It seems odd to be ranking or considering movie lists having to do with “the 21st century”, but indeed a lot has changed over the past couple decades. The highest grossing film of the year 2000 was The Grinch, a live-action family movie, followed by Cast Away, a largely dialogue-less drama fronted by Tom Hanks. The superhero genre was just starting to become a thing, and visual effects hadn’t yet advanced to the point that every major blockbuster involved wholly CG-created environments. The rare drama can crack the end-of-year box office Top 10 nowadays, and in the case of 2014’s American Sniper can even land the #1 spot, but for the most part, the movies that make the most money are the movies that cost the most money.

With this in mind, we thought it might be interesting to go back and look at the highest grossing film of each year in the 21st century so far, then rank the entire list according to quality. This list is, by design, subjective, but it’s a fun way to look back on the films that the American public became enamored of over the past decade and a half.

Note: This list was crafted according to the highest grossing film at the domestic box office of each year since 2000, not total worldwide box office.

For additional curated recommendations from the Collider staff, check out our lists for the best comedy films of the 21st centurybest documentaries of the 21st century, and best war movies of the 21st century so far.

20.) Spider-Man 3 (2007)

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Image via Sony Pictures

Total Domestic Gross: $336,530,303 

Spider-Man 3 is a very bad movie, but it’s easy to forget just how highly anticipated this sequel was back in 2007. This movie was a thing, to the point that going to see it is a plot point in Knocked Up. But ultimately it proved to be a messy, overstuffed, and bland follow-up that also serves as a harbinger for issues that would plague the superhero genre in the coming years. It’s clear that Sam Raimi’s mostly interested in the villainous story of Sandman, but he was forced to include Venom (and it shows) and he wants to wrap up Harry’s story with a Goblin storyline and he introduces Gwen Stacy to mix up the Peter/MJ relationship. It’s a film that’s trying to do a lot of things at once and fails at almost all of them.

19.) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

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Image via Universal Pictures

Total Domestic Gross: $260,044,825 

Director Ron Howard’s adaptation of the beloved Dr. Seuss book is fine, but is further proof that The Grinch story is better off being told either as a TV short or with a Halloween twist a la Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jim Carrey does as swell job as the titular character, but there’s just not a lot here in the way of substance. The production design and makeup effects are indeed impressive, but ultimately The Grinch is fairly forgettable.

18.) American Sniper (2014)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Total Domestic Gross: $350,126,372 

So yeah, plenty of people like American Sniper. I am not one of those people. We can laugh at the “fake baby” scene all we want but at the end of the day, Clint Eastwood looked at that doll, had Bradley Cooper wiggle his fingers to move its arm, and said, “Good enough.” That comes off as laziness. As for the film as a whole, there are certainly moments of tension and Cooper’s performance is solid, but the film wants to touch on PTSD without ever seriously confronting or considering the issue. It all but ignores why Chris Kyle suffered PTSD and instead just chooses a straightforward hero narrative and runs with it.

17.) Avatar (2009)

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Total Domestic Gross: $749,766,139

We’ve learned now to never bet against James Cameron, but I still find it hard to believe there are legions of fans eager for more Avatar movies. The hoopla surrounding Cameron’s 2009 film was mostly revolving around the cutting-edge technology. Which is fair! The movie in many ways changed how directors approach CG-characters, and the landscapes Cameron conjured were stunning. But that script? Oof. It’s a very simple, predictable story with bland characters that barrels towards an inevitably cheesy ending.

16.) Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)

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Image via Lucasfilm

Total Domestic Gross: $380,270,577 

Contrary to the prequels’ reputation as unwatchable, Revenge of the Sith is not an entirely terrible movie. It certainly has its issues—poor performances, over-reliance on CG sets, awful treatment of Padme in the final act when she literally decides to give up living because Anakin is a bad dude—but on the whole it’s the best of the prequel bunch. There are some interesting ideas at play in terms of the story’s politics, and George Lucas revels in the final turn to the dark side for Anakin. There’s a complexity of character to Revenge of the Sith that was missing in Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, and it at least sent the prequels out on a semi-high note of quality.

15.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

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Image via Lucasfilm

Total Domestic Gross: $532,177,324

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a pretty good movie, and a good Star Wars movie. Given how much the film was reworked in post-production it’s almost a miracle it turned out as well as it did, but the key creative drive from director Gareth Edwards—making a gritty, boots-on-the-ground Star Wars story—succeeds in forging a unique enough path for these Star Wars anthology movies. While Felicity Jones’ character could have used a bit more fleshing out, and some of the story beats don’t entirely work, the film is compelling from start to finish and concludes in a pretty thrilling manner. “Not bad” is basically the operative word here.

14.) Shrek 2 (2004)

Image via DreamWorks Animation

Total Domestic Gross: $441,226,247

Here we start getting into the “better than good” movies on this list. Shrek 2 was a huge deal back in 2004, as the sequel to a smash-hit animated film that carved out new territory for the genre. Wrapped up inside its fairytale aesthetics was a surprisingly adult story with pop culture references and slightly NSFW jokes aplenty. At heart Shrek was a love story, and the sequel doubles down on that aspect with a Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? twist. The follow-up continues to play on familiar fairy tale tropes to exciting results, and visually Shrek 2 offers up a more diverse and expansive palette. It’s funny, sweet, and a little naughty, and it still stands as one of the better sequels in recent memory.

