15 Highest Grossing Movies Of The Decade: Ranked Worst To Best

10. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Worldwide Box Office: $1.341 billion

All-Time Ranking: #8

2010s Ranking: #6

There was no question that the epic finale of the beloved Harry Potter franchise would Avada Kedavr the box office. The movies had never failed to place lower than 2nd in the highest grossing movies of their respective years, and the lure of seeing it all end (the movie's tagline) meant the take was only going to be increased. So, with success guaranteed, why couldn't they have put a bit of extra effort into making sure the send-off was undeniably great?

Sadly, no. The Deathly Hallows was already working against it by being split in two, with an exposition heavy first part leaving Part 2 as little more than an action extravaganza, but then director David Yates made the inexplicable decision of altering some of the book's most defining moments; in particular the final battle, which in print is an absolute triumph that sees Harry finally reach emotional maturity, is reduced to a light show sloppily justified after the fact.

The film does work as an ending to a series that was mired in inconsistencies, with the 19 years later epilogue in particular mining nostalgia for the earlier entries to the right level, but as an actual adventure it fails to match the series at its best.

Contributor
Contributor

Film Editor (2014-2016). Loves The Usual Suspects. Hates Transformers 2. Everything else lies somewhere in the middle. Once met the Chuckle Brothers.