Spider-Man sinks Titanic: Inside the highest-grossing movies ever

Spider-Man has overcome the Green Goblin, Doc Ock and Venom, but his latest triumph over Titanic could be his most memorable yet. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which landed in theatres on July 31, has now sunk James Cameron’s beloved classic, shifting the 1997 film from the top five highest-grossing movies at the global box office.

Titanic enjoyed a spot in the top five for nearly three decades, even topping the list for 12 years before being dethroned in 2010. Since then, Titanic has plunged further down the rankings, even with re-releases. Now, thanks to Spidey, it’s out of the top five entirely.

Granted, this doesn’t take inflation into account. Most top five lists consider the actual money accumulated at the time each movie was released (as well as revenue from any re-releases). Movie tickets were far cheaper when Titanic hit screens, so more contemporary blockbusters are bound to earn more. On an inflation-adjusted list, classics such as Gone with the Wind, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and The Sound of Music would quickly climb the ranks.

Regardless, with Titanic now off the top handful, which films remain? Here’s a rundown of the five films that have made the most money around the world.

5. Ne Zha 2

This Chinese fantasy animation is the highest-grossing non-English language film in history. It proved incredibly popular in China, becoming the first film ever to take more than $US1 billion ($1.38 billion) in a single territory. However, its popularity expanded far beyond China. In Australia, it made its debut as the third-highest ranking feature at the local box office. By its second weekend, it had made $5.22 million.

Though much of Ne Zha 2’s success can be attributed to love for the original film, as well as its emotional depth in storytelling and stunning visual effects, there were also reports of the film being boosted by Chinese patriotism and a social media campaign. Fans encouraged others online to watch the film in cinemas multiple times. Chinese companies also got on board, including snacks manufacturer Weilong Food, which paused operations to take 900 of its employees to see the movie.

4. Avatar: The Way of Water

Cameron blew audiences out of the water with Avatar in 2009, but his sequel to the sci-fi epic threw them right back into it. Avatar: The Way of Water once again lured people back to the cinema to see the awe-inspiring visuals on the biggest screen possible (and, of course, in 3D). Cameron even developed entirely new technology to record actors performing in live action underwater.

The long-awaited sequel brought back fan favourites such as Zoe Saldaña and Sigourney Weaver, but it also introduced new major names such as Kate Winslet. Everything these actors’ characters did on screen, the actors actually performed in real life, with the crew logging about 200,000 hours of free-diving. Winslet even smashed Tom Cruise’s previous record for longest-held breath, and held hers for a staggering seven minutes and 14 seconds (Cruise held his breath for just over six minutes in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation). This brought an incredible air of authenticity and craft to the film, which evidently generated significant word-of-mouth.

3. Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Tom Holland’s successful run as Peter Parker continued with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has just enjoyed its sixth consecutive weekend atop the global box office. The film, directed by Dustin Daniel Cretton, hearkened back to Spider-Man’s roots, dropping Parker into the streets of New York where small-time criminals run amok. This return clearly paid off – the movie is currently experiencing the longest stint at No.1 since Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022. And according to Variety, Cretton’s movie is also primed to overtake Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) as the highest-grossing movie of all time at the US box office.

These figures helped the Marvel film to not only bump Titanic – a cinematic behemoth that had been in the top five for nearly as long as Holland has been alive – but it also completely re-shuffled the list by overtaking both Ne Zha 2 and the Avatar sequel.

2. Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame was the finale to end all finales. After about 23 Marvel films, the Infinity Saga wrapped up with this behemoth of a blockbuster, one that brought some of the most famous superheroes – including Captain America and the Hulk – against a truly remarkable villain, Thanos. The stakes could not have been higher, as major names within the Marvel Cinematic Universe were snuffed out, and the fate of half of humanity lay in the hands of those who remained. Of course people wanted to see this on the big screen.

Endgame may even rise further up the box office ranks, given it’s to be re-released this month ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday in December.

1. Avatar

Cameron’s Titanic may have been knocked from the top, but the renowned director still claims two of the coveted spots, including No.1.

Avatar fundamentally changed cinema in 2009. It pioneered advanced motion capture and revolutionised 3D technology, attracting audiences for the visual spectacle alone. This earned it a best picture nomination at the Academy Awards. While it may not have won in that category, it did pick up Oscars for best cinematography, visual effects and art direction.

The film enjoyed the top spot for about a decade before being briefly surpassed by Endgame in 2019. However, an Avatar re-release in China the following year reversed that, and it has remained the world’s highest-grossing movie since.

What about Star Wars?!

None of the Star Wars films are currently in the top five (though if these lists accounted for inflation, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope likely would). That said, one of the sci-fi epics – Star Wars: The Force Awakens – remains close to the top.

Here are the five titles trailing the top five:

6. Titanic (1997)

7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

8. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

9. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

10. Zootopia 2 (2025)

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Nell Geraets is a Culture reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement