This is a list of the highest-grossing comic book movies for all comic book fans. Hollywood has realized the vast profit potential in comic book movie adaptations, with various comic book movies breaking numerous box office records.
We will see it continue with increased enthusiasm, so keep an eye out for new releases.
In the meantime, we’ll love you to go through our list and find some interesting data on your favorite comic book adaptation.
1. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Worldwide Gross: $2.797 Billion
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd,
Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team, the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios, and it is first on our list of the highest-grossing comic book movies.
It became the highest-grossing movie eleven days after it came out, grossing over $2 billion globally.
Avatar (2009) reclaimed the number one position after March 2021 after its re-release in China. It is the sequel to 2012’s The Avengers and 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and the last installment in the series.
The movie’s characters include Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor Odinson (Thor), Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (Hulk), Natasha Romanoff as (Black Widow), James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Scott Lang (Ant-Man) amongst others.
2. The Avengers: Infinity Wars (2018)
- Worldwide Gross: $2.048 Billion
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, and Chris Pratt.
On April 27, 2018, Avengers: Infinity War hit the cinemas in the United States. Infinity wars are the 19th movie installment in the MCU and the sequel to Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Anthony and Joe Russo also directed it. It grossed 8.8 million in its opening weekend and is currently the third highest-grossing film and the second on the list of highest-grossing comic book movies.
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.88 Billion
- Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, William Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire.
No way home is based on the Marvel comic character Spider-Man and is a sequel to 2019’s Far from home. It’s the 27th MCU movie and the highest-grossing movie Sony has released, and it’s also the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie and the highest-grossing movie of 2021.
After pulling in $334.2 million on its opening weekend, it holds the record for the second-biggest opening weekend after avengers. It is the sixth highest-grossing movie ever after, grossing over $1.8 billion worldwide.
Additionally, it surpassed Avatar to become the third highest-grossing movie at the box office. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike, and they praised the storyline, cast’s performance, and chemistry.
The movie brought in casts from two previous Spider-Man films, Tobey Macguire and Andrew Garfield. We also saw Sandman, Dr. Octavia, Green Goblin, Electro, Lizard, and Venom.
4. Avengers (2012)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.515 Billion
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, and Samuel L. Jackson.
The first Marvel film to break the $1 billion mark was 2012’s Avengers, which grossed $1.515 billion worldwide.
The film became the third highest-grossing movie of all time when it was released and the highest-grossing superhero movie ever, making it one of the highest-grossing comic book movies and Disney’s third highest-grossing movie.
It set an opening weekend record among Marvel Cinematic Universe films and April releases. In June 2016, it passed Avatar to become the third-highest grossing movie ever, although it did so thanks to help from 3D surcharges.
The theatrical run lasted until late May 2016 (and continued into January 2018 before finally ending at $619 million domestically), making it Marvel Studios’ second-longest-running release after Iron Man 3 ($409 million).
The sequel Captain America: Civil War added another $408million from foreign markets bringing its worldwide total to $1 billion! These figures pushed it ahead of every other MCU movie at the time except Avengers Assemble ($1.5 billion).
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.403 Billion
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Age of Ultron is a movie based on the Marvel Comics superhero team, The Avengers, and it’s also the 11th movie in the MCU.
It was the highest-grossing movie of 2015 and the seventh biggest opening weekend after grossing $392.5 million.
Although Age of Ultron broke IMAX theater records, analysts believed it would have done more significant numbers if it didn’t have to compete with Mayweather’s match that weekend.
6. Black Panther (2018)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.336 Billion
- Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Jerkis.
Black Panther was the highest-grossing comic book movie of all time. It broke the record for February openings and was only one of two movies in history to make over a billion dollars globally.
It also became the first superhero film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (the other being The Dark Knight).
Set in Wakanda, a fictional African country where an advanced civilization thrives despite threats from outside forces.
The story follows T’Challa, who returns home after his father was murdered to assume his rightful place on the throne, only to discover that he must defend his land from outsiders trying to exploit its natural resources.
7. Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.215 Billion
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley.
Iron Man 3 is the third film in the Iron Man series, and it grossed a little above $1.2 billion worldwide. Shane Black directed it, and the story focuses on Iron man and the avengers.
It performed better than its two prequels combined with a worldwide gross of $1.215 billion at the box office, and it became the second highest-grossing movie of 2013 and the MCU at the time and joined the list of the highest-grossing comic book movies.
8. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.151 Billion
- Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily Van-Camp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl.
