1.AVATAR
Global box office: $2.788 billion
Academy Awards: 3 (Cinematography, Visual Effects, Art Direction)
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez...
Year of release: 2009
What: Set in the year 2154, James Cameron’s magnum opus crafted a tale of a hybrid human-alien who is sent to the utopian world of Pandora to facilitate earth’s communication with its native Na’vi inhabitants.
What worked: More than a decade in the making, Cameron’s magnum opus lured the viewer into a fantastical world of storytelling and special effects. Even as its 3D technology and state-of-the art VFX made us gape, the emotional story at its centre touched hearts worldwide. Six years on, Avatar’s reign at the top of the list of Holly’s biggest blockbusters remains unchallenged.
2.TITANIC
Global box office: $2.186 billion
Academy Awards: 11 (Picture, Direction, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects, Visual Effects, Costume, Art Direction, Editing, Music, Original Song)
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet
Year of release: 1997
What: The love story that has stood the test of time was built around the doomed romance between the polished, born-into-riches Rose (Winslet) and the rapscallion artist Jack (DiCaprio) with the sinking of the majestic Titanic at its core.
What worked: Close to two decades later, Titanic — that made stars out of Winslet and DiCaprio — remains a favourite love story. Cameron’s epic story of passion and sacrifice has made generations clap and cheer for the Jack-Rose romance even as its tragic ending continues to tease our tear ducts. Even its 3D version, released in 2012, did well at the box office. What makes Titanic still work? Cameron sums it up: “Some pretty good movies have come out in the last few years, but Titanic just struck some kind of chord.”
3.THE AVENGERS
Global box office: $1.518 billion
Academy Awards: Nominated for Visual Effects (lost to Life of Pi)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner...
Year of release: 2012
What: The geek in all of us did a couple of somersaults out of sheer delight when Marvel announced that it would put all our favourite superheroes — Iron Man to The Hulk, Captain America to Thor, Black Widow to Hawkeye — into one film. Thus was born The Avengers, the story of the mightiest superheroes who get together to fight the evil Loki from enslaving humanity.
What worked: Directed by Joss Whedon — that man of ultimate cool — The Avengers (notch up one more Marvel!) was an adrenaline-pumping ride from start to finish, packing epic sequences, fun moments and superb visual effects into its 143-minute running time. The epic showdown raised the bar for superhero films.
4.FURIOUS 7
Global box office: $1.511 billion. (Furious 7 became the first Hollywood film to net a cool Rs 100 crore in India.)
Director: James Wan
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Kurt Russell...
Year of release: 2015
What: The seventh film of the action-packed franchise had Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) and the rest of their team returning to the US to lead ‘normal’ lives, but things don’t quite go as planned, courtesy Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a rogue special forces assassin who is out for revenge.
What worked: The biggest draw for F&F fans worldwide was that Furious 7 was Paul Walker’s — who died in a car crash in November 2013 — swansong. The Conjuring man James Wan kept the F&F staples like fast cars and cool lines, plus brought a fresh and fun touch to Furious 7, ensuring that it vroomed past the likes of the Hobbit and Harry Potter films to become one of the biggest Holly hits ever. We in India also queued up for that
teeny-weeny Ali Fazal cameo.
5.AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
Global box office: $1.372 billion. (The superhero saga’s first weekend kitty in India was Rs 36 crore.)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen...
Year of release: 2015
What: The sequel to the smash-hit 2012 was a winner from the get-go, telling the story of how earth’s mightiest heroes have to unite to take on Ultron — a peacekeeping dormant programme designed by them that’s gone horribly wrong.
What worked: An all-in-one buffet serving up some of the most popular Marvel superheroes was a big — make that huge — draw. Weaker than The Avengers in terms of ‘wow’ moments, Age of Ultron, still packed in enough eye-popping action set-pieces and tongue-in-cheek humour to sit pretty at number 5 on the list of the top Holly blockbusters of all time. And James Spader as Ultron... wow, oh wow!
6.HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS — PART 2
Global box office: $1.341 billion
Academy Awards: Nominated for three Oscars (Make-Up,Visual Effects, Art Direction)
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, John Hurt...
Year of release: 2011
What: As the final battle takes place at Hogwart’s, Harry, Ron and Hermione are on a quest to find the final Horcruxes so that they can destroy Lord Voldemort.
What worked: Fans thronged theatres to catch the bespectacled boy hero in the final film of the Harry Potter series. Packing in the franchise staples of an emotional core and spectacular visual effects, Deathly Hallows Part 2 turned out to be a thrilling and powerfully acted film. Many went back just for that final scene of Harry, Ron and Hermione — 19 years on —proudly watching their children leaving for Hogwarts at the King’s Cross Station.
7.FROZEN
Global box office: $1.274 billion. (Making Frozen the highest-grossing animated film of all time.)
Academy Awards: Two (Animated Feature Film, Original Song for Let It Go )
Director: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
Voices: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Ciaran Hinds...
Year of release: 2013
What: Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, Frozen focused on a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey to find her estranged sister.
What worked: Lauded by critics and loved by audiences, Frozen became Disney’s biggest hit of all time and gave a huge fillip to shero films. The smart script, super animation and a hum-along music score ensured a host of records for Frozen — the highest-grossing film of 2013 to the all-time best-selling Blu-ray Disc in the US. And yes, a sequel is on its way.
8.JURASSIC WORLD
Global box office: $1.265 billion (and counting!)
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, B.D. Wong, Irrfan Khan
Year of release: 2015
What: The fourth film in the iconic Steven Spielberg-created franchise takes place 22 years after Jurassic Park and focuses on a genetically modified Indominus rex that breaks out of its enclosure and wreaks havoc on the fictional island of Isla Nublar.
What worked: Fourteen years after Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World brought alive the classic franchise elements — spectacular special effects, smart lines and those awe-inspiring creatures — to give us a popcorn thriller that’s been an unstoppable juggernaut at the global box office. And for us in India, there was the chance to cheer for our very own Irrfan Khan as the smooth-talking and suave Simon Masrani.
9.IRON MAN
Global box office: $1.215 billion
Academy Awards: Nominated for one Oscar (Visual Effects)
Director: Shane Black
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley,Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall...
Year of release: 2013
What: Tony Stark/ Iron Man embarks on a mission of rebuilding, revenge and retribution when enemy Mandarin tears apart his world in this third film in the blockbuster franchise that’s collectively scored a whopping $2.5 billion at the BO.
What worked: The most successful film in the Iron Man franchise found favour for its mind-boggling action set-pieces, RDJ’s sexy and smart turn as Tony Stark and the underlying humour. And did we say we LOVE Robert Downey Jr.?
10.TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
Global box office: $1.123 billion
Academy Awards: Nominated for three Oscars (Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing)
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Patrick Dempsey, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley....
Year of release: 2011
What: The third film in the Transformers franchise had the Autobots race against the Decepticons to reach a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon and unearth its secrets.
What worked: Despite having a loose and wafer-thin script and a bloated running time, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (why on earth was it called that?!) scored with fans for its stunning visual effects and jaw-dropping 3D.
