50 Highest-Grossing Movies Of All Time Ranked
40. Minions (2015)
Box Office: $1.159 billion (#16)
If you (for some reason) thought that the Minions couldn't flourish at the box office without Gru, oh how foolish you looked when this came out.
More surprising is that, while uneven in places and basically a series of extended skits strung together by a loose plot, Minions actually does a solid job justifying its own existence.
If the Minions annoy you, you should obviously steer clear, but it moves fast, focuses on cute and ridiculous sight gags, and wilfully throws logic aside in favour of surreal insanity.
Not a classic, but decidedly less cynical and irritating than it so easily could've been.
39. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Box Office: $1.066 billion (#24)
Though it doesn't match the original film's fresh wit and fun, Dead Man's Chest is still an entertaining adventure, largely thanks to a still-energetic Johnny Depp, crisp direction and action sequences from Gore Verbinski, and the show-stealer that is Bill Nighy's Davy Jones, rendered with insanely well-aged CGI no less.
It certainly makes the first hints at what would become the series' trademark self-indulgence and general failure to justify its own existence, but Depp's act had yet to become tiresome, and so the sequel basically survived by serving up more of the barmy, enjoyable same. Sometimes that's OK, honestly.
38. Beauty & The Beast (2017)
Box Office: $1.263 billion (#13)
Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast was always going to be a box office smash regardless of its quality, but thankfully, it's actually pretty solid to boot.
It's definitely too long and Emma Watson's auto-tuned singing voice is a huge disappointment, but the sheer visual majesty of the production, combined with an otherwise terrific cast and spirited renditions of songs both new and classic ensure this lives up to the esteem of the animated classic.
If you're a fan of the original but reasonable enough to appreciate some differences, this offers a lot to enjoy.
37. Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Box Office: $970.8 million (#36)
The first Despicable Me sequel doesn't boast much in the way of an intriguing plot or a compelling baddie, but it is nevertheless enlivened by spritely animation, cute Minions shenanigans - especially the introduction of the purple, evil Minions - and the charming addition of Kristen Wiig as Gru's love interest Lucy Wilde.
All the voice work pops and it looks great, which is really the most important thing here. It also moves at a snappy clip, the emotional beats work surprisingly well and overall it boasts just enough to keep both kids and adults interested.
36. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Box Office: $1.021 billion (#33)
Though it falls far short of the standard set by Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, the first instalment in the Hobbit franchise still captures enough of Tokein's magic to prove a satisfying outing.
The main issue with An Unexpected Journey is that it's far too long at almost three hours in length, with a wealth of bloated subplots stealing precious (sorry) screen time away from Martin Freeman's Bilbo.
Still, the overall production quality is mostly excellent and the Gollum (Andy Serkis) riddle game is a magnificent sequence worthy of the original trilogy. An enjoyable, fairly easy sit in spite of its clear excesses.