Let’s be reasonable. It took 12 years for a film to top Titanic and Avatar has beat it in the first seven weeks at the box office, while showing no signs of slowing down. When Avatar finishes it’s run it could very well be an entire billion dollars ahead of Titanic‘s second place $1.8 billion worldwide gross. It is a massive mountain for any film to attempt to climb, but with nearly every big blockbuster recently getting the 3D addition (aka box office steroids), there is a chance. Here are ten films that could rival Avatar‘s impressive gross…or at least reach the coveted $1 billion mark, something only five films have ever accomplished.
Note: There are many promising box-office earners coming out this year including Iron Man 2, Tron: Legacy, Inception and Toy Story 3, but with this list I wanted to look far down the line. Check out the list below.
10. John Carter of Mars (Andrew Stanton, 2012)
A motion-capture/live action film about an American who wakes up on another world and has to band together with natives to save the planet. Although this sounds like an Avatar rip-off, it is based on a 1912 comic serial and with Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) is involved, the story is bound to better. It is the least likely film on the list to rival Avatar‘s box office, but if it connects with the same audience, it could be a massive hit.
9. The Avengers (TBD, May 4th, 2012)
This Marvel culmination including Iron Man, War Machine, Thor, Nick Fury, Loki, Black Widow, and The Incredible Hulk will hopefully bring in a culmination of the box office as well. While Jon Favreau has stated he is not directing, I hope they find a good director to cap off this momentous film.
8. Transformers 3 (Michael Bay, July 1st, 2011)
Despite horrendous reviews, Revenge of the Fallen made a massive $835.3M worldwide. With the recent confirmation of Paramount wanting to go 3D with the next one, it could give it the extra push at the box office. Let’s hope people are smarter this time around and I’m dead wrong.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (David Yates, Nov. 19th, 2010 + July 15th, 2011)
The series has brought in over $1.7 billion just domestically and with Warner Brothers giving it 3D, the extra ticket prices could make the last two films the highest grossers yet.
6. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Steven Spielberg, Dec. 23rd, 2011)
Using the Avatar motion capture and 3D technology, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s collaboration is one film that could pull in a similar audience of Cameron’s adventure.
