List of highest-grossing science fiction films

The following is a list of the highest-grossing science fiction films of all time. As of December 2019, 27 of the top-50 are superhero films, many of which are among the highest-grossing superhero films. Such films include science fiction elements but are most associated with the superhero genre. These are marked with "S" in the Type column, which can be sorted separately by clicking on the column header. The top 20 are among the highest-grossing films of all time.

S: Superhero film

Inflation rates around the world vary, complicating inflation adjustment.

Because of the long-term effects of inflation, notably the significant increase of movie theater ticket prices, the list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to later films.[51] The unadjusted list, while commonly found in the press, is therefore largely meaningless for comparing films widely separated in time, as many films from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases.[52] To compensate for the devaluation of the currency, some charts make adjustments for inflation, but not even this practice fully addresses the issue, since ticket prices and inflation do not necessarily parallel one another. For example, in 1970, tickets cost $1.55 or about $6.68 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars; by 1980, prices had risen to about $2.69, a drop to $5.50 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars.[53] Ticket prices have also risen at different rates of inflation around the world, further complicating the process of adjusting worldwide grosses.[51]

Another complication is release in multiple formats for which different ticket prices are charged. One notable example of this phenomenon is Avatar, which was also released in 3D and IMAX: almost two-thirds of tickets for that film were for 3D showings with an average price of $10, and about one-sixth were for IMAX showings with an average price over $14.50, compared to a 2010 average price of $7.61 for 2D films.[54] Social and economic factors such as population change[55] and the growth of international markets[56][57][58] also impact on the number of people purchasing theater tickets, along with audience demographics where some films sell a much higher proportion of discounted children's tickets, or perform better in big cities where tickets cost more.[52]

The measuring system for gauging a film's success is based on unadjusted grosses, mainly because historically this is the way it has always been done because of the practices of the film industry: the box office receipts are compiled by theaters and relayed to the distributor, which in turn releases them to the media.[59] Converting to a more representative system that counts ticket sales rather than gross is also fraught with problems because the only data available for older films are the sale totals.[55] As the motion picture industry is highly oriented towards marketing currently released films, unadjusted figures are always used in marketing campaigns so that new blockbuster films can much more easily achieve a high sales ranking, and thus be promoted as a "top film of all time",[53][60] so there is little incentive to switch to a more robust analysis from a marketing or even newsworthy point of view.[59]

 Indicates that at least one film in the series is playing in the week commencing 5 February 2021.

Highest-grossing sci-fi film franchises and film series ^[§]

(The films in each franchise can be viewed by selecting "show".)

Rank Series Total worldwide gross No. of films Average of films Highest-grossing film

1 Marvel Cinematic UniverseS $22,587,809,092 23 $982,078,656 Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,800,564) Phase Three $13,504,873,399 11 $1,227,715,764 Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,800,564) 1 Avengers: Endgame (2019) $2,797,800,564 2 Avengers: Infinity War (2018) $2,048,359,754 3 Black Panther (2018) $1,346,913,161 4 Captain America: Civil War (2016) $1,153,304,495 5 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) $1,131,927,996 6 Captain Marvel (2019) $1,128,274,794 7 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) $880,166,924 8 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) $863,756,051 9 Thor: Ragnarok (2017) $853,977,126 10 Doctor Strange (2016) $677,718,395 11 Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) $622,674,139 Phase Two $5,271,691,209 6 $878,615,202 Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1,405,403,694) 1 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) $1,405,403,694 2 Iron Man 3 (2013) $1,214,811,252 3 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) $773,328,629 4 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) $714,264,267 5 Thor: The Dark World (2013) $644,571,402 6 Ant-Man (2015) $519,311,965 Phase One $3,811,244,484 6 $635,207,414 The Avengers ($1,518,812,988) 1 The Avengers (2012) $1,518,812,988 2 Iron Man 2 (2010) $623,933,331 3 Iron Man (2008) $585,174,222 4 Thor (2011) $449,326,618 5 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) $370,569,774 6 The Incredible Hulk (2008) $263,427,551