13.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Total Domestic Gross: $317,575,550

One of the knocks on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is that it feels so much like a kid’s movie in relation to the rest of the franchise. Well yeah, that’s where it all starts, and that’s what Christopher Columbus gets right in the movie that paved the way for one of the best film franchises in history. Sorcerer’s Stone captures Harry’s introduction to the world of magic with a mix of awe and disbelief, and Columbus navigates that balance beautifully. In retrospect Sorcerer’s Stone may seem cheesy or even slight, but it’s essential for what would come later, and it establishes these characters as intensely lovable.

12.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

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Image via Lucasfilm

Total Domestic Gross: $936,662,225

In terms of box office, Star Wars: The Force Awakens tops this chart by a wide margin. Director J.J. Abrams faced the unenviable task of crafting an entirely new Star Wars movie without George Lucas’ direct involvement in a manner that would please critics and fans alike. And for the most part, he succeeded! Sure The Force Awakens is a little too familiar, and a bit unrefined in places, but it works far more often than it doesn’t and when it came to its most important challenge—creating new characters that fans care about—it succeeded tremendously.

11.) Spider-Man (2002)

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Image via Sony Pictures

Total Domestic Gross: $403,706,375

Coupled with 2000’s X-Men, Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man is responsible for the superhero genre as it stands today. It adapts a popular comics character with fidelity, but also artistry and maturity. Spider-Man doesn’t deem Peter Parker’s story silly or genre or B-movie-level—it treats his arc with the same sincerity as any major dramatic protagonist, and audiences turned out in droves to see this now well-worn origin story unfold. Tobey Maguire is a surprisingly endearing Peter Parker, and Raimi’s dark humor pops up just when the movie needs it. Years later, Spider-Man still stands as one of the best entries in the genre.

10.) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

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Image via Disney

Total Domestic Gross: $423,315,812

I’ve written extensively in defense of Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, but yes, Dead Man’s Chest is a great movie. The film doubles down on the story of Curse of the Black Pearl instead of trying to start over, following the characters of Jack, Elizabeth, and Will as their arcs grow more complex and, by extension, more engaging. And as a villain, Davy Jones isn’t simply some mustache-twirling baddie—he’s connected intrinsically to the emotional pull of the film, making his story all the more satisfying. Throw in some truly bizarre/insane set pieces from the mind of Verbinski, and you’ve got yourself a thrilling high-seas adventure on par with the first film.

9.) The Avengers (2012)

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Image via Marvel Studios

Total Domestic Gross: $623,357,910

While the film starts off a little messy, considering what The Avengers eventually does (i.e. bringing together a diverse group of heroes who previously lead their own movies), it’s entirely forgivable. Writer/director Joss Whedon pulled off the impossible here, crafting an ensemble superhero film that’s just as satisfying and entertaining as any standalone story—in some cases even moreso. There are messy spots, like the total waste of Jeremy Renner and Stellan Skarsgard, but Whedon more than makes up for it in other areas: namely nailing the introduction of a new Hulk and crafting Black Widow as a three-dimensional, complex character rather than a walking honeypot. It all builds to a thrilling third act battle that focuses on heroics first and foremost, but never forgets to keep this thing fun.

8.) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Total Domestic Gross: $381,011,219

If you think about it, wrapping up the entire Harry Potter franchise in a final film is an almost impossible task. Sure you have J.K. Rowling’s source material guiding you, but this is a visual medium, and the expectations were high. But David Yates positively nails it with an emotional, almost operatic conclusion that makes good on Harry’s arc, concludes a number of character stories in satisfying fashion, and juggles the complex plot developments beautifully. Its cornerstone is probably the Snape flashback sequence, where in a mater of minutes Yates has to make the audience do a 180 on the character from villain to ultimate hero. He does so and then some, as evidenced by the flood of tears once that scene ends.

7.) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

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Total Domestic Gross: $424,668,047

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is one of the best, most thoughtful blockbusters of the last few years. This was obviously a sequel to an incredibly popular film, based on an incredibly popular book series, but in taking over the franchise director Francis Lawrence crafted a follow-up that was equal parts thrilling and thought-provoking. Catching Fire provides all the same action and intensity that came with the first Hunger Games, but never forgets the circumstances of the violence onscreen. It’s incredibly political without being overtly so, and the casting and performances are spot on—especially from newcomers-to-the-franchise Sam Claflin and Jena Malone. Right down to that powerful final shot, Catching Fire makes good on the title’s promise and still stands as the best entry in that entire franchise.

6.) Toy Story 3 (2010)

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Image via Disney-Pixar

Total Domestic Gross: $415,004,880

That Pixar made one great sequel to Toy Story is stunning, but two is basically a miracle. Toy Story 3 fittingly brings the franchise to an emotional conclusion that plays into the age of those who first fell in love with the franchise. Folks who were just kids when Toy Story came out were now venturing into adulthood for the first time, and that wistfulness and melancholy runs through Toy Story 3 as the gang gets waylaid at a day care. The filmmakers really lean into the prison metaphor to exciting, funny results, and then of course the film reduces its viewer to a blubbering mess during those final scenes.

