Top 10 Highest Grossing Animated Movies of All Time
Animated movies have moved far from being niche entertainment to becoming full-blown blockbusters. Certain films cast a global spell in terms of appeal on the movie-going public in view as the analysis of the top animated movies in the world. Not just furthering the process of animation, they also destroyed box office records, fetched revenues past the billion-dollar mark, and put forth the basic lines for popular culture. In this article, we rank the most popular animated movies of all time by their worldwide gross. We give you the top ten animated films, lend some context to their success, and show how these industry giants laid down the groundwork for present-day studios and storytellers.
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Animated Movies of All Time
Below is our list of the top ten animated films ranked by worldwide box office gross. For each film, we provide a short overview and what helped it achieve such massive success.
1. Ne Zha 2
Considered the best animated movie ever throughout the world, this film has been a grand success, especially in China and overseas, with local adaptations and aggressive advertising. The cultural resonance and mythology, along with the huge scale, propelled it over the earlier leaders in the animated box office arena.
It’s a domestic blockbuster appeal, a strong export strategy, and high video production values.
2. Inside Out 2
Just behind it, Inside Out 2 was ranked among the fastest animated films to cross the $1 billion mark. Its sequel nature, emotional storytelling, familiar characters, and legacy support from Pixar all played huge roles in its performance.
Emotional resonance, brand loyalty, and strong sequel demand.
3. The Lion King (2019 remake)
The 2019 remake layered a photorealistic CGI style to the classics and hence found a huge market from old-time fans as well as amongst the new crowd. Thus, its box office collection ensured that it remained one of the top-grossing animated movies of all time.
Nostalgia factor, visual spectacle, global fan base.
4. Frozen II
Frozen II lived off the popular explosion of the first film. Coupled with the best marketing, excellent music, and wide international appeal, it became a big international animation blockbuster.
Franchise momentum, merchandising, and broad appeal across demographics.
5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie had formerly stood as the biggest box office hit of its sort and marked a successful transformation of a beloved game IP into animation. People everywhere broke box office records and basked in huge audiences.
Existing fan base, brand synergy, and broad marketing.
6. Frozen
Original Frozen is retained as one of the most-sought pan-animated blockbusters ever. Its songs, characters, and story threw a cultural glimmer that pumped-primed continuous watching, merchandise, and world reach.
Catchy music, family appeal, and Disney’s distribution muscle.
7. Incredibles 2
The Incredibles 2 picked up the pace from the original by churning out a more awesome sequel, balancing action, humor, and heart. It grew the new audience while keeping its older fans.
Sequel demand, quality storytelling, mass audience appeal.
8. Minions
The Minions film rode on the backbone of the Despicable Me popularity and created a worldwide phenomenon. The characters, brand recognition, and comedic tone made it exceedingly profitable.
Franchise spin-off appeal, global humor, strong merchandising.
9. Toy Story 4
The Toy Story series has always been a box office hit, albeit with some big numbers. The trend continued with Toy Story 4, with an emotionally powerful ending that was embraced by audiences.
Brand legacy, emotional closure, wide appeal.
10. Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 managed to enter the list of billion-dollar worldwide box office hits and marked the first instance of a billion-dollar sonamotion. A mix of nostalgia, serious storytelling, and universal themes kept people glued to the theatre.
Emotional climax, wide demographic appeal, established franchise.
The list of best animated movies of all time goes to show how storytelling meets with technology and world distribution to spawn box office legends. From Ne Zha 2 and its cultural might to the furious emotional undertow of Toy Story 3, these films become the axis on which all animation success spins.