1. Avatar (2009)

Avatar quickly became one of the top box office hits; people knew it was going to be huge as soon as they saw the first trailer. The film is beautifully done, the makeup and effects incredible, the story amazing. It has yet to be beat by anything – even the last HP film! Domestically, it pulled in over $760 million. Wowza!

2. Titanic (1997)

Of course, for a while there – until 2009, obviously – Titanic was at the top of the list. It grossed a stunning amount of money and, more importantly, is still a beloved film. You can frequently catch it even on network television. The love story of Jack and Rose is still pulling in lots of money.

3. The Dark Knight (2008)

No doubt Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker had quite a lot to do with making The Dark Knight one of the top box office hits. It was just an amazing performance, and somehow it managed to complement and highlight everyone else's rather than full on outshining them. You know a movie has to be fantastic when it does better than...

4. Star Wars: Episode IV – a New Hope (1977)

A Star Wars flick! But don't get it twisted, as you'll see, the Star Wars franchise pulls in more than its fair share of mad movie money. These films don't play, and fans of the franchise are generally fans for life. They're even willing to turn the later films into a huge draw.

5. Shrek 2 (2004)

I loved Shrek 2, don't get me wrong, and I think it deserves its place as one of the top box office hits. To date it's pulled in $441,226,414. I just always find it strange when a sequel does even better than the original, just because within franchises, you usually don't get better than the first. Not so here, though! Of course, given the love story between Shrek and Fiona, I can totally understand that.

6. E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

This movie endures like no other. E.T. and Elliot are just the sweetest little pairing. I swear if anyone ever tries to remake this movie, I will just flip my lid. No remake could ever possibly have the same sweetness as the original.

7. Star Wars: Episode 1 – the Phantom Menace (1999)

I'm not an enormous Star Wars fan, but I do love the originals, and I like the newer movies purely because I have things for Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor. Still, I'm surprised that The Phantom Menace is one of the top box office hits simply because I always though purists hated Star Wars 1-3.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

I'm also surprised that this is the only Johnny Depp movie that has had a big gross! Of course, if anything was going to make it, you know it was going to be a Pirates flick. These are just fantastic, and the numbers prove it.

9. Toy Story 3 (2010)

See, here's another later film from a franchise that logged in as one of the top box office hits. In a way I can understand this one more, because Toy Story 3 was just … man, this was a good movie. And so sad! It was great for kids and parents alike.

10. Spider-Man (2002)

You have to wonder if the Spider-Man reboot can ever hope to do as well as Tobey Maguire's version. Of course, Tobey is another one of my secret boyfriends, so I'm biased. As you'll see, though, even the sequel pulled in enormous numbers, so you've got to give the franchise its props, even if the third one wasn't that great.

Other top box office hits include Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Spider-Man 2, taking up spots 11-15 respectively. There are have been a ton of really fantastic top box office hits but some of them are a little confusing. I sometimes wonder if they made it big because of a great story or because of good publicity. Take a look at the lists on IMDb and FilmSite, and tell me – are your favorite films top box office hits?

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