2 Star Wars $10,315,843,646 12 $859,653,637 The Force Awakens ($2,068,223,624) Episodes $8,798,578,722 9 $977,619,858 The Force Awakens ($2,068,223,624) Sequel trilogy $4,474,907,761 3 $1,491,635,920 The Force Awakens ($2,068,223,624) 1 VII – The Force Awakens (2015) $2,068,223,624 2 VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) $1,332,539,889 3 IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) $1,074,144,248 Prequel trilogy $2,525,197,773 3 $841,732,591 The Phantom Menace ($1,027,044,677) 1 I – The Phantom Menace (1999) $1,027,044,677 2 III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) $848,754,768 3 II – Attack of the Clones (2002) $649,398,328 Original trilogy $1,798,473,188 3 $599,491,063 A New Hope ($775,398,007) 1 IV – A New Hope (1977) $775,398,007 2 V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $547,969,004 3 VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) $475,106,177 Anthology films $1,448,982,080 2 $724,491,040 Rogue One ($1,056,057,273) 1 Rogue One (2016) $1,056,057,273 2 Solo (2018) $392,924,807 The Clone Wars (2008) $68,282,844

3 Avengers $7,770,377,000 4 $1,942,594,250 Endgame ($2,797,800,564) 1 Endgame (2019) $2,797,800,564 2 Infinity War (2018) $2,048,359,754 3 The Avengers (2012) $1,518,812,988 4 Age of Ultron (2015) $1,405,403,694

4 Spider-Man $7,213,542,448 9 $801,504,716 Far From Home ($1,131,927,996) Raimi series $2,502,979,488 3 $834,326,496 Spider-Man 3 ($890,871,626) 1 Spider-Man 3 (2007) $890,871,626 2 Spider-Man (2002) $821,708,551 3 Spider-Man 2 (2004) $783,766,341 4 Spider-Man/Men in Black II (combo) $6,632,970 Marvel Cinematic Universe $2,012,094,920 2 $1,006,047,460 Far From Home ($1,131,927,996) 1 Far From Home (2019) $1,131,927,996 2 Homecoming (2017) $880,166,924 Webb series $1,466,912,986 2 $733,456,493 The Amazing Spider-Man ($757,930,663) 1 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) $757,930,663 2 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) $708,982,323 Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters $856,085,151 1 $856,085,151 Venom ($856,085,151) 1 Venom (2018) $856,085,151 Into the Spider-Verse (2018) $375,469,903

5 X-Men $6,083,133,642 13 $467,933,357 Deadpool 2 ($785,046,920) Main series $3,061,275,291 7 $437,325,042 Days of Future Past ($747,862,775) 1 Days of Future Past (2014) $747,862,775 2 Apocalypse (2016) $543,934,787 3 The Last Stand (2006) $459,359,555 4 X2 (2003) $407,711,549 5 First Class (2011) $353,624,124 6 X-Men (2000) $296,339,527 7 Dark Phoenix (2019) $252,442,974 Deadpool series $1,568,159,899 2 $784,079,950 Deadpool 2 ($785,046,920) 1 Deadpool 2 (2018) $785,046,920 2 Deadpool (2016) $783,112,979 Wolverine series $1,406,912,546 3 $468,970,849 Logan ($619,021,436) 1 Logan (2017) $619,021,436 2 The Wolverine (2013) $414,828,246 3 Origins: Wolverine (2009) $373,062,864 The New Mutants (2020) $46,785,906

6 DC Extended UniverseS $5,634,990,562 9 $626,110,062 Aquaman ($1,148,161,807) 1 Aquaman (2018) $1,148,161,807 2 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) $873,634,919 3 Wonder Woman (2017) $821,847,012 4 Suicide Squad (2016) $746,846,894 5 Man of Steel (2013) $668,045,518 6 Justice League (2017) $657,924,295 7 Shazam! (2019) $364,471,656 8 Birds of Prey (2020) $201,858,461 9 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) $152,200,000

7 Jurassic Park $4,998,557,380 5 $999,711,476 Jurassic World ($1,671,713,208) Jurassic World trilogy $2,981,197,669 2 $1,490,598,835 Jurassic World ($1,671,713,208) 1 Jurassic World (2015) $1,671,713,208 2 Fallen Kingdom (2018) $1,309,484,461 Jurassic Park trilogy $2,017,359,711 4 $504,339,928 Jurassic Park ($1,029,939,903) 1 Jurassic Park (1993) $1,029,939,903 2 The Lost World (1997) $618,638,999 3 Jurassic Park III (2001) $368,780,809

