2. Titanic - $2.185 billion
So if you haven't seen this movie, spoilers are coming up. Okay, the boat sinks. Which was awesome. There was also a young Leonardo DiCaprio who made every teenage female in the universe fall in love with him. So between Leo's boyish good looks and the action and excitement of the boat sinking (plus like two minutes of nudity in a PG-13 movie), Cameron came up with the perfect formula to draw both young girls and young boys to the theater, ultimately becoming the first man to break the billion dollar mark at the box office.
1. Avatar - $2.782 billion
Sure, Avatar was basically the same story as Dances with Wolves or Pocahontas or Fern Gully. And sure, James Cameron gave us nearly three hours of insufferable dialogue and an ever-changing accent from Sam Worthington. And yeah he cast Zoe Saldana, one of the foxiest young actresses and made her all blue and unrecognizable. Wait, what's good about this film again? Oh, right. It's a gorgeous, mesmerizing spectacle to behold. Seeing this in the theaters in 3D was a revelatory moment for moviegoers everywhere, even as the movie lacked any more depth than an aesthetic one.
Any other high-grossing films that should've been considered for an Oscar? Leave a comment below or find how to reach me in my bio at the bottom of the page.