8 Best Action Movies That Made $1 Billion, Ranked

While each blockbuster film tries its best to be a compelling piece of art that makes the most of out of the medium of cinema, they more often than not find themselves chained to the goal of being as big a financial success as possible, with the films that make the most money looked up to as prominent pillars of cultural cinema. The $1 billion box-office barrier is especially a prominent mark for any film to achieve, especially films that are a part of the action genre.

The explosive and high energy of action filmmaking lends itself perfectly for the mass appeal and success of a blockbuster experience. This also goes hand in hand with the larger budgets and scale of blockbuster film, with this often directly going into dynamic special effects and more engaging action that draws in more audiences. The very best and most successful action filmmakers find the best balance between mass appeal and striking, artistic filmmaking.

8

‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (2016)

Image via Lucasfilm

Being the biggest sci-fi action franchise of all time, there are countless films in the Star Wars franchise that have surpassed the $1 billion mark and have attained overwhelming global success. However, the absolute best of these high-grossing entries of the modern age of the franchise isn’t even a part of the Skywalker Saga, but instead the best Star Wars spinoff film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The film acts as a prequel, taking place directly before the events of A New Hope, following a rogue band of resistance fighters uniting for a mission to steal the Death Star plans.

Between the directing by Gareth Edwards and the screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, there is a sense of individualized brilliance and lack of limitations compared to the sequel trilogy that made Rogue One stand out that much more. The characters are memorable and full of character, the story proves to be as exciting as it is heartbreaking, and it features one of the most legendary moments in modern Star Wars history with the ending hallway fight scene.

7

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ (2006)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Few blockbuster action franchises immediately made a powerful legacy for themselves as the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with their blending of top-notch practical sets and action with groundbreaking visual effects making them some of the definitive blockbusters of the 2000s. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest rode the hype and excitement of the franchise to its highest box-office highs yet, thanks to amplifying the strengths of the original film and delivering an all-time great villain in Davy Jones (Bill Nighy).

Gore Verbinski’s sense of scale and enthralling blockbuster directing further is arguably at its best in this midpoint of the trilogy, delivering on all fronts exactly what fans of the original wanted in terms of a larger, more bombastic sequel to Curse of the Black Pearl. Even after the franchise has seen various other sequels, this iconic original sequel is still seen by many as the highest point of the franchise, and to some possibly even the last truly great Pirates of the Caribbean film.

6

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)

Image via Marvel Studios

With 11 different films crossing the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box-office, the MCU is easily one of the most massively successful and inescapable action blockbuster phenomena of the 21st century. However, among all the different high-grossing films that made their mark and went towards building a sprawling cinematic universe, Avengers: Infinity War‘s climactic bringing together of all these characters is still one of the MCU’s greatest achievements.

It’s a genuine feat of brilliant pacing and narrative strength that the film is able to balance so many different characters with their own distinct arcs and histories with one another while telling its own, exceptionally compelling standalone story racing against the clock to stop one ruthless villain. Josh Brolin‘s role as Thanos really is the key to making this film work, as the centerpiece of villainy that drives the plot forward, adding both compelling action and genuine emotional weight and stakes to the MCU that still hasn’t been matched 8 years later.

5

‘Skyfall’ (2012)

MGM

Considering just how much of an icon James Bond has been in the world of action for generations now, it feels strange that Skyfall is the only Bond film that has broken the $1 billion barrier. However, it works out that Skyfall is one of the absolute best Bond films to date, blending together the sleek, gritty style of Daniel Craig‘s iteration of Bond with a classic Bond story of betrayal, mystery, and explosive scale. It perfects and refines the strengths of the Craig era of bond to their absolute apex, feeling much more intelligent and intricate than most other spy films.

It’s a film that brilliantly reflects upon the entire history of Bond as a character, challenging the very notions of blind authority and secret agents that have held up the franchise and character since the very beginning. However, its self-reflective themes never get in the way of the film’s action and stakes, with Sam Mendes pulling no punches in making Skyfall one of the most bombastic and exciting films in the Bond franchise to date.

4

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Good legacy sequels that live up to the impact and strengths of the original film are very rare, and even more rare for the legacy sequel to actually improve upon the original in the eyes of fans and audiences alike. Top Gun: Maverick proved to be one of the very few to pull of this feat, with the overwhelming appreciation and strength of the film leading it to one of the most dominating box-office runs by an American blockbuster of the decade so far.

The film maintained strength and audience interest throughout the entire summer of 2022, even managing to reclaim #1 at the domestic box office on Labor Day Weekend despite the film releasing all the way back on Memorial Day weekend. It took until October for the film to finally leave the domestic top 10 and in the process cemented an overwhelming legacy on the back of its striking jet plane action and the always compelling charm of leading man Tom Cruise.

3

‘Ne Zha 2’ (2025)

Image via Chengdu Coco Cartoon

Ne Zha 2 is a clear outlier among the films that have grossed a billion dollars, as it is not only the singular non-Hollywood film to achieve such a feat, but it has also managed to be one of only 7 movies to break into the ultra exclusive $2 billion mark, entirely off the back of the Chinese market. When watching the film, it’s easy to understand why it became such a massive cultural phenomenon for Chinese audiences, as it features some of the most explosive, high-energy action that feature-length animation has to offer.

Without having to worry nearly as much about the set-up and character establishment that was done in the original film, Ne Zha 2 is able to go all out on goofy character moments and extremely impressive animation quality. It’s strange to call any movie that has grossed over $2 billion a hidden gem, but Ne Zha 2 is easily one of the most underappreciated action films of the decade, clearly deserving of more praise but overlooked due to being both animated and from China.

2

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

Image via New Line Cinema

Following up on a trilogy’s worth of massive scale epic storytelling to become the first action film to gross $1 billion, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a fantasy epic masterpiece that continues to be celebrated as one of the greatest achievements in blockbuster film history. It delivers on all the expectations and build-up that has occurred throughout the entire trilogy, with powerful emotional weight and bombastic battles elevating its scale and story to unprecedented levels for a blockbuster epic.

It’s a film whose mastery and distinct care for the medium is exactly what blockbuster filmmaking should be utilized for; not just appealing to as wide an audience as possible, but using the vast resources of a blockbuster budget to create a work of art only possible on such an overwhelming scale. The film will continue to have a legacy and influence on the fantasy genre for the foreseeable future as one of the most important and groundbreaking blockbuster action films of all time.

1

‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

Image via Warner Bros.

Not just an amazing blockbuster action movie, but considered by many to be the absolute greatest blockbuster action movie ever made. The Dark Knight soared to $1 billion status largely thanks to its overwhelming word of mouth, as audiences couldn’t help but sing the praises of Christopher Nolan‘s explosive action-thriller masterpiece. While the character of Batman had certainly been loved and appreciated before this point, The Dark Knight elevated the character to a new level of cinematic brilliance and importance for many audiences.

Through a powerful and symbolic original story of hope and sacrifice, countless engaging action sequences that kept audiences on the edge of their seat, and one of the all-time greatest villain performances in cinematic history, The Dark Knight‘s strengths and praises simply speak for themselves. The film has massively influenced the culture and perspective on action blockbusters in the wake of its success, still having an influence on the superhero genre in the almost 2 decades since its release. It delivers on every front exactly what the audience wants out of a blockbuster action movie, with audiences showing up in droves to experience a true feat of cinematic spectacle.