20 Must-See Billion Dollar Movies

1. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

The Lord Of The Rings The Return Of The King Frodo Baggins Elijah Wood
Warner Bros. Pictures

Gross: $1,142,219,401 (#24 of All Time)

As things stand, Peter Jackson's awe-inspiring conclusion to his brilliant Lord of the Rings trilogy is the crown jewel of the billion-dollar club.

Boasting flawless visuals, amazing action scenes, tremendous performances and beautifully emotional storytelling, The Return of the King is a hugely satisfying ending to one of cinema's greatest trilogies as well as one of the best fantasy films ever made.

It's not actually the best of the trilogy, since The Fellowship of the Ring (which isn't a billion-dollar movie) is slightly better, but this is still an absolutely phenomenal work which is essentially three hours of cinematic perfection. It is a famously long film, but it still manages to make three hours fly past and not a moment is wasted.

All in all, The Return of the King is a wondrous masterpiece and it's hard to imagine there'll ever be another billion-dollar movie that tops it. Still, given how great many of the films in the billion-dollar club are, who knows?

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Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.