# 2010s in film

The decade of the 2010s in film involved many significant developments in the motion picture industry as Disney towered all over its competitors. The studio's titles occupy exactly half of the top 50 highest-grossing movies at the worldwide box office of these ten years with solely one of those entries not reaching a billion dollars and the only three features on the entire list to cross the $2 billion mark, while Universal and Warner Bros. share the distant second place at eight titles each. Furthermore, non-Disney films managed to become the top-grosser of a year merely twice during the decade. This domination culminated in the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.

## Trends

* Major film studios attempted to replicate the box office dominance of Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe (which also had a few releases by Paramount, Universal, and Sony) through establishing their own blockbuster shared universe franchises. Despite not being as lucrative on average, Warner Bros. was able to build multiple such franchises with the likes of the DC Extended Universe, MonsterVerse (co-owned by Legendary), and Wizarding World; while 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise transitioned into being a shared world and Sony's Spider-Man Universe got off to a promising start. However, some other attempts such as Universal's Dark Universe were immediately unsuccessful or ultimately went unproduced. Overall, this movement especially led the superhero film subgenre to attain monumental heights of prosperity.
* Disney capitalized on nostalgia by producing several live action or photorealistic remakes/re-adaptations of its famous hand-drawn animated films: Alice in Wonderland (2010), Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), et cetera.
* Film series adaptations of popular young adult fiction novels became more prevalent (three of which were distributed or acquired by Lionsgate, and two by 20th Century Fox). After the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Percy Jackson series ended in the early years of the decade, the trend's focus switched from the fantasy genre to dystopian sci-fi with the Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner series. Other efforts of this kind failed to generate any sequels except for DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon series, which took an alternative path by being a non-live action project that was just very loosely based on its source materials and had longer intervals between feature releases (though supported by the likes of short films and TV shows set in the same canon).

## Highest-grossing films

The list has more 2019 films in the top 50 than any other year, with nine in total (seven by Disney). It is then followed by 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 with six; 2012 with five; 2013 with four; 2010 and 2011 with three; and 2014 with two (the only year in which Disney did not have a billion dollar grosser and failed to make the list). All but three films (two animated and one biopic) are based on another property. Figures are given in United States dollars.
List of worldwide highest-grossing films :
| Rank | Title | Distributor(s) | Worldwide gross | Year |
| 1 | Avengers: Endgame | Disney | $2,797,800,564 | 2019 |
| 2 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Disney | $2,068,223,624 | 2015 |
| 3 | Avengers: Infinity War | Disney | $2,048,359,754 | 2018 |
| 4 | Jurassic World | Universal | $1,671,713,208 | 2015 |
| 5 | The Lion King | Disney | $1,656,943,394 | 2019 |
| 6 | The Avengers | Disney | $1,518,812,988 | 2012 |
| 7 | Furious 7 | Universal | $1,516,045,911 | 2015 |
| 8 | Frozen II | Disney | $1,450,026,933 | 2019 |
| 9 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Disney | $1,405,403,694 | 2015 |
| 10 | Black Panther | Disney | $1,346,913,161 | 2018 |
| 11 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Warner Bros. | $1,341,511,219 | 2011 |
| 12 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Disney | $1,332,539,889 | 2017 |
| 13 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Universal | $1,309,484,461 | 2018 |
| 14 | Frozen | Disney | $1,290,000,000 | 2013 |
| 15 | Beauty and the Beast | Disney | $1,263,521,126 | 2017 |
| 16 | Incredibles 2 | Disney | $1,242,808,192 | 2018 |
| 17 | The Fate of the Furious | Universal | $1,236,005,118 | 2017 |
| 18 | Iron Man 3 | Disney | $1,214,811,252 | 2013 |
| 19 | Minions | Universal | $1,159,398,397 | 2015 |
| 20 | Captain America: Civil War | Disney | $1,153,304,495 | 2016 |
| 21 | Aquaman | Warner Bros. | $1,147,661,807 | 2018 |
| 22 | Spider-Man: Far From Home | Sony | $1,131,927,996 | 2019 |
| 23 | Captain Marvel | Disney | $1,128,274,794 | 2019 |
| 24 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Paramount | $1,123,794,079 | 2011 |
| 25 | Skyfall | Sony / MGM | $1,108,561,013 | 2012 |
| 26 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | Paramount | $1,104,054,072 | 2014 |
| 27 | The Dark Knight Rises | Warner Bros. | $1,084,939,099 | 2012 |
| 28 | Toy Story 4 | Disney | $1,073,394,593 | 2019 |
| 29 | Joker | Warner Bros. | $1,072,651,773 | 2019 |
| 30 | Toy Story 3 | Disney | $1,066,969,703 | 2010 |
| 31 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Disney | $1,065,837,407 | 2019 |
| 32 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Disney | $1,056,057,273 | 2016 |
| 33 | Aladdin | Disney | $1,050,693,953 | 2019 |
| 34 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | Disney | $1,045,713,802 | 2011 |
| 35 | Despicable Me 3 | Universal | $1,034,799,409 | 2017 |
| 36 | Finding Dory | Disney | $1,028,570,889 | 2016 |
| 37 | Alice in Wonderland | Disney | $1,025,467,110 | 2010 |
| 38 | Zootopia | Disney | $1,023,784,195 | 2016 |
| 39 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Warner Bros. | $1,021,103,568 | 2012 |
| 40 | Despicable Me 2 | Universal | $970,761,885 | 2013 |
| 41 | The Jungle Book | Disney | $966,550,600 | 2016 |
| 42 | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Sony | $962,126,927 | 2017 |
| 43 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Warner Bros. | $960,283,305 | 2010 |
| 44 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Warner Bros. | $958,366,855 | 2013 |
| 45 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Warner Bros. | $956,019,788 | 2014 |
| 46 | Bohemian Rhapsody | 20th Century | $903,655,259 | 2018 |
| 47 | Spectre | Sony / MGM | $880,674,609 | 2015 |
| 48 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Sony | $880,166,924 | 2017 |
| 49 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | 20th Century | $877,244,782 | 2012 |
| 50 | The Secret Life of Pets | Universal | $875,457,937 | 2016 |