Civil war is a movie based on the Captain America character Marvel’s 2016 comic book of the same name, and it is also the 13th MCU movie. It had two prequels, “The First Avenger” and “Winter Soldier,” both released in 2011 and 2014.
Furthermore, the movie was a huge commercial success pulling in $1.151 billion globally, making it 2016’s highest-grossing film and one of the highest-grossing comic book movies.
9. Aquaman (2018)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.148 Billion
- Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, William Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Kidman.
Aquaman is a comic book movie that premiered in December 2018 and has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.
This movie is the first installment of a series based on the Aquaman character by DC Comics which first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. It is the sixth movie in the DC extended universe and the highest-grossing movie based on a DC comic character
Subsequently, it became Warner Bros’ second highest-grossing movie and ninth on the list of highest-grossing comic book movies after grossing $1.148 billion worldwide.
The movie received praises for its visuals and the lead actor’s performance from critics, but the film received backlash for its plot and its time duration.
10. Spider-Man Far From Home (2019)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.132 Billion
- Cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J.B Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Start, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Spider-Man Far From Home was the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie of all time at the time of its release, according to Box Office Mojo.
Released in July 2019, it has earned $1.132 billion worldwide and continues to rake in money as it makes its way worldwide. This film is also the first billion-dollar film Sony Pictures has ever produced.
It didn’t happen without much work; Sony had invested heavily in branding since buying Marvel Comics, which owns Spider-Man’s licensing rights and characters, for $4 billion in 1999.
Since then, they’ve released five films based on the Spidey character: three big-screen outings (plus two spinoffs), an animated series that ran from 2017 through 2019, plus another animated series. The franchise has grossed more than $18 billion worldwide since its first movie in 2008.
11. Captain Marvel (2019)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.128 Billion
- Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelssohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Being, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law.
Captain Marvel is a movie based on the character of Carol Denvers from the Marvel comic of the same name.
It’s the 21st movie in the MCU and the first Marvel movie with a female Superhero. It had the second-best global opening weekend sales for any MCU movie at its release.
The movie became one of the highest-grossing comic book movies after grossing over $1 billion worldwide. It was well-received by critics and fans and had the biggest opening weekend for a female superhero movie.
12. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.082 Billion
- Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon, Michael Caine, and Anne Hathaway
One of the highest-grossing comic book movies based on the DC Comics character “Batman.” It is the sequel to “The Dark Knight” movie and the last installment in director Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy.
According to reports released in July 2012, the film raked in an estimated $248.9 million on its opening weekend and grossed a worldwide total of $1.081 billion.
It became the third highest-grossing movie of 2012 and broke IMAX theater records, making it one of the highest-grossing comic book movies. It generally received positive reviews from critics and fans.
13. Joker (2019)
- Worldwide Gross: $1.074 Billion
- Cast: Joàquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Jazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy.
Joker is a drama/crime movie based on the “Joker” character from DC comics. The movie made over $1 billion worldwide, making it the first R-rated movie to pass a billion dollars and the 13th on the list of the highest-grossing comic book movies. It generally received many positive reviews from critics, moviegoers, and the industry.
14. The Dark Knight (2008)
- Worldwide Gross: $998.6 Million
- Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.
This movie is the second installment in Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy and the sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins” based on the DC Comics “Batman” character.
It became one of the highest-grossing comic book movies and the highest-grossing movie of 2008 after making $998.6 million worldwide.
The movie is seen as one of the best superhero films made and received many positive reviews, including a cinema score of “A” on an A+ to F scale.
15. Spider-Man (2007)
- Worldwide Gross: $894.8 Million
- Cast: Tobey Macguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Cromwell, Rosemary Harris, and J.K Simmons.
Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 superhero movie based on the Marvel comic character “Spiderman.” It is the last Spider-Man and sequel to 2002 and 2004 Spider-Man featuring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi.
It broke the opening day and weekend records after grossing $381.7 million and pulling in $894.8 million worldwide, making it Sam Raimi’s highest-grossing of the Spider-Man trilogy.
Although it broke box office and IMAX theaters records at the time, it didn’t receive as much praise from critics as the other movies in the trilogy.
The comic book movie franchise has exploded, evidenced by this list of the fifteen highest-grossing comic book movies.
With Innovative story-telling, intelligent marketing, and a fabulous cinematic experience, it’s no wonder people can’t get enough.
What’s your favorite movie from the list above? What do you think made any of them a hit or miss? Let us know in the comments below.
