From pandemic-era shutdowns to “we’re so back” opening weekends, the 2020s have already been a weird, wild box office ride. So, which films actually won the decade so far, in pure worldwide theatrical money terms? Below, we’re ranking the seven highest-grossing movies released from 2020 onward, using global box office totals (no inflation math, no streaming estimates, no vibes). You’ll get the current top seven, a quick synopsis of what each movie is about, and the bigger reasons these titles printed money across markets, formats, and fandoms.
How Screendollars Defines “Highest-Grossing”
Screendollars ranks the highest-grossing movies using verified worldwide theatrical box office totals from 2020 to the present.
To ensure consistency and clarity, Screendollars applies the following rules:
- Worldwide theatrical gross only
- Nominal dollars (no inflation adjustment)
- Original release earnings prioritized
- Streaming revenue excluded
The 7 Highest-Grossing Movies of the Decade (So Far)
Rank #1: Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Worldwide Box Office: ~$2.32 billion
Jake Sully and Neytiri are no longer just fighting for a planet. They’re fighting for a family. Years after the first battle on Pandora, the Sullys are forced to leave their forest home and seek refuge with the ocean-dwelling Metkayina clan. As old human threats return with upgraded firepower, the story turns into a survival sprint across reefs, villages, and deep water, with loyalty, grief, and sacrifice hitting as hard as the spectacle.
Why It Dominated
- Heavy IMAX and 3D ticket sales
- Exceptional overseas performance
- Strong word-of-mouth longevity
Key Facts
- Studio: 20th Century Studios
- Director: James Cameron
- Franchise: Avatar
Avatar: The Way of Water is the highest-grossing movie of the decade so far, earning over $2.3 billion worldwide.
Rank #2: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Worldwide Box Office: ~$1.92 billion
Peter Parker’s life gets flipped upside down when his identity becomes public, and “normal” disappears overnight. Desperate to fix it, he turns to Doctor Strange for help, but the spell goes sideways and opens the door to visitors from other universes. Suddenly, Peter isn’t just dealing with being Spider-Man. He’s dealing with the idea of what Spider-Man means, and what it costs when every choice has consequences that don’t stay in your timeline.
Why It Dominated
- Cross-generational fan appeal
- Event-level urgency
- Massive domestic and global turnout
Key Facts
- Studio: Sony Pictures / Marvel Studios
- Franchise: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Spider-Man: No Way Home became the second-highest-grossing movie of the decade, nearing $2 billion worldwide.
Rank #3: Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Worldwide Box Office: ~$1.49 billion
Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is still flying, still allergic to authority, and still chasing the feeling of being untouchable in the sky. But when he’s called back to train a new generation of elite pilots for a dangerous mission, the job becomes as emotional as it is technical. Maverick has to teach them how to survive, while facing the parts of his past he’s been dodging for years. The result is a high-speed mix of legacy, risk, and raw nerve.
Why It Dominated
- Exceptional audience reception
- Premium format engagement
- Broad four-quadrant appeal
Key Facts
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Star: Tom Cruise
Rank #4: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Worldwide Box Office: ~$1.36 billion
Mario and Luigi are just two Brooklyn plumbers until a mysterious warp drops them into the Mushroom Kingdom, where nothing follows the rules of their world. Separated from his brother, Mario teams up with Princess Peach and a growing crew of allies to stop Bowser, who’s decided romance and domination should be part of the same plan. It’s a bright, fast-moving adventure built around classic game energy, simple stakes, and the kind of momentum that keeps families coming back.
Why It Dominated
- Family-friendly repeat business
- Global gaming fandom
- Strong international legs
Key Facts
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Based on the Nintendo video game franchise
Rank #5: Avatar (2022 Re-Release)
Worldwide Box Office (Decade Contribution): ~$1.15 billion
On Pandora, former Marine Jake Sully takes on a new identity and a new kind of loyalty when he’s sent to infiltrate the Na’vi and ends up falling for their world. As the line between mission and belonging disappears, Jake is forced to choose between the system that shaped him and the people who changed him. The re-release brought the original spectacle back to premium screens, but the story still lands because it’s built on a clean emotional engine: awe, conflict, and choosing where you stand.
Why It Dominated
- Premium re-release strategy
- Renewed interest ahead of sequels
Note: Screendollars tracks major re-release earnings separately for transparency.
Rank #6: Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Worldwide Box Office: ~$1.00 billion
Dinosaurs are no longer contained. They’re out in the world, colliding with human systems that were never designed for them. As chaos spreads across ecosystems and industries, familiar faces return from both the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park eras, pulled into a race that’s part rescue mission, part ethical showdown. The movie leans into the scale of the franchise’s big question: once something powerful is unleashed, who gets to control what happens next, and at what cost?
Why It Dominated
- Established global brand
- Strong international markets
Key Facts
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Franchise: Jurassic Park
Rank #7: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Worldwide Box Office: ~$955 million
Doctor Stephen Strange is dealing with a universe that keeps widening, and a new teenager, America Chavez, whose uncontrollable power can open portals across realities. When that ability makes her a target, Strange teams up with allies across timelines to protect her, while confronting versions of himself and choices he’d rather not meet face-to-face. It’s a story about control versus consequence, with the multiverse used less as a gimmick and more as a pressure cooker for identity, grief, and power.
Why It Dominated
- MCU continuity relevance
- Global fanbase
- Premium opening-weekend surge
Key Facts
- Studio: Marvel Studios
- Franchise: Marvel Cinematic Universe
H2: Why These Movies Earned So Much Money
These movies didn’t just “do well.” They were engineered to be global events in a decade where attention is the real currency. Franchise familiarity gave audiences a fast yes, because people knew the characters, the worlds, and the kind of experience they were buying. International market strength mattered because the biggest totals now depend on scale across regions, not just one breakout territory. Premium screen formats turned spectacle into a pricing advantage, especially for titles designed for IMAX, 3D, and large-format sound. And event-style marketing made theatrical feel time-sensitive again, framing opening weekends as communal moments, not something you could casually catch later.
The highest-grossing movies of the decade succeeded due to franchise power, global appeal, and premium theatrical experiences.
Highest-Grossing vs Best-Reviewed Movies
Box office is a measure of how many people showed up and how much they paid, which is a different question than whether critics found the film formally daring, emotionally original, or culturally urgent. A high-grossing movie often wins by being broadly legible across languages and age groups, by promising a reliable experience, or by being tied to a brand audiences already trust. Reviews, meanwhile, tend to reward craft, risk, coherence, and thematic resonance, and those qualities don’t always align with what drives mass turnout. The overlap happens, but it’s not guaranteed, because popularity is about reach and momentum, while acclaim is about evaluation and meaning.
High box office earnings measure audience reach, not critical consensus or awards recognition.
Will This List Change Before the Decade Ends?
Yes, and it’s almost supposed to. This is a “so far” snapshot of a decade that still has years of release calendars, franchise chapters, and surprise breakouts ahead. The list can shift for a few reasons: major sequels with built-in global audiences, new four-quadrant crowd-pleasers that travel well internationally, and tentpoles that make premium theatrical formats feel essential rather than optional. Release timing also matters, because a film with strong legs can accumulate quietly over time, while another peaks fast and fades. In other words, this ranking is a living scoreboard, and the decade isn’t done playing.
The list of highest-grossing movies will continue to change as new blockbusters are released during the decade.