8 Transformers $4,853,126,073 7 $693,303,725 Dark of the Moon ($1,123,794,079) Live-action series $4,847,276,426 6 $807,879,404 Dark of the Moon ($1,123,794,079) 1 Dark of the Moon (2011) $1,123,794,079 2 Age of Extinction (2014) $1,104,054,072 3 Revenge of the Fallen (2009) $836,303,693 4 Transformers (2007) $709,709,780 5 The Last Knight (2017) $605,425,157 6 Bumblebee (2018) $467,989,645 The Transformers: The Movie (1986) $5,849,647

9 The Hunger Games $2,968,191,442 4 $742,047,861 Catching Fire ($865,011,746) 1 Catching Fire (2013) $865,011,746 2 Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) $755,356,711 3 The Hunger Games (2012) $694,394,724 4 Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) $653,428,261

10 Superman $2,554,837,548 9 $283,870,839 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($873,634,919) DC Extended Universe $1,541,680,437 2 $770,840,219 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($873,634,919) 1 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) $873,634,919 2 Man of Steel (2013) $668,045,518 Original series $622,048,041 5 $124,409,608 Superman ($300,451,603) Christopher Reeve films $607,751,603 4 $151,937,901 Superman ($300,451,603) 1 Superman (1978) $300,451,603 2 Superman II (1980) $190,400,000 3 Superman III (1983) $80,200,000 4 The Quest for Peace (1987) $36,700,000 Supergirl (1984)* $14,296,438 Superman Returns (2006) $391,081,192 The Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen (2018) $27,878

11 Iron Man $2,423,918,805 3 $807,972,935 Iron Man 3 ($1,214,811,252) 1 Iron Man 3 (2013) $1,214,811,252 2 Iron Man 2 (2010) $623,933,331 3 Iron Man (2008) $585,174,222

12 Star Trek $2,266,723,196 13 $174,363,323 Into Darkness ($467,381,584) Kelvin Timeline $1,189,710,370 3 $396,570,123 Into Darkness ($467,381,584) 1 Into Darkness (2013) $467,381,584 2 Star Trek (2009) $385,680,446 3 Beyond (2016) $336,648,340 The Original Series $621,900,000 6 $103,650,000 The Motion Picture ($139,000,000) 1 The Motion Picture (1979) $139,000,000 2 IV: The Voyage Home (1986) $133,000,000 3 VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) $96,900,000 4 II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) $95,800,000 5 III: The Search for Spock (1984) $87,000,000 6 V: The Final Frontier (1989) $70,200,000 The Next Generation $455,112,826 4 $113,778,207 First Contact ($150,000,000) 1 First Contact (1996) $150,000,000 2 Generations (1994) $120,000,000 3 Insurrection (1998) $117,800,000 4 Nemesis (2002) $67,312,826

13 Captain America $2,238,138,536 3 $746,046,179 Civil War ($1,153,304,495) 1 Civil War (2016) $1,153,304,495 2 The Winter Soldier (2014) $714,264,267 3 The First Avenger (2011) $370,569,774

14 Planet of the Apes $2,203,568,141 9 $244,840,905 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($708,835,589) Reboot series (Chernin Entertainment) $1,863,556,401 3 $621,185,467 Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($708,835,589) 1 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) $708,835,589 2 War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) $490,719,763 3 Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) $481,801,049 Planet of the Apes (2001) $362,211,740 Original series (APJAC Productions) $160,000,000 5 $32,000,000 Planet of the Apes 1 Planet of the Apes (1968) 2 Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) 3 Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) 4 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) 5 Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

15 Godzilla $2,129,206,697 35 $60,834,477 Godzilla (2014) ($529,076,069) MonsterVerse $914,976,207 2 $457,488,104 Godzilla (2014) ($529,076,069) 1 Godzilla (2014) $529,076,069 2 Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) $385,900,138 Japanese films $835,216,196 32 $26,100,506 Shin Godzilla ($78,581,000) Showa Era $328,008,402 15 $21,867,227 King Kong vs. Godzilla ($57,538,152) 1 King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) $57,538,152 2 Godzilla / Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1954) $44,034,000 3 Godzilla Raids Again (1955) $38,163,000 4 Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) $32,967,012 5 Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) $24,747,277 6 Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) $23,484,960 7 Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) $19,274,735 8 Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) $17,397,294 9 Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) $16,972,972 10 Son of Godzilla (1967) $14,147,000 11 Destroy All Monsters (1968) $11,812,070 12 Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) $8,240,979 13 Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) $7,966,280 14 All Monsters Attack (1969) $6,775,916 15 Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) $4,486,755 Heisei Era $266,600,956 7 $38,085,851 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah ($52,000,000) 1 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) $52,000,000 2 Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) $48,285,714 3 Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) $48,100,000 4 Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) $47,503,699 5 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) $34,538,461 6 Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) $20,014,705 7 The Return of Godzilla (1984) $16,158,377 Millennium Era $156,323,535 6 $26,053,923 Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack ($41,854,839) 1 Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) $41,854,839 2 Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) $31,996,667 3 Godzilla 2000 (1999) $26,213,963 4 Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) $23,016,949 5 Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) $21,320,755 6 Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) $11,920,362 Reiwa Era $84,283,303 4 $21,070,826 Shin Godzilla ($78,581,000) 1 Shin Godzilla (2016) $78,581,000 2 Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017) $3,664,713 3 Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018) $1,718,590 4 Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) $1,000,000 Godzilla (1998) $379,014,294

