The Highest-Grossing Movies From Each Year Of The Last Three Decades
The Box Office smashes from the last 30 years
There are countless ways to measure a film's success.
There are award wins and nominations, of course, and there's acclaim from seasoned film critics. But a key marker is the financial success a film enjoyed at the box office, as determined by the highest-grossing movies.
Whether you're a regular cinema attendee, or you save the trips for certain eagerly-awaited releases only, box office statistics can signal how a film is received in wider popular culture.
Using data from the BFI (British Film Institute) and comScore - bearing in mind inflation and how that might affect some totals from over the years - ELLE has rounded up the highest-grossing movies in the UK over the last 30 years, from 1990 to 2019.
Though some big-budget movies might be expected (Avengers, we're looking at you) there are also romantic comedies and childhood favourites that make the cut too.
2020 - 1917
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£41.4 million, according to comScore, reports the UK Cinema Association.
What you need to know:
2020 was a very difficult year for the film industry, with the Coronavirus pandemic leading to big film release delays and forcing cinemas to shut their doors meaning their intake of revenue was in decline. Some films were released during or slightly before awards season, so narrowly missed the majority of the negative effects of the pandemic. According to The Guardian, UK cinemas earned £322.2m in 2020, compared with £1.3bn in 2019.
The top grossing film in the UK was 1917 - the Sam Mendes directed film following two soldiers given a critical but life-endangering mission across the battlefield by their commander (Colin Firth) set over one day, during the First World War. The film won the Best Picture award at the BAFTAs and was awarded three Oscars in 2020.
Other films on the top 10 highest-grossing films in the UK for 2020 include Sonic The Hedgehog, Tenet, Bad Boys For Life, Dolittle, Little Women and Parasite.
2019 - Avengers Endgame
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£91 million ($2.8bn globally)
What you need to know:
It's the final film in Marvel's Avengers trilogy, featuring all of the superheroes and villains like Chris Evans' Captain America, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd's Antman and the late Chadwick Boseman, who played Black Panther. The global box office stats meant that Endgame finally dethroned Avatar's 10 year title as the highest-grossing movie in the world.
2018 - Avengers Infinity War
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£71 million ($2bn globally)
What you need to know:
It's the second instalment of the Avengers trilogy featuring the aforementioned superheroes.
2017 - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£83 million
What you need to know:
The second instalment of the revived Star Wars sequel (featuring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver).
2016 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£65.9 million
What you need to know:
Confusingly for the non-Star Wars fans, this was not part of the new sequel but instead the Anthology series and starred Felicity Jones and Riz Ahmed.
2015 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£123.20 million - this remains the highest ever UK Box Office hit.
What you need to know:
This was the first Star Wars film in ten years and the beginning of the newest sequel series (Episode VI - IX), directed by J.J. Abrams. The film introduced John Boyega and Daisy Ridley while also bringing back Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.
2014 - The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£4.2 million
What you need to know:
Following on from the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the early 2000s, Peter Jackson returned with The Hobbit trilogy, featuring Martin Freeman (previously best known as The Office's Tim) as the central character. The series, which is a prequel to LOTR, also brought back some of the film's stars like Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly and Sir Ian McKellen.
2013 - Despicable Me 2
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£47.5 million
What you need to know:
The sequel to the hit animated film narrowly beat the star-studded adaptation of Les Miserables (£40.7m) - featuring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried - to earn the most money at the UK box office.
2012 - Skyfall
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£103.2 million
What you need to know:
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond to trace his roots... all the way back to the beautifully picturesque Scottish highlands. Fun fact: this film also brought Adele her first Oscar for her spine-tingling theme song of the same name.
2011 - Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£73.1 million
What you need to know:
The true end of an era. After watching Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson grow up in front of our eyes, the eighth and final film - where Harry has left Hogwarts to finally confront his arch enemy Voldemort - was released to a lot of cash and mass hysteria.
2010 - Toy Story 3
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£74 million
What you need to know:
Released 15 years after the very first film came out, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bullseye, Jessie, the Potato Heads et al. reunited. Woody's beloved owner Andy prepares to go off to college in this sentimental third movie.
2009 - Avatar
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£94 million
What you need to know:
James Cameron's film broke a tonne of records at the time, including being the highest-grossing film of all time right up until Avengers and Star Wars in the US and UK, respectively.
2008 - Mamma Mia!
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£68.6 million
What you need to know:
The star-studded movie version of the hit Abba-focussed musical featured Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan. How's that for A-List?
2007 - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£49.9 million
What you need to know:
Following the trend of the bi-annual Harry Potter film offering dominating the box office, the fifth movie in the franchise was no different.
2006 - Casino Royale
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£55.6 million
What you need to know:
This 2006 movie introduced Daniel Craig as the new 007, with a particularly memorable emerging-from-the-sea moment for the new Bond.
2005 - Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£49.2 million
What you need to know:
The fourth film, which sees Harry compete in the Triwizard tournament during his fourth year at the school, was another box office smash following in the footsteps of the first two movies.
2004 - Shrek 2
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£48.2 million
What you need to know:
Clearly, the first film - featuring Mike Meyers as an ogre, Cameron Diaz as his ogre princess wife and Eddie Murphy as a talking donkey - went down a treat with families flocking to the cinema for the second instalment. Shrek 2 added more impressive actors to the talent roster including Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots, Julie Andrews as the Queen, John Cleese as the King of Far Far Away and Rupert Everett as Prince Charming.
2003 - The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£61.1 million
What you need to know:
The final film in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy amassed millions at the Box Office as fans flocked to bid goodbye to Frodo, Legolas, Gandalf and co.
2002 - Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£54.8 million
What you need to know:
Just a year later and the Chamber of Secrets followed the Philosopher's Stone's success with the crème de la crème of the British acting world - Julie Walters, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Richard Harris - all reprising their roles.
2001 - Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone
How much did it make at the UK Box Office?
£66.1 million
What you need to know:
The very first movie in the Harry Potter franchise - which catapulted Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint to fame - set a precedent by winning at the Box Office too.
Olivia Blair is Entertainment Editor (Luxury) at Hearst UK, working across ELLE, Esquire and Harper's Bazaar. Olivia covers all things entertainment and has interviewed the likes of Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Michaela Coel and Ryan Gosling over the years.
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