It's hard to believe that ten years ago there had only been one billion dollar movie, with many box-office analysts proclaiming it as a feat that may never be duplicated. It's easy to understand their reasoning seeing as the elusive ten-figure club only had one member for seven years, but since then we have seen a further sixteen movies join the ranks. In fact, there has been at least one billion dollar movie every year since 2008 and ten in less than four years. It's easy to understand why, given that ticket prices have been steadily increasing over the years, with the 3D boom at the turn of the decade taking an extra couple of bucks out of the moviegoer's pocket. Given Hollywood's reliance on a built-in audience and brand recognition to market their tentpole releases to mass audiences, it's no surprise that the list of billion dollar movies contains only one original property (I'm sure you can guess which one), with the rest of the list comprised of sequels, adaptations and 3D re-releases. In fact, thirteen of these movies are a sequel of some kind, six have a colon in the title and five of them are the third entry in their respective franchises. Hollywood; where originality comes to die. However, a billion dollar gross is not a surefire indicator of a movie's quality and that notion served as the inspiration for the article. It is a list filled with highly anticipated sequels, final chapters in monumental franchises and a couple of all-time classics. Of course, as with any article that ranks movies based on quality, the list is entirely subjective. I'm sure I'll get criticism from some quarters (this is the internet after all), but it's all down to personal taste in the end, especially as none of these movies are offensively bad. Do you agree with the rankings? If not, how would you list these movies based on your preference? Do you think recently-released The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and upcoming The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will join the billion dollar club? Let me know in the comments below.