 3 | Iron Man 3 | $1,215,439,994 |
| 4 | Captain America: Civil War | $1,153,293,700 |
| 5 | The Dark Knight Rises | $1,084,939,099 |
| 6 | The Dark Knight | $1,004,558,444 |
| 7 | Spider-Man 3 | $890,871,626 |
| 8 | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | $873,260,194 |
| 9 | Spider-Man | $821,708,551 |
| 10 | Spider-Man 2 | $783,766,341 |
| 11 | Deadpool | $782,612,155 |
| 12 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $773,312,399 |
| 13 | The Amazing Spider-Man | $757,930,663 |
| 14 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | $747,862,775 |
| 15 | Suicide Squad | $745,200,206 |
| 16 | Captain America: The Winter Solider | $714,421,503 |
| 17 | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | $708,982,323 |
| 18 | Man of Steel | $668,045,518 |
| 19 | Big Hero 6 | $657,818,612 |
| 20 | Thor: The Dark World | $644,602,516 |
| 21 | Iron Man 2 | $623,933,331 |
| 22 | Logan | $607,741,658 |
| 23 | Iron Man | $585,174,222 |
| 24 | Doctor Strange | $576,700,769 |
| 25 | X-Men: Apocalypse | $528,954,059 |
| 26 | Ant-Man | $519,445,163 |
| 27 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) | $493,333,584 |
| 28 | X-Men: The Last Stand | $459,359,555 |
| 29 | Thor | $449,326,618 |
| 30 | The Wolverine | $414,828,246 |
| 31 | Batman | $411,348,924 |
| 32 | X2: X-Men United | $407,711,549 |
| 33 | Superman Returns | $391,081,192 |
| 34 | Batman Begins | $374,218,673 |
| 35 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | $373,062,864 |
| 36 | Captain America: The First Avenger | $370,569,774 |
| 37 | X-Men: First Class | $353,624,124 |
| 38 | Batman Forever | $157,299,717 |
| 39 | Fantastic Four (2005) | $330,579,719 |
| 40 | Superman: The Motion Picture | $300,218,018 |
Updates:
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opened to $106 million worldwide, and will be a part of this list when its released domestically next week.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen.
Timo Qvintus says
How does Amazing Spider-Man 2 appear twice on the list?
BTW, if you do the US domestic list, why not use the one that accounts for inflation? Case in point, Superman The Movie. Yeah I get that the international list will not be comparable then, but then again I don’t understand the need to look at US domestic totals anyway; in a year or two China’s domestic total will be more significant..
Luke Owen says
D’oh! That was a typo on my part. Meant to be The Amazing Spider-Man 1, not 2 at the $262 mark. Thanks for the heads up!
I was thinking of doing the inflation calculation, and I may still do. There’s quite a few films to cover though so I’ll need a spare few hours to get it right…
And while you’re right that China will overtake the US market, studios will only ever look at the domestic taking. Even if a movie performs really well globally but under-performs in the US, it’s considered a flop. There’s various reasons for that (exchange rates, not taking 100% of the takings, other studios doing the international distribution, etc.), so even when China takes over we’ll still be looking at the domestic bottom line for success or failure.
Timo Qvintus says
I have to disagree that US domestic is the yardstick for failure anymore. Movies that disappointed in US but made a lot of money worldwide are still getting sequels, like Pacific Rim.
Luke Owen says
But domestic totals are the yardstick – that’s the reality. I’ve spoken with a lot of movie producers on and off the record who have said this. Pacific Rim isn’t a great example either as the sequel isn’t confirmed. WB or Legendary haven’t greenlit the film, it’s just GDT trying to get it mounted.
Timo Qvintus says
I’m sure there are a lot people who still care about the domestic above all, but it’s hardly the yardstick for everyone. Same as Nielsen ratings for TV, it’s an old standard that some still cling to but doesn’t matter like it used to.
FWIW, Pacific Rim 2 was confirmed a month ago with new director (Steven DeKnight).. but it’s far from the only example anyway.
Luke Owen says
Having a director doesn’t mean the film is greenlit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping it does, but DeKnight coming on just means he and GDT are developing the idea to take to the studio.
But you’re right, loads of films that ‘flopped’ get sequels. It depends on the director, audience response, who’s in charge of the studio, etc. But the fact of the matter is studio heads and the ones who move the needles are looking at domestic numbers and domestic numbers only.
The Walking Cuban says
So even once BVS and civil war top Deadpool, it’ll still be in the top 10? Crazy
Luke Owen says
If you’d asked me in January, I’d have told you it would be First Class mark for worldwide and First Avenger for domestic. Crazy to think how well it’s done.
The Walking Cuban says
I’m confused, why would you have thought that?
Luke Owen says
I knew the film would do well, but I didn’t think it would do as well as it did. I figured it would appeal to a small but vocal audience (like the comics) but it wouldn’t have cross-audience appeal. I was very, very wrong!
The Walking Cuban says
Now i gotcha. And agree. It’s an anomaly, like iron man, perfect match of actor and character. The marketing was genius too.
Luke Owen says
Completely agree. The marketing wasn’t for me (thought it was like the character: loud and annoying), but it fucking worked! Kudos to them.
Michael Fisher says
Very interesting thanks
Macephtopheles says
So why is Big Hero 6 considered a superhero movie yet the Incredibles isn’t? Yeah, Big Hero 6 was originally a comic by Marvel, but the film only kept the title, some character names and, even then, changed the characters themselves (even the names also in some cases) and the story itself was completely original. It’s officially described as being “inspired by” the comic and not an adaptation or anything. Just the same way as the Incredibles was inspired by various comics (most obviously the Fantastic Four) and gave their own superhero tale.
Luke Owen says
Yeah I get your argument, but I wanted to keep the list to movies *adapted* from superhero comics rather than take inspiration. I think once you get into that territory it can get a little muddled.