5.) Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Total Domestic Gross: $858,373,000

Capping off the first major era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was too big a job for just one film. And while the Thanos-centric Avengers: Infinity War is a pretty action-packed adventure, Avengers: Endgame is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s hard to even call Endgame a movie, because it's wholly unique in its narrative structure. The final two acts are all pay-off from 21 films of set-up. They really only work if you’re already familiar with the MCU. The goosebumps you get when Cap wields Mjolnir or when T’Challa and his Wakandan cohorts step through a Doctor Strange portal are directly related to the relationship you’ve built with these characters and worlds in previous films. The three-act structure of Avengers: Endgame pretty perfectly primes its audiences for maximum emotional investment—Act One is a grief drama that treats the deaths of its heroes with sincerity and digs deep into the effects they’ve had on those left behind; Act Two is a time-travel romp that literally revisits iconic moments from previous MCU movies and is full of the humor and color that MCU fans are accustomed to; and Act Three is an epic battle. But unlike far too many “third act showdowns,” this epic battle has weight.

The stakes, as established by the deaths of previous heroes and of Black Widow in Act Two, are insanely high and very, very real. Everything is on the line, and anything can happen. But most of all, you care deeply about these heroes. You want them to win not just to see Thanos get pummeled, but so the characters themselves can succeed. That kind of character investment doesn’t occur by happenstance. Avengers: Endgame is a crowning, entirely unique achievement that, most important of all, also feels like a genuine conclusion. It’s a series finale for the flagship MCU franchise, and it’s damn near perfect.

4.) Black Panther (2018)

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Image via Marvel Studios

Total Domestic Gross: $700,059,566

Black Panther is the best and most substantial movie Marvel Studios has created yet. It's also a box office phenomenon and the first superhero movie to score a Best Picture Oscar nomination. It is, truly, a film that people are going to be talking about for decades to come. Co-writer/director Ryan Coogler infused the film with a strong point of view, crafting a complex, deeply involving story the morality and cost of isolationism. Through the eyes of Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, the film dives into the specificity of the African-American experience, using Killmonger’s life of loss and hardship as a foil for T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) life of comparative privilege.Is it just for the African nation of Wakanda to stand idly by, in hiding, while those of African descent across the globe experience widespread hardship as an underprivileged minority? If one has the means of intervening for the betterment of one’s people, is one morally obligated to do so? These are questions posed by a superhero movie, and on top of all of that, Coogler delivers the thrills and spectacle fans expect from this particular genre. It's a miracle of a movie that won't soon be forgotten.

3.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

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Image via Lucasfilm

Total Domestic Gross: $614,968,870

Screw the haters, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a phenomenal and exciting piece of blockbuster filmmaking. Writer/director Rian Johnson made bold moves with his Force Awakens sequel, and while the character consequences of those actions rattled some fans of the franchise, every single decision resulted in a better, deeper, more complex movie. This is a complicated character drama about grey areas, wrapped up inside a thrilling blockbuster package. It's a story about wrestling with one's past, a story about the ability to become a hero no matter your background. The performances are terrific—the Rey/Kylo stuff is so compelling one could easily watch an entire chamber piece centered around these two characters alone. But then you also get bold cinema by way of that Holdo sequence or the jaw-dropping Throne Room fight. This is not just one of the best Star Wars movies ever made, it's one of the richest, most exciting pieces of Hollywood studio filmmaking in recent memory.

2.) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

Image via Warner Bros.

Total Domestic Gross: $377,027,325

So the movie’s a little long and it has too many endings. Doesn’t matter. Peter Jackson’s capper to his Lord of the Rings franchise solidified this as one of the best trilogies of all time. For years J.R.R. Tolkein’s books were deemed unfilmable, but Jackson did the impossible—and he won a ton of Oscars in the process. Return of the King gives these characters we grew to love a fitting, emotional conclusion, but not without some spectacular action sequences first. To be honest Return of the King kind of feels like the foundation for some of the problems that would plague The Hobbit movies (over-reliance on CG, more soundstage work, extended runtime), but it’s pared down enough here so as not to really become a problem. Every single piece of craft surrounding Return of the King, from the directing to the writing to the acting to the costume design, is spectacular, and it supports a story worth telling.

1.) The Dark Knight (2008)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Total Domestic Gross: $534,858,444

Obviously. Christopher Nolan’s magnum opus is nothing short of a masterpiece. The best superhero movie ever made. One of the best sequels ever made. One of the best onscreen performances ever. The superlatives never end—The Dark Knight is an incredible film from start to finish, and still stands nearly a decade later as the high-mark for the superhero genre. It’s a Batman movie to be sure, but Nolan layers the entire thing with thematic heft, essentially tackling the War on Terror within the confines of this genre. The ambition on display here is backed up by talent, both behind and in front of the camera, and it’s still yet to be beat.