8. Jurassic Park (1993)
While Terminator 2 signalled the beginning of the CGI revolution, Jurassic Park kicked things up to a whole new level. Seamlessly mixing computer-generated dinosaurs with their animatronic counterparts, the effect was nothing short of jaw-dropping. Audiences agreed, as the movie overtook director Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic ET: The Extra Terrestrial to become the biggest movie in history with a gargantuan $914m worldwide. The complicated nature of the visual effects saw pre-production of the movie take over two years, but it was definitely time well spent; the first shot of the brachiosaurus is as stunning now as it was the first time you saw it. Even 20 years on, the CGI remains flawless* and Stan Winston's practical effects further enhance the scale and sense of danger that the prehistoric monsters project. Despite Spielberg's initial skepticism of fully computer-generated dinosaurs, the decision paid off spectacularly and the end result is one of the greatest adventure movies ever made. As well as becoming the biggest movie ever when it was released, Jurassic Park also generated billions in merchandising thanks to licensing deals with over 100 companies, and remains hugely profitable to this day as this year's 3D re-release proved by adding over $100 million to the movie's coffers, taking it past the coveted $1 billion mark. The influence of Jurassic Park saw a generation of children (me included) become obsessed with dinosaurs, and saw a massive surge in the use of CGI in Hollywood blockbusters, led James Cameron to found Digital Domain with Stan Winston, and most (in)famously convinced George Lucas that the technology now existed to work on the Star Wars prequels. *How come a 20 year old movie still features better CGI than a lot of current releases? Answers on a postcard, please.