20 Greatest Blockbuster Movie Masterpieces of All Time, Ranked

'Feature filmmaking has grown a great deal since the humble early days of the medium, evolving and shifting to fit not only the tastes of wider global audiences but also becoming more codified as a real business and industry. This is most prominently seen in the massive rise in blockbusters, as the allure of massively budgeted cinematic experiences that draw in millions of dollars has forever changed the cinematic industry. Even blockbusters themselves have evolved and changed throughout film history, yet they haven't stopped being some of the biggest and most iconic movies out there.

These widely recognizable blockbusters are at their best when they are deserving of their own popularity, utilizing massive strengths and cinematic brilliance to amplify their blockbuster stature and become cultural pillarstones of their respective eras of cinema. Especially for general audiences, these blockbusters become some of the most captivating and exciting experiences that people can have inside a movie theater, elevating the entire cinematic experience in the process.

20 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019)

In the modern era of blockbuster filmmaking, where the biggest films are associated and connected to already established IP and sprawling worlds, Avengers: Endgame stands tall as one of the biggest and most anticipated event movie experiences ever made. It builds on over a decade of storytelling and universe-building to create the ultimate love letter to fans of the MCU. To many people, the film is still the absolute high point of the MCU that they've never been able to match since.

The film fundamentally understands its own impact and strengths as a fan event film, tailoring its biggest and most bombastic moments to hit hard for audiences, and designing itself for shocking reactions and reveals. Its continued influence on blockbuster filmmaking as a whole is still being felt to this day, with many modern blockbusters trying and failing to recreate its elusive strengths. As one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, the film's widespread appreciation and legacy are cemented in cinematic history.

19 'Back to the Future' (1985)

An icon of 80s culture and one of the most celebrated original sci-fi movies of all time, Back to the Future is about as crowd-pleasing and widely accessible as time travel movies get. The film's exceptional charm, with its blending and contrasting of different generations and eras utilizing great characters and quaint comedy, has made it an icon of sci-fi comedy ever since its release. The film makes the absolute most of its budget to bring to life its sprawling story with great stakes and top-notch effects.

The real box-office and blockbuster strength of the film, however, comes from its long-lasting legs and appeal, as it stayed at the box office long after its initial release, continuing to bring in new audiences through top-notch word of mouth. This praise and cultural strength of the film has only continued to grow with each passing year, with it now being considered an icon of 80s filmmaking culture as a whole, as well as one of the decade's highest-grossing movies.

18 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009)

One of Quentin Tarantino's highest-grossing films as well as one of his most acclaimed, Inglourious Basterds brought a sense of blockbuster scale and weight to Tarantino's signature filmmaking quirks and style. The action is bigger and bloodier than ever, while the wide array of characters is each striking and electrifying in its own way. The blockbuster scale proves itself to fit Tarantino's directorial voice like a glove, amplifying his strengths to create one of his wildest and most engaging films to date.

The film especially made an impact for being over double the budget of his previous films, having a $70 budget compared to the $30 budgets of Kill Bill Vols 1 and 2, as well as Death Proof. The blockbuster scale is immediately felt through its decisions, with massive practical action amplifying the drama and action of the film while also presenting exceptional craft in every aspect of its production.

17 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning' (2023)

The Mission: Impossible franchise has been an icon of spectacle and awe-inspiring action blockbuster filmmaking, with Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning arguably being the height of the action-packed series. The stunts are as captivating as ever while it weaves together a story with top-notch pacing and craft, maximizing every dollar of its budget to deliver a true action spectacle. Tom Cruise's distinct flavor of blockbuster brilliance is exceptionally honed to make Dead Reckoning an absolute blast from start to finish.

For an over two-and-a-half hour action film, the film doesn't falter for even a moment with one of the most well-paced and exceptionally crafted action experiences possible, with so many memorable moments that stick with the audience long after the credits roll. Sequences like the yellow car chase, driving the motorcycle off the cliff, and climbing through the crashed train are strong enough to be the absolute greatest sequence in other blockbusters, while they exceptionally build on each other here.

16 'John Wick: Chapter 4' (2024)

In terms of the modern era of stylish, choreography-focused action that blends gruesome R-rated action with tight-knit stunts, the John Wick franchise has been the go-to force for great, well-crafted blockbuster action. While any singular installment of the series could have easily earned a spot here, John Wick: Chapter 4 feels like a glorious culmination of all the strengths of the series, building towards a brilliant, perfectly crafted finale for the character of Wick.

