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Science fiction is one of the biggest film genres on the planet and, in turn, one of the highest-grossing of all time. People scramble to theaters to escape into new and unique worlds that keep the real one from being so scary and invasive. Whether they travel to space in a galaxy far, far away, or Earth in an alternative reality or dark future, fans always seem to enjoy some incredible journeys through things they’ve never seen before.
Some of the highest-grossing sci-fi projects also happen to be among the highest-earning in history, largely because the genre holds some of the greatest cinema franchises ever. Star Wars, Dune, Avatar and Jurassic World are among the sci-fi series that dominated the last ten years, taking sci-fi to a new level of critical and commercial acclaim. This list will rank the highest-grossing sci-fi movies of the last ten years based on their worldwide gross.
10
‘The Wandering Earth’ (2019)
Worldwide Gross: $699,856,699
While a lot of the world’s highest-grossing sci-fi films are from the West, The Wandering Earth is a Frant Gwo film from China that became the fifth highest-grossing Chinese flick of all time. With the Earth at risk of colliding with Jupiter and gaining a now expanding sun, a collection of scientists try to lead the Earth away from said heat ball to save the planet.
The movie was so successful that it almost immediately warranted a sequel, The Wandering Earth 2, released in 2023. It was such a feat that The Hollywood Reporter called it “China’s first full-scale interstellar spectacular.” While more movies outside the West deserve to find this much success, having The Wandering Earth representing them is an incredible start.
9
‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024)
Worldwide Gross: $714,644,358
Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of the oldest and founding fathers of sci-fi. Written in 1965, it inspired most of modern sci-fi, from Star Wars to Futurama. So, when the first entry in the second film adaption, Dune, was released in 2021, it finally started to get the major worldwide attention it deserved, even while coming out during a devastating pandemic. With how much acclaim it received, pretty much everyone knew that the sequel was going to be a massive hit.
However, while everyone knew that it was going to be successful, Dune: Part II grew to massive heights at the box office. Nominated for awards all across the board, the sequel blew minds. It continues the story of the iconic Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), allowing audiences to experience the revolution on the planet Arrakis and becoming the proof in the pudding for why the project became such a massive commercial success.
8
‘Jurassic World Dominion’ (2022)
Worldwide Gross: $1,001,978,080
Since the beginning of the genre, the Jurassic Park franchise has been one of the defining staples of it in cinema—of course, Hollywood needed to keep it around for more big bucks. Thus, the world got the Jurassic World franchise. While it has been hit-or-miss critically (with the entire franchise feeling tired at this point), it has been a massive earner at the box office.
Still, when the original Jurassic Park cast returned for the third Jurassic World film, people immediately sprinted to theaters on June 10th, 2022. The assumptions were true, as Jurassic World: Dominion became one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022. The movie didn’t get great reviews, but the box office numbers cannot be denied, which is why another sequel is on the way.
7
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (2016)
Worldwide Gross: $1,058,684,742
For years, people asked for a Star Wars movie that didn’t revolve around the Skywalkers, but they were unsure if they’d ever get it. However, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story proved them wrong. With a whopping $1,058,684,742 at the worldwide box office, this movie proved (or should have) to Disney that this kind of Star Wars film was possible.
Unlike Jurassic World Dominion, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was met with heavy critical acclaim. The plot shows how Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) secured the Death Star plans in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, introducing audiences to a crucial time in the chronology that hadn’t been explored before. Star Wars fans can only hope that they get more projects like this. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story even spawned a spin-off starring Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), meaning its legacy lives on.
6
‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019)
Worldwide Gross: $1,077,022,372
It’s expected for a few Star Wars projects to be among the highest-grossing sci-fi films of the last ten years. While some may not like the Sequel Trilogy, it can’t be denied that it raked in some cash for Disney and Lucasfilm at the box office. As the conclusion of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker was always going to be a major cinematic event, even with all the divisiveness among the fandom.