### Highest-grossing film per year

Disney releases were the annual top-grossers for the entire latter half of the decade.
| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Worldwide Gross |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Disney | $1,066,969,703 |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Warner Bros. | $1,342,511,219 |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Disney | $1,518,812,988 |
| 2013 | Frozen | Disney | $1,280,802,282 |
| 2014 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | Paramount | $1,104,054,072 |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Disney | $2,068,223,624 |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Disney | $1,153,304,495 |
| 2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Disney | $1,332,539,889 |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Disney | $2,048,359,754 |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Disney | $2,797,800,564 |

## Most acclaimed films

On Rotten Tomatoes, the following five films of the 2010s received 100% critics' ratings.
* The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
* Summer 1993 (2017)
* Leave No Trace (2018)
* Minding the Gap (2018)
* Honeyland (2019)
Metacritic listed the following as the top ten highest rated films (at the time of their release) of the 2010s.
* Boyhood
* Moonlight
* Roma
* Manchester by the Sea
* 12 Years a Slave
* Gravity
* Parasite
* Portrait of a Lady on Fire
* Carol
* The Social Network
Metacritic also listed the following films as most mentioned on critic's lists of the best films of the 2010s.
* Mad Max: Fury Road
* Moonlight
* The Social Network
* Get Out
* Under the Skin
* The Tree of Life
* (Tie) Inception and Inside Llewyn Davis
* Boyhood
* The Master
Den of Geek listed the following as the top ten best movies of the decade.
* Parasite
* Inception
* Mad Max: Fury Road
* Get Out
* Her
* Ex Machina
* Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
* Hereditary
* The Social Network
* Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Rolling Stone magazine listed the following as the top ten best movies of the decade.
* Moonlight
* The Social Network
* Holy Motors
* Boyhood
* Get Out
* Toni Erdmann
* The Master
* Roma
* Mad Max: Fury Road
* Carol
Indiewire listed the following as the top ten best movies of the decade.
* Moonlight
* Under the Skin
* Certified Copy
* The Act of Killing
* Inside Llewyn Davis
* Holy Motors
* Carol
* The Master
* Mad Max: Fury Road
* Lady Bird
In 2016, BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century poll of film critics listed the following as the top ten best films of the 2010s so far.
* Boyhood
* The Tree of Life
* A Separation
* Inside Llewyn Davis
* The Act of Killing
* Holy Motors
* Mad Max: Fury Road
* The Grand Budapest Hotel
* The Master
* The Social Network
In 2017, The New York Times' list of "The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far" selected the following as the best films of the 2010s so far.
* A Touch of Sin
* Inside Out
* Boyhood
* Inside Llewyn Davis
* Timbuktu
* In Jackson Heights
* White Material
* Mad Max: Fury Road
* Moonlight

### Awards

The following films received the most acclaim at the Academy Awards during the 2010s.
| Year | Ceremony | Most nominations | Most awards | Best Picture |
| 2010 | 83rd | The King's Speech (12) | Inception and The King's Speech (4) | The King's Speech |
| 2011 | 84th | The Artist (11) | The Artist and Hugo (5) | The Artist |
| 2012 | 85th | Lincoln (12) | Life of Pi (4) | Argo |
| 2013 | 86th | American Hustle and Gravity (10) | Gravity (7) | 12 Years a Slave |
| 2014 | 87th | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (9) | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (4) | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) |
| 2015 | 88th | The Revenant (12) | Mad Max: Fury Road (6) | Spotlight |
| 2016 | 89th | La La Land (14) | La La Land (6) | Moonlight |
| 2017 | 90th | The Shape of Water (13) | The Shape of Water (4) | The Shape of Water |
| 2018 | 91st | The Favourite and Roma (10) | Bohemian Rhapsody (4) | Green Book |
| 2019 | 92nd | Joker (11) | Parasite (4) | Parasite |

## List of films

* 2010 in film
* 2011 in film
* 2012 in film
* 2013 in film
* 2014 in film
* 2015 in film
* 2016 in film
* 2017 in film
* 2018 in film
* 2019 in film