Top 10 Highest Grossing Superhero Movies of All Time

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years, underwater, and with a poor Wi-Fi connection, it can’t have escaped your attention that super hero films have become kind of a big deal.

From the moody realism of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, to the hugely ambitious, interconnected world that has been built by Marvel over the past few years, and DC beginning to put together their very own movie universe, it seems there’s never been a better time to be a fan of heroes on the big screen.

Naturally, with films like Age of Ultron and Batman V Superman very soon on their way into theatres to inevitably hoover up ridiculous amounts of cash straight from people’s pockets in the box office, we thought it was time to take a step back, and see what the best performing super hero flicks have been thus far.

10. Iron Man 2: $314.2 Million

Regarded by many as the weakest Marvel film (seriously… nothing happens for the first hour) Iron Man 2 still did pretty damn well. Presumably because of Marvel’s not so secret weapon; Robert Downey Jr.

9. Iron Man $318.4 Million

It’s mad to think that not that long ago, there weren’t many folk outside of the Marvel hardcore that even knew who Iron Man was. But thanks to one awesome film and a charm offensive from RDJ, we were given the start of a sprawling, beloved universe. Iron Man himself is now probably Marvel’s most popular hero, even beating former glory boy Spider-Man.

8. Guardian’s of the Galaxy: $329.4 Million

Another massive risk by Marvel that payed off in spades. Not even every Marvel fan knew who these guys were. Queue one smart sci-fi blockbuster later, filled with genuine laughs, some tight set pieces, great ideas, and a talking racoon who’s best mates with a tree, and Marvel have another instant classic on their hands.

7. Spider-Man 3: $336.5 Million

By far one of the most disappointing super hero flicks of all time. Too many villains, none of which were done properly, combined with a god awful plot that had the gall to use amnesia with a straight face, and that dance sequence made for a film that all but destroyed the Spider-Man franchise and ruined the legacy of two great Spidey flicks before it.

6. Spider-Man 2: $373.6 Million

Now, that’s more like it. Spider-Man 2 was easily one of the better Spider-Man films out there. It offered us a compelling villain and interesting new take on Doctor Octopus, as well as some cracking fight scenes (dat train fight), and Tobey Maguire giving us the best big screen Peter Parker to date.

5. Spider-Man: $403.7 Million

Forget that ridiculous Green Goblin power ranger suit, and the fact that Aunt May is really annoying. This was the first big screen adaptation of one of the world’s most beloved super heroes. Before reboots, disappointments and emo dances, we had this refreshingly simple story of the everyman who gets given powers, learns a hard life lesson, and tries to do some good. Awesome.

4. Iron Man 3: $409 Million

Well, as the first film off the back off The Avengers all it needed to do was improve on Iron Man 2. While the film had some controversial moments, for the most part it avoided the curse of the threequel and gave us a big, dumb, fun action movie with lots of flying robots blowing up for good measure.

3. The Dark Knight Rises: $448.1 Million

While it could never really live up the the cinematic masterpiece that was The Dark Knight, the conclusion to Nolan’s Bat Trilogy was a fitting enough end. We still can’t get over Bane’s weird voice though. Still, it was better than Batman Forever.

2. The Dark Knight: $534.9 Million

Arguably the film that made the world stand up and take comic book movies seriously. The Dark Knight was an intense, well paced thriller that just happened to have Batman characters in it. It goes on for a little too long, but you’ll be far too mesmerised by Heath Ledger’s show stealing turn as The Joker to care.

1. The Avengers: $623.3 Million

Obviously. When Iron Man came out, there weren’t many people that believed Marvel could pull off an Avengers movie. Not only did they have make established franchises from two more relatively unloved Marvel characters in Captain America and Thor, they then had to wrangle them in to some intense contractual obligations, and then tell a cohesive story that had to appeal to people who were coming in blind and reward the people who had seen the solo flicks, while giving half a dozen massive movie stars a decent amount to do.

Thankfully, with some spot on casting and the master stroke of bringing Joss Whedon on board, they succeeded in the culmination of all their hard work. Of course, Marvel are so cheeky, they’ve decided to do it again, and you can bet Age of Ultron is gonna bring in some serious wonga.