James Cameron's 1997 historical epic about the sinking of the infamous ocean liner remains the highest grossing film of all time. Though he applied groundbreaking effects and took great pains to convey the sense of what it must have been like on the deck of the Titanic as it sank, the film's real draw turned out to be its romance between a poor man (Leonardo Di Caprio) and the rich girl he meets en route (Kate Winslet). Propelled by its swooning fans, "Titanic" grossed $1.8 billion worldwide, over $700 million more than the second film on the list.
New Zealand director Peter Jackson took on a nearly impossible task in bringing all three parts of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic to the screen. But the results surpassed even the highest expectations, generating universal critical acclaim and a slew of Oscars in every conceivable category. The finale of the trilogy--detailing the efforts of the hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) to destroy an evil ring and the rise of the warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) to a throne he had long sought to deny--cemented its legacy as well as grossed $1.1 billion worldwide.
The original "Pirates of the Caribbean" film caught many people by surprise. A summer popcorn film based loosely on the Disneyland ride, it received an unexpected boost in popularity thanks to Johnny Depp's Oscar-nominated portrayal of the wily pirate Jack Sparrow. The sequel, "Dead Man's Chest," was not as well regarded as its predecessor, but thanks to high anticipation and Depp's return to the role of Sparrow, it grossed a staggering $1.06 billion at the box office: third on the all-time list.
Director Christopher Nolan single-handedly revived the Batman franchise with 2005's "Batman Begins," but his 2008 follow-up surpassed even that high bar. The late Heath Ledger won an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker--posited here as a crazed nihilist out to prove that everyone was as horrible as he was. The results tapped into deep-set fears of terrorism, a crumbling society and the monsters we all battle within ourselves--monsters which even Batman (Christian Bale) is hard-pressed to conquer. The results led to just over $1 billion in world-wide box office receipts.
J.K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter novels have become a global sensation, prompting the creation of an immensely successful series of films. The first in the series,"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," recounts the tale of a young boy (Daniel Radcliffe) whisked into a hidden world of wizards and witches. The film's respectful approach to its source, coupled with the legions of fans already in love with the story, conjured up a little less than $975 million in global receipts.