Watching movies has been a favorite pastime of many people for a long time. Every year new movies are released and become popular for a variety of reasons. Some of these films have become cultural classics and others have been quickly forgotten by their audiences. Examining the most popular movies for each decade is a good way to determine what audiences in different decades wanted as their entertainment.
In the 1990s, the highest grossing movie was Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. This film earned a gross profit of $474.54 million and was released in 1999. This movie continued the Star Wars legacy and offered fans the chance to watch another movie set in its universe. It was obviously a success and Star Wars movies continue to be made in the present day. Star Wars has become an element of pop culture and can be found in most conversations about movies. Overall, Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises ever and can be found in a variety of pop-culture references.
In the 2000s, Avatar brought in a gross profit of $760.51 million, awarding it the spot of top movie of the decade. The film came out in 2009 and featured elements of fantasy and adventure. The sequel was recently released and became the 9th most profitable movie in North America. There have been rumors of a third movie in the making so fans are anxiously awaiting official news. All in all, Avatar has quickly become one of the most popular movies to ever be released making an impact on the movies of the 2000s.
In the 2010s, Avengers: Endgame was awarded the spot of highest grossing movie of the decade with $858.37 million of revenue. The movie was released in 2019 and added to the Marvel universe. It was the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War and had fans flocking to the theaters to view the movie. Most fans who viewed it thoroughly enjoyed it.
Finally, only four years into the 2020s, there have been some record breaking movies released. The highest grossing movie so far has been Avatar: The Way of the Water with a domestic gross profit of $659.68 million. It was released in 2022 and follows the events of the first movie. This film immediately became popular, with old and new fans attending showings at theaters. However, with six years left in the decade there is plenty of time for a new movie to become more popular than Avatar: The Way of the Water.
In short, each decade is characterized by their most popular movie and has altered pop-culture with each new release. The most popular movies often make their producers millions of dollars but also give the audience a chance to find a new favorite movie.