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The full ranking

Top-Grossing Films of the 1990s

Titanic nearly doubled the field, dinosaurs ruled twice, and the Disney Renaissance peaked. The decade's box office champions, ranked by worldwide gross.

  1. 1

    Titanic (1997)

    James Cameron's epic grossed over $1.84 billion worldwide in its original run, the first film past a billion and the all-time record holder for twelve years. Eleven Oscars sealed it.

  2. 2

    Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)

    The most anticipated movie of the decade brought the saga back after sixteen years and grossed over $924 million worldwide.

  3. 3

    Jurassic Park (1993)

    Spielberg's dinosaurs grossed nearly $915 million worldwide and rewrote what visual effects could do. The T. rex breakout remains a benchmark.

  4. 4

    Independence Day (1996)

    Roland Emmerich blew up the White House and took in over $817 million worldwide, the biggest film of 1996 by a comfortable margin.

  5. 5

    The Lion King (1994)

    The Disney Renaissance at full roar: over $763 million worldwide in its original run, the biggest traditionally animated film ever released.

  6. 6

    Forrest Gump (1994)

    Tom Hanks ran through four decades of American history to over $677 million worldwide and a Best Picture win in the stacked class of 1994.

  7. 7

    The Sixth Sense (1999)

    Shyamalan's twist thriller whispered its way to nearly $673 million worldwide, an original supernatural drama that outgrossed almost everything in 1999.

  8. 8

    The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

    The dinosaur sequel grossed nearly $619 million worldwide and set the opening-weekend record of its day. Spielberg's darker return to the islands proved the dinosaurs were a franchise, not a one-off.

  9. 9

    Men in Black (1997)

    Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones's deadpan alien-cop comedy earned over $589 million worldwide, 1997's other giant alongside Titanic.

  10. 10

    Armageddon (1998)

    Michael Bay's asteroid opera out-grossed rival Deep Impact to nearly $554 million worldwide and topped 1998 globally.

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