May 2026 could go down as one of the more important months in modern theater tracking. With both Obsession and Backrooms—two smaller horror films directed by young talents first seen on YouTube—owning the box office for the second half of May, speculation is that the industry will be forced to reevaluate which movies it chooses to win big at the box office. We’re not saying the industry has changed completely, but we are saying you could see new approaches replacing the tried-and-true methods of summertime box-office domination.
What methods are we talking about? Well, when you look at what movies have achieved “summer blockbuster” status in the modern era, the majority of them are sequels of some sort. More than half of those films are Disney-affiliated in some form, with a healthy mix of movies set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and animated features in the Pixar universe.
That said, with Michael already close to $850 million at the global box office, it could be on track to be this summer’s blockbuster. That fact warranted the question: what else were the top box office blockbusters over the last 20 summers? We decided to find out, putting them in order from least money made at the worldwide box office to the most. Anyone following movie trends over the last 20 years shouldn’t be surprised by what’s on this list, but for those wondering, here’s a look at the 20 most successful summer blockbusters of the last 20 years.
Tenet (2020)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Release date: September 3, 2020
Reported budget: $205 million
Box office gross: $365.9 million
One of Nolan’s more complex films, Tenet only sits at the bottom of this list because it hit theaters months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a move Nolan fought for. One has to wonder how this film, featuring an unnamed Protagonist coming to grips with a villain who can move himself—and objects—backward and forwardssthrough time. If you try to get too deep into the film, you will hate it; the whole point of this, Nolan’s closest Bond flick, is getting in the car and going along for the ride.
Black Widow (2021)
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, Rachel Weisz
Release date: July 9, 2021
Reported budget: $288.5 million
Box office gross: $379.8 million
This felt like a pointless prequel at the time, considering Black Widow had died in-MCU already, but COVID-19 pandemic and mid CGI be damned, you can’t really count an MCU film out. Black Widow truly attempted to flesh out the character, adding in her sister and the closest things she had for a family. Most of that paid off in the Thunderbolts* film that dropped five years later, and honestly, by then, most had forgotten that this film had even hit theaters.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro
Release date: August 1, 2014
Reported budget: $232.3 million
Box office gross: $773.4 million
The key to Guardians being so successful was James Gunn knowing how to breathe life into a group of “B-level” characters; it’s not like Guardians of the Galaxy was a popular book before the film, but with loads of humor, a great soundtrack, and the right ensemble, this surprise hit showed Marvel that they didn’t have to just rely on the marquee names to keep the MCU thriving.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya
Release date: June 2, 2017
Reported budget: $149 million
Box office gross: $824 million
DC had lightning in a bottle with this Patty Jenkins-directed film. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was one of the better parts of Batman v Superman, and greenlighting a film about her made loads of sense. Leaning into a superhero story led by a woman helped reach demographics rarely given time in the sun for comic book flicks, and Jenkins delivered did exactly what needed to be done, bringing in over five times the film’s budget at the box office.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro
Release date: June 24, 2009
Reported budget: $200–210 million
Box office gross: $836.5 million
The highest-grossing film to receive the Worst Picture at the Razzies, the hype for the sequel to 2007’s Transformers was so real that its preview record for Paramount stood until 2022 with Top Gun: Maverick, which, duh. This was an example of the quality of the sequel not really meeting the hype, but at that point, folk are just trying to beat the heat and see gigantic monsters battle on a massive screen. They delivered in spades.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons
Release date: May 4, 2007
Reported budget: $258 million
Box office gross: $895.9 million
After the massively successful Spider-Man 2, Sony started doing the most with Sam Raimi’s third installment. Not only did Peter Parker pick up the Venom symbiote suit, which kept him up all night doing goofy shit, but Gwen Stacy was also introduced. As were the beginnings of the Sinister Six. If they’d stuck to one (or two?) tracks, maybe that fourth Spider-Man project could have come to fruition. This one made a lot of money with the hopes of a better film. Sony did end up figuring out Venom in the end.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman
Release date: July 18, 2008
Reported budget: $185 million
Box office gross: $1.009 billion
Arguably the GOAT Batman film (from Nolan or otherwise), The Dark Knight featured an award-winning performance from Heath Ledger as the greatest Joker to hit the silver screen. It’s gone down as one of the greatest superhero films of all time, and quite frankly, is one of the best films of the 2000s. It practically solidified Nolan as one of the greatest to ever do it, and did its part in helping movies based on comic books getting taken seriously by the mainstream.
Finding Dory (2016)
Director: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy
Release date: June 17, 2016
Reported budget: $200 million
Box office gross: $1.029 billion
After Finding Nemo made $940.3 million on a $94 million budget, there was no way Disney Pixar would let that much money sit idle. It may have taken thirteen years to get a sequel popping, but that’s one of the things with Hollywood. If the sequel isn’t out in a year or so, they may hold onto it, playing heavy on nostalgia. It sure paid off here with the budget increasing over 100 percent for a billion-dollar box office.
Lilo & Stitch (2025)
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, Maia Kealoha
Release date: May 23, 2025
Reported budget: $100 million
Box office gross: $1.038 billion
Another one of Disney’s tricks in the modern era has been recreating successful animated films in a live-action setting, which usually means mad CGI. Lilo & Stitch followed that formula to a T, with massive pre-sale numbers being the reward. It also helps that this film has a character like Stitch; kids want to go see that blue monster doing all of the things, especially if it appears to be as big as they are.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Kevin R. McNally, Jonathan Pryce
Release date: July 7, 2006
Reported budget: $225 million
Box office gross: $1.066 billion
Not the only Pirates film to surpass a billion-dollar box office, Dead Man’s Chest is the second in the series, and the highest-grossing at the box office. For there to be six films in the franchise, it’s kind of interesting that they peaked that early. It took 16 days for the film to gross $700 million worldwide, and it was the fourth Disney film to reach $1 billion at the box office. Johnny Depp really used to be that guy two decades ago!
