What do The Hulk, a young Leonardo DiCaprio, and a drunk pirate have in common? Each features in one of the rare movies to earn a mammoth $1 billion at the global box office. The Avengers became the 12th blockbuster to join the club Sunday, after the superhero symphony scored yet another record-breaking weekend. Here's a statistical look at this elite group of movies:
12
Films that have grossed more than $1 billion
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$1,002,082,000
Worldwide gross of The Avengers, according to Box Office Mojo. It's already surpassed The Dark Knight, to become the 11th-highest grossing member. The Batman flick grossed about $1 million less.
19
Days it took The Avengers to reach the milestone
$125 million
Amount The Avengers will likely earn over the next two weeks, says Richard Corliss at TIME, which would make it the fourth highest-grossing film ever. The film could eventually top the third-place blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which amassed $1.3 billion over its theatrical run.
$2,782,275,172
Worldwide gross of Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time
17
Days it took Avatar to break the billion-dollar mark, faster than any other film
$2,183,394,188
Worldwide gross of Titanic, the second highest-grossing film of all time, and the first to score more than $2 billion
9
Films in the $1-billion club that are sequels or parts of a franchise
3
Films in the club that are the concluding installments of a hit franchise: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and Toy Story 3
2
Pirates of the Caribbean films that are in the club: 2006's Dead Man's Chest ($1.07 billion) and 2011's On Stranger Tides ($1.04 billion)
1
Animated film in the club. Toy Story 3 grossed $1.06 billion.
6
Films in the club that were released in the past three years
2
Films in the club that were released before 2000: Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999) and Titanic (1997)
8
Films in the club released during the summer movie season
5
Films in the club produced by Disney: The Avengers, Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3, and two installments of Pirates of the Caribbean
2
Films in the club directed by James Cameron: Avatar and Titanic, the two highest-grossing films of all time
4
Films in the club nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards: Avatar, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and Toy Story 3
2
Films in the club that won the Best Picture Oscar: Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2
Films in the club nominated for Worst Picture at the Golden Raspberry Awards, which celebrate the worst in film: Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace
See a full list of the top 12 movies of all time here.
Sources: Box Office Mojo (2, 3, 4), New York, TIME, Times of India, Yahoo
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