The Rise of Skywalker kept viewers on the edge of their seats as Rey Palpatine (Daisy Ridley) faced off against her evil grandfather for the fate of the galaxy, with Ben Solo (Adam Driver) eventually joining her side. This movie sequel angered some fans, but they still took it to the top of the box office, ending the sequel trilogy on a high note, at least monetarily speaking.
5
‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ (2018)
Worldwide Gross: $1,310,469,037
With the first Jurassic World being such a success, everyone expected Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to follow suit. Sadly, this film is where the curse of the Jurassic Park franchise kicked in for the Jurassic World series. Much like The Lost World: Jurassic Park, the sequel to the first film was received quite poorly, partially due to its forgettable story.
Bad ratings don’t always mean bad box office numbers, and few examples prove this claim better than the Jurassic series. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom made Universal a lot of money, and the studio almost immediately greenlit Jurassic World Dominion. Until this trend changes, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has proven that this trend will keep this dino-led series around for quite some time.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
- Release Date
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June 6, 2018
- Runtime
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129 minutes
4
‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’ (2017)
Worldwide Gross: $1,334,407,706
The discussion surrounding Star Wars: Episode VII – The Last Jedi is quite divisive, which arguably led to its huge cash load. Whether one agrees with the treatment of the legendary Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) or not, the arguments surrounding this polarizing film had the world in a chokehold.
But this flick also had a predecessor that was extremely successful with critics and audiences, which ensured that people would come back for this sequel (besides the fact that it’s literally Star Wars). Regardless of one’s thoughts, it’s clear that controversy can help bring people to theaters, which vastly worked in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Last Jedi‘s favor. Some hate it, some think everyone missed the point, and some choose to forget it.
3
‘Jurassic World’ (2015)
Worldwide Gross: $1,671,537,444
One would be blind to not see exactly why Jurassic World gained and deserved the immediate recognition and money it gained. As the first film in the Jurassic Park series in fourteen years, Jurassic World had people quite excited about visiting the dino park again. Not to mention, it starred some amazing actors, like Chris Pratt (before he starred in every project being made), Bryce Dallas Howard, and Vincent D’Onofrio.
With the visual effects of the modern age making the dinosaurs look better than ever before, Jurassic World was a thrilling dinosaur movie that wowed everyone and, combined with a cool story that people enjoyed, earned it some wide renown. It served as the best direction for the franchise after so long and made both fans and general audiences very happy.
2
‘Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens’ (2015)
Worldwide Gross: $2,071,310,218
2015 was clearly a huge year for franchise comebacks. Alongside Jurassic World, Star Wars made a big reappearance in theaters with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, being the first film in a galaxy far, far away since 2005. Not only was it the first movie in 10 years, but it decided to continue the Skywalker Saga and bring back actors from the Original Trilogy, like Han Solo (Harrison Ford).
The Star Wars sequels introduced new characters, including refreshing figures like a Stormtrooper who deserts the First Order to become a rebel, which had never been done before. While the movie isn’t perfect, this project spelled promising things for the future of the Star Wars franchise at the time, anyway. How it came to be afterward is in the eyes of the beholder, however.
1
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (2022)
Worldwide Gross: $2,320,250,281
No one was questioning whether Avatar: The Way of Water was going to be one of the highest-grossing films of all time before its release. With how monumental and groundbreaking the first Avatar was, the sequel was always going to make its mark on Hollywood. With James Cameron‘s team crafting new technology for filming underwater in new ways and providing some of the best CGI in film to date, it was already making its rounds in the headlines.
Despite its longer runtime, fans and critics alike had a great time checking this flick out in theaters and rated it positively. The Avatar series continues to be praised as one of the greatest film franchises of all time, and the box office numbers speak for themselves. The world is currently waiting for the third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which will premiere this year and will surely join it in the ranks of its two predecessors—and potentially even pass it.
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