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The following page lists the highest-grossing
superhero films A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, adventu ...
of all time, the highest-grossing superheroes at the box office, and the biggest opening weekends for superhero films. The figures have not been adjusted for inflation.


Highest-grossing superhero films

The top six highest-grossing superhero films and eight out of the top ten highest-grossing superhero films have been produced by Marvel Studios, within the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU). '' Avengers: Infinity War'' and '' Avengers: Endgame'' are the only two superhero films to surpass a $2 billion worldwide gross, with ''Avengers: Endgame'' having been the highest-grossing film of all time. Most of the films on this list are from either
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...
or
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. :


Highest-grossing superhero film franchises and series

This is a list of the highest-grossing superhero film series at the box office. The
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
ranks as the highest-grossing film series of all time. ''
The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah ...
'' ranks as the ninth highest-grossing animated franchise. A series must have at least two released films to qualify for this list. :



Highest-grossing opening weekends

This list charts films the 50 biggest worldwide openings. Since films do not open on Fridays in many markets, the 'opening' is taken to be the gross between the first day of release and the first Sunday following the movie's release. Figures prior to the year 2002 are not available. Since many American films do not open in all markets at the same time, the 'opening' gross varies depending on when it was released in the US-Canada market. For example, for films like '' Captain Marvel'' and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' which opened in the US-Canada market and in most other major markets during the same weekend, the 'opening' is the total gross of the film during that weekend. On the other hand, for films like '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' and '' Captain America: Civil War'' which opened in several markets a week ahead of their respective releases in the US-Canada market, the 'opening' is the sum of the opening grosses in the markets where they were released first and the opening in the US-Canada market. In the latter case, the opening grosses from territories after the initial overseas opening are not included in the 'opening' of the film. In all cases, if a film opens in a market after its release in the US-Canada market, that opening is not included in the 'opening' of the film.


Timeline of gross records


Highest-grossing superhero films

At least seventeen films since 1964 have held the record for highest-grossing superhero film. Spider-Man has held the record twice, Batman and the Avengers have held it three times each, and
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...
held it at least six times. Films based on
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
have held the record four times, films based on
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
have held it five times, and
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
films held it at least six times.


Highest-grossing opening weekends

Fifteen films since 1965 have held the record for highest-grossing worldwide opening weekend for a superhero film. Seven of the films are based on
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, while six films are based on
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. Batman has held the record four times, while Superman, Spider-Man and the Avengers have held the record three times each.


Highest-grossing superhero films by year

The following is a list of the highest-grossing superhero film by year since 1966. Some years have no superhero films. Batman has topped six years, while
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...
has topped twelve years, the most of any superhero. The
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
has topped thirteen years (every year of the 2010s, 2021, 2022 and 2023), while the ''Godzilla'' films have topped thirteen years (mostly during the 1960s–1970s), the most for a franchise. Films based on
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
have topped eighteen years, the most for a source.


Superhero films by tickets sold

Films must sell at least 50 million tickets to be listed. The
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
contains the most entries on the list, with four films in total. The '' Avengers'' series is next, with three films on the list. In total, six of the films below are based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.


See also

*
Lists of highest-grossing films The following are lists of high-grossing films. Worldwide grosses * List of highest-grossing films ** List of highest-grossing non-English films ** List of highest-grossing puppet films ** List of highest-grossing R-rated films ** List of high ...
** List of highest-grossing films **
List of highest-grossing media franchises This article lists notable highest-grossing media franchises. Due to companies and corporations rarely reporting the total revenue(s) figures of their franchises, the list uses estimated figures based on publicly available data and includes th ...
*
Blockbuster mentality A blockbuster is a work of entertainment—typically used to describe a feature film produced by a major film studio, but also other media—that is highly popular and financially successful. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget pr ...
* List of American superhero films


Notes


References

{{Film box office, state=expand Superhero Superhero films