1. Avatar (2009) - $2.78b
Well, this isn't much of a surprise is it? The man who delivered Hollywood's first billion dollar film returned after a twelve year hiatus with Hollywood's first two billion dollar film. And following
Titanic's 3D re-release, James Cameron is now the director of the the two-highest grossing movies ever, and the only two to cross the $2bn mark. Development of the film began way back in 1994, but the technology to realize the director's vision simply didn't exist at the time. But when you're James Cameron that isn't going to stop you, so he spent the next decade developing and fine-tuning the technology before the movie finally entered production in early 2007. As well as the revolutionary performance capture techniques, Cameron also worked with a team to build Pandora from the ground up, developing the ecosystem, language and mythology of the planet to create a fully immersive world. Say what you will about the narrative quality of the finished product (Unobtanium...really?) but there is no doubting that on a visual level
Avatar is nothing short of stunning. And with a budget north of $200m and a crew that almost numbered 1000, you'd certainly hope so. Some called the movie's $77 million opening weekend a disappointment, but they were proved wrong in spectacular fashion.
Avatar held the domestic top spot for 7 weeks (the longest run since...yep,
Titanic) on its way to obliterating the record for biggest movie in history. Unfortunately, this also led to the massive resurgence in 3D that blighted the eyes of many a cinemagoer over the next several years. Damn you, James Cameron. The director has now announced that we will be seeing no less than three sequels to
Avatar, set for release in the Decembers of 2016, 2017 and 2018. These being James Cameron movies of course, the dates are subject to change. It's not like they've got much to live up to or anything...