18. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone
#24 - $974.8 million The first instalment of the Harry Potter franchise remained the most successful of the series until the finale was released a decade later. A tremendous risk at the time, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone depending where you live) surrounded three completely unknown young lead actors with some of the finest British talent on offer. The book series was still in full swing when this movie was released, something that no doubt piled on the pressure as fans hoped for a faithful take on J.K. Rowling's beloved first novel. It delivered in that respect, perhaps more so than any sequel which followed. That faithfulness went against it in some ways though as the movie so slavishly paid respect to the source material that there were few surprises for book readers. Breaking records upon release (it took the opening day record which had previously been set by The Phantom Menace), The Philosopher's Stone continued to perform, and ended its run just slightly short of $1 billion. If Warner Bros. ever decide to re-release the movies in 3D, there's every chance it and some of the sequels will hit that mark.