Ladies and gentlemen, when it comes right down to it, movies are about making money. That indie darling you love so much? I bet you'd love it a lot more if it made $100 million, wouldn't you? That's because money allows us to validate our own opinions of a movie's worth by basking in the knowledge that other people liked it to, OR mock all of the idiotic sheeple that flocked to the theaters to see the latest example of Hollywood gone stupid. You can have your cake and eat it too!
2010 was something of an up-and-down year for the domestic box office. Despite the hype of 3D ticket sales as the savior of Hollywood, the overall box office was down from 2009, although only by less than three percent, and we have to remember that the economic news has been encouraging people to stick to less expensive pastimes for most of the year. There were some huge moneymakers when compared to their budget (Paranormal Activity 2 made around 57 times its budget back in box office, for example), and some massively profitable films released, as well. Of course, there were some massive bombs on the docket, but we'll be taking a look at those later this week.
For now, though, let's reflect on the year's biggest box-office hits. Got an idea as to what might be 2011's biggest film? Leave a comment in the...comment section!
 | 1. Toy Story 3
An undeniable success for one of the most beloved franchises currently running. It certainly felt as though the end of TS3 was an appropriate send-off to the Toy Story franchise, so it'll be interesting to see if Disney's shareholders attempt to pressure Pixar into making Toy Story 4 in a few years instead of a relatively riskier attempt at making a new franchise. We'll see! |
 | 2. Alice in Wonderland
Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the year, and arguably the film that most benefited from the 3D craze in 2010. Alice hit in March, a bit before everyone started to realize that hey, 3D post-converted films were kind of terrible. Even that can't explain a movie making a billion dollars, though (something that's only happened seven times ever). Kudos to Tim Burton, even though I fear this is going to lead to more Charlie And The Chocolate Factory-esque films from him, when I'd really like to see more stuff in the vein of Corpse Bride or Big Fish. But kudos also to Disney for having two billion-dollar films in the same year. |
 | 3. Iron Man 2
Realizing that this actually made slightly less money than the first Iron Man made in the U.S. is a bit of a disappointment until you realize what a massive surprise the first film was; no one (NO ONE) expected it to make $300 million dollars. Still, it's a hell of a lot of money for Marvel to reinvest in Thor and Captain America, and presumably Iron Man 3, although when that comes down the pipe is anyone's guess. |
 | 4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
This might've been the most bearable Twilight yet, even if it still wasn't very good. Creepy Dakota Fanning couldn't keep this series from reaching new heights for the franchise. Profitability will go down with the next film, as each of the three stars are expected to make some crazy-ass money that will push the budget well north of $100 million. |
 | 5. Inception
One of only two films on this list that isn't a sequel or adaptation, which says something about Hollywood, I suppose. I'm curious to see how crazy the DVD sales were for this, as the film itself was remarkably leggy for a summer blockbuster, which usually translates to lots of money in home video sales. |
 | 6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
This is still cranking along, but it seems unlikely that it'll hit either $300 million domestic or a billion worldwide. Still, super-respectable numbers for a fairly dark, slow movie. |
 | 7. Despicable Me
We're finally turning the corner on animation, and I think studios are beginning to realize that you can't simply throw up a CGI film onto 2,000 screens and make a hundred million dollars. There are still successes to be had, however, such as Despicable Me, which seemed relatively well-liked by audiences and managed to suck up family filmgoing dollars for quite a while. What's surprising here is the relatively low budget; I'm not sure what the story is there, but it certainly looked the equal of the more expensive films on this list. |
 | 8. Shrek Forever After
We can only hope that this is, indeed, the FINAL CHAPTER. Although this is the worst performance at the domestic box office for the franchise, it's still remarkably popular overseas |
 | 9. How to Train Your Dragon
I would totally be happy if Dreamworks turned this into the next Shrek. No, wait! I...I meant I'd be happy with some sequels! Please don't turn it into a vehicle for awful pop-culture references. How To Train was a delightful little film, with a shocking 98% approval ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. Its success should be applauded. |
 | 10. The Karate Kid
Want to know why Hollywood insists on remaking and rebooting and reimagining everything in their vaults? Take a good, long look, and get ready for The Karate Kid: Karate Harder in 2012. |
 | 11. Avatar
This is an honorable mention, as Avatar did indeed come out on December 18 of 2009. Even with those two weeks of box office under its belt, though, it still made more money in 2010 than any other movie did, popping up $466 million dollars domestically this year before finally leaving theaters. (That includes a minor $10 million bump from the Special Edition re-release.) |
Great to see Toy Story 3 on the top! Alice in Wonderland on 2nd is depressing.
Wait, Avatar made THAT much money?
if you work "with 3-D" in there this can be applied to Avatar as well. The remake of Pocahantas or Dances with Wolves, take your pick.
Crazy how much money Avatar made in total. Just got the 3 disc set. The making of for this movie is mind-blowing and well worth the price, even if a double-dip. Some movies behind the scenes really suck, but they put a great amount of time and effort into these HD features. Great value.
I wouldn't be so sure. The Iron Man and Spider-Man movies did pretty well because they were pretty mainstream super heroes. I don't think a lot of casual Marvel fans are going to be lining up to see a movie about a more obscure (at least to the mainstream audience) hero. I think Green Lantern is going to have the same problem.
@pat4327 said:
i disagree. im generally not a fan of shrek but "forever after" was definatly the series best. @President_Barackbar said:
if they are smart, they'll have iron man take up most of thor's marketing. that will get people to see it.
Co-sign on the Alice in Wonderland. I saw that on a Netflix rental and still felt cheated. That was as bad in a different way as Hook. Not even dumb fun, just dumb and boring. Tim Burton is beyond overrated.
If go on Worldwide B.O. Inception was number three.
yeah alice a surprise. but karate kid? wow
How much would it have made if it was the "kung-fu kid"?
In addition, Mac Guff, the French studio that animated Despicable Me, may have also benefitted from writeoffs and kickbacks from the government in ways that a US studio would not have.