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Director: Lee Unkrich
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, John Morris
Release date: June 18, 2010
Reported budget: $200 million
Box office gross: $1.067 billion
Remember that thing about nostalgia? It’s all over the Toy Story franchise, but instead of taking four years between sequels, as with Toy Story and Toy Story 2, Disney Pixar made people wait 11(!) years for the third film, resulting in gangbusters at the worldwide box office. It spent three years as the highest-grossing animated film of all time (until Frozen hit theaters), and holds the Guinness World Record for being the first animated film to reach a billion dollars, which it did in December 2010.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley
Release date: May 3, 2013
Reported budget: $200 million
Box office gross: $1.215 billion
With Jon Favreau stepping aside from directing this third installment of the Iron Man series, Shane Black did a great job in adding his personal flair to the franchise, and even though Tony Stark has to share screentime with that massive cast, once Iron Man does hit the screen? It’s for something DOPE. Overly hated for the Mandarin fakeout, this film did what it was supposed to at the box office.
Incredibles 2 (2018)
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Jonathan Banks
Release date: June 15, 2018
Reported budget: $200 million
Box office gross: $1.243 billion
For a while, Pixar was on a roll; they make hits, and Incredibles 2, which continued the story of a superpowered family of four, continued the trend, becoming their third film to reach a billion (after Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory). It was also Pixar’s highest-grossing film until their other film on this list was released. The key was that, instead of just serving fans bigger setpieces and more of the same, they crafted a story that kept viewers invested. One of the hallmarks of Pixar’s run.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters
Release date: July 15, 2011
Reported budget: $250 million
Box office gross: $1.343 billion
The reported budget on this one should come with an asterisk; Warner Bros. originally planned to release one Deathly Hallows film but instead split it into two parts, which means the $250 million budget for this film is actually the combined budget for both films. As this was the culmination of the Harry Potter saga, it became the highest-grossing in that franchise, and was the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film until…
Barbie (2023)
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell
Release date: July 21, 2023
Reported budget: $128–145 million
Box office gross: $1.448 billion
Hollywood had been trying to make a live-action Barbie film happen for years, with Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway both attached to the role at times. The combination of Margot Robbie starring in a Greta Gerwig-directed film worked like magic, blending the meta with the subversive, telling a tale for the ages. It takes a certain kind of movie to do battle with Christopher Nolan, but for those who were there, the Barbenheimer era was real, and Barbie reigned supreme.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer
Release date: May 27, 2022
Reported budget: $170–177 million
Box office gross: $1.503 billion
Bringing back the 1986 film for a 2020s update isn’t an easy feat, especially with a box office still wrecked from the COVID-19 pandemic, but if anyone could do it, Tom Cruise could. And did. His insistence that the film be released in theaters paid off handsomely, although they waited for the world to open up before releasing it in 2022, making it the second film in the pandemic era to cross one billion dollars. Interestingly enough, the 1986 original was the highest-grossing film of 1986; the 2022 sequel became the highest-grossing of Cruise’s career.
The Avengers (2012)
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson
Release date: May 4, 2012
Reported budget: $220–225 million
Box office gross: $1.520 billion
There should be no surprise here. The sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers was what fans of the franchise were waiting for: the moment when all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes aligned to battle a larger threat. The mixture of action and humor kept fans entertained, with Ruffalo’s Hulk flexing in a proper Marvel film. Truly a moment when the game started to change.
The Lion King (2019)
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones
Release date: July 19, 2019
Reported budget: $250–260 million
Box office gross: $1.662 billion
One of Disney’s biggest live-action projects was the live-action rework of the actual classic 1994 animated film The Lion King, which is an odd task in and of itself. For live-action remakes of animated Disney films about humans, hiring a real human to depict the character makes sense. They can’t hire a real lion to play Simba, so it’s a bunch of CGI animals failing to properly emote because how can they? Disney also went for star power instead of proper voice acting. This film making over $1.5 billion at the box office made sense, especially when Beyoncé contributed an entire album to the project. It wasn’t just Bey power, but Bey power is effective.
Jurassic World (2015)
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Irrfan Khan
Release date: June 12, 2015
Reported budget: $150–215 million
Box office gross: $1.671 billion
The first film in the Jurassic Park franchise, released 14 years after Jurassic Park III? A lot of those tickets were likely bought trailer-unseen; Jurassic Park has a stranglehold on the zeitgeist, it’s hard to believe people would be staying home when the dinosaurs returned. Actually pulling off the Park was a nice touch, although the dinosaurs dinosauring was inevitable. Chris Pratt was also in his bag at this time, for good or ill. Having him as a lead in your film was guaranteed eyeballs. A recipe for almost $1.7 billion at the box office.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Director: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser
Release date: June 14, 2024
Reported budget: $200 million
Box office gross: $1.699 billion
For nine months, Inside Out 2 reigned supreme as the highest-grossing animated film of all time (a distinction that Ne Zha 2 took from the film). Currently Pixar’s highest-grossing film, the actual estimates for the film were much lower, mostly due to fears of moviegoers returning to theaters after the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans of Inside Out 2—read kids and the parents of said kids—needed a reason to get out of the house, and Inside Out 2 captured the same wave that the first film did, playing on emotions and humor like any Pixar banger before it.