16 Terminator $2,105,699,296 5 $421,139,859 Judgment Day ($520,881,154) 1 Judgment Day (1991) $520,881,154 2 Genisys (2015) $440,603,537 3 Rise of the Machines (2003) $433,371,112 4 Salvation (2009) $371,353,001 5 Dark Fate (2019) $261,119,292 6 The Terminator (1984) $78,371,200

17 Thor $1,945,408,441 3 $648,469,480 Ragnarok ($851,510,421) 1 Ragnarok (2017) $851,510,421 2 The Dark World (2013) $644,571,402 3 Thor (2011) $449,326,618

18 Men in Black $1,915,759,789 4 $478,939,947 Men in Black 3 ($624,026,776) 1 Men in Black 3 (2012) $624,026,776 2 Men in Black (1997) $589,390,539 3 Men in Black II (2002) $441,818,803 4 Men in Black: International (2019) $253,890,701 5 Men in Black II/Spider-Man (combo) $6,632,970

19 The Matrix $1,719,630,856 3 $573,210,285 The Matrix Reloaded ($828,770,175) 1 The Matrix Reloaded (2003) $828,770,175 2 The Matrix (1999) $463,517,383 3 The Matrix Revolutions (2003) $427,343,298

20 Guardians of the Galaxy $1,637,067,377 2 $818,533,689 Vol.2 ($863,738,748) 1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) $863,738,748 2 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) $773,328,629

21 Deadpool $1,568,159,899 2 $784,079,950 Deadpool 2 ($785,046,920) 1 Deadpool 2 (2018) $785,046,920 2 Deadpool (2016) $783,112,979

22 Alien $1,653,812,293 8 $206,726,537 Prometheus ($403,354,469) Ripley series $708,137,651 4 $177,034,413 Alien ($203,630,630) 1 Alien (1979) $203,630,630 2 Aliens (1986) $183,316,455 3 Resurrection (1997) $161,376,068 4 Alien 3 (1992) $159,814,498 Prequel series $644,246,232 2 $322,123,116 Prometheus ($403,354,469) 1 Prometheus (2012) $403,354,469 2 Covenant (2017) $240,891,763 Alien vs. Predator $301,428,410 2 $150,714,205 Alien vs. Predator ($172,544,654) 1 Alien vs. Predator (2004) $172,544,654 2 Requiem (2007) $128,883,756

23 MonsterVerseS $1,482,329,019 3 $494,109,673 Godzilla ($529,076,069) 1 Kong: Skull Island (2017) $566,652,812 2 Godzilla (2014) $529,076,069 3 Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) $386,600,138

24 Wolverine $1,406,912,546 3 $468,970,849 Logan ($619,021,436) 1 Logan (2017) $619,021,436 2 The Wolverine (2013) $414,828,246 3 X-Men Origins (2009) $373,062,864

25 Resident Evil / Biohazard $1,237,686,980 9 $137,520,776 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312,257,250) Live-action series $1,233,229,454 6 $205,538,242 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312,257,250) 1 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)[70] $312,257,250 2 Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)[71] $300,228,084 3 Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)[72] $240,004,424 4 Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)[73] $148,412,065 5 Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)[74] $129,342,769 6 Resident Evil (2002)[75] $102,984,862 Animated series $4,496,291 3 $1,498,764 Resident Evil: Damnation ($2,325,035) 1 Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)[76] $2,325,035 2 Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)[77][78] $1,632,341 3 Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)[79] $538,915

^SMarvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe are shared universes for which some properties also have their own entries.
^*Canada and U.S. gross only.
^RDistributor rental.

The following is a list of the highest worldwide openings for sci-fi films.

• List of highest-grossing films
• Lists of highest-grossing films