While each film in the John Wick franchise certainly fits the bill for blockbuster action, Chapter 4 does the best job of the franchise in utilizing a massive blockbuster scale to create a sprawling, infinitely captivating action experience. There are non-stop great action sequences throughout as it jumps from one wild setpiece to the next, each feeling more striking and mesmerizing than the last. Rarely does a film franchise manage to find its best entry four films in, yet Chapter 4 does the John Wick formula at its absolute best.

15 'Titanic' (1997)

Standing tall as the previous highest-grossing movie of all time for 12 years, James Cameron's Titanic has been the face of massive blockbuster filmmaking for an entire generation of moviegoers. Not only was the film more successful than any other film of its era, being a dominating force at the box office for a massive chunk of the year, but the film was also breaking new ground as the first film with a $200 budget. While largely common in massive blockbusters nowadays, this massively expensive film used the budget to break new ground in terms of effects and masterful production design.

It combines the scale and sheer dominance of an explosive disaster film with the heartfelt emotion and pain of the historical disaster itself, creating one of the heaviest blockbusters ever made and a titan of dramatic filmmaking on such a scale. Being the face of box-office success for over a decade, the film had a massive influence and legacy on blockbuster filmmaking as a whole, with the lessons learned from its success still being felt in blockbusters to this day.

14 'Spider-Man 2' (2004)

While there have been an overwhelming number of great superhero blockbuster movies that have sprung up in the over two decades since its release, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 still stands as the most well-crafted and bombastic superhero blockbuster experience ever crafted. It features exceptional high-flying visuals that make the most out of both the scale and energy of a blockbuster experience, exemplifying the potential of a Spider-Man action film better than any other adaptation of the classic character.

The film finds great success thanks primarily in part to the distinct personality and flair that Raimi provides to the film, with his own style complementing the blockbuster budget and elements perfectly. This sheer passion and technical craft, combined with the multitudes of improvements on the already strong elements of the previous film, have helped make the film one of the most acclaimed superhero movies ever made.

13 'The Lion King' (1994)

An animated masterpiece by Disney at the height of their narrative strengths during their Renaissance era, The Lion King is a defining icon of 90s cinema that would define the generation and often considered to be Disney's magnum opus. The breathtaking 2D animation is simply unmatched at this type of blockbuster scale, with vast colors and a multitude of vibrant, high-energy music numbers that make the most out of the blockbluster scale and scope.

The film exemplifies everything that makes a high-budget animated Disney film so effective, seeing their distinct style and care for animated storytelling at its absolute best with the type of wild, otherworldly visuals and emotional story that wasn't being done by any other animation studio. The film became one of Disney's biggest blockbuster hits, reaching the high stature of being the once second-highest-grossing movie of all time.

12 'Avatar' (2009)

Still prominently holding its record as the highest grossing movie of all time over 15 years after its initial release, the vast, magical sci-fi world of James Cameron's Avatar still has a stranglehold on audiences in a way few original sci-fi movies have ever been able to do. Its exceptional motion capture animation and seamless usage of 3D visuals still make it one of the most captivating visual experiences that blockbuster filmmaking has to offer.

It brings to life a vast, expansive world that pushes the latest technologies to the absolute brink of what is possible to create and exceptional, frankly unbelievable piece of visual art. The film nearly single-handedly re-invigorated enthusiasm surrounding 3D filmmaking as a whole, making it a continuous trend throughout the early 2010s as many other blockbusters attempted to follow in its lofty footsteps. It also continues to speak volumes that, even as many have tried, no other film has earned a higher gross at the box-office than Avatar.

11 'The Ten Commandments' (1956)

Long before the high-budgeted blockbuster style of filmmaking became the norm for Hollywood studios, The Ten Commandments was one of the first real examples of a sprawling, high-budget film made to be experienced by vast sums of audiences for massive box office success. The grandiose biblical epic soon became an icon of 1950s cinema, utilizing its prowess as the then-most expensive film ever made to bring an untold sense of scale rarely ever seen previously in cinema history.

The film goes out of its way to be as accurate and faithful to the highly coveted source material as possible, giving it the large, glorious execution that such an important and widely celebrated story truly deserves. It also laid the groundwork for many exceptional blockbusters in the years to come, with its box-office earnings in the 50s translating to a nearly $2 billion when adjusting for inflation with the modern value of the dollar.