At the moment, superhero films are everywhere. They dominate the summer box office every year without fail, and have given viewers some of the best performances of all time. Today at thatfilmbloguk, we are going to be counting down the top 10 highest-grossing superhero films. Please note that the figures stated are domestic, i.e. US values, alone, and we are using data from boxofficemojo. Without any further ado, let’s get going:

#10 – Iron Man 2 (2010)

Robert Downey Jr.’s second outing as Tony Stark and Iron Man pit him against Whiplash – no, not the Miles Teller film – but a villain armed with electrical whips. Although it didn’t make as much as the first Iron Man film, and it is considered one of the weaker Marvel Cinematic Universe films, it still managed to make a huge $312 million in the US alone, making it a massive commercial success for Tony Stark and co.

#9 – Iron Man (2008)

The first entry in the now-legendary Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man details the capture, escape and rebirth of billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne Tony Stark, as he uses his money to build a supersuit and become the hero Batman Iron Man. Joking aside, the film made $318 million domestically, spawning one of the most successful franchises of all time.

#8 – Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

One of my personal favourite films of last year (you can check out the review here), Guardians of the Galaxy follows Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord as he teams up with Gamora, Groot, Rocket and Drax to form a ragtag team of intergalactic heroes. Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise hit, one of the most successful films of last year, making $333 million in America alone. What a bunch of a-holes.

#7 – Spider-Man 3 (2007)

The third (and also worst) film in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Spider-Man 3 introduced villains Sandman, Green Goblin and fan favourite Venom, however it was quite poorly recieved, derailing plans for a fourth film, and leading to The Amazing Spider-Man reboot series. Low quality aside, Spider-Man 3 made $336 million in the US, which while normally considered very good, was the lowest-grossing film in Raimi’s trilogy. Leading on from that:

#6 – Spider-Man 2 (2004)

The second in Raimi’s trilogy and also considered the best, Spider-Man 2 follows Peter Parker as he is in the full swing of things as the wall-crawler, and also encounters the insidious Doc Ock. Full of action yet also with plenty of character-driven moments, Spider-Man 2 made $373 million in America, enough to warrant a sequel, and with a budget of $200 million, Spider-Man 2 made its money back and then some.

#5 – Spider-Man (2002)

Well, isn’t this odd? The first film in Raimi’s trilogy, and one of the first successful superhero films, Spider-Man tells the story of Peter Parker after he is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains incredible powers. Starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and James Franco, Spider-Man made $403 million in the US, one of the highest-grossing superhero films ever.

#4 – Iron Man 3 (2013)

The most recent Iron Man film, and the opener of Marvel’s hugely successful Phase 2, Iron Man 3 details the hardest parts of Tony Stark’s life, including the destruction of his mansion and the introduction of his arch-nemesis, The Mandarin. Although some people disliked the big twist, Iron Man 3 still managed to make $409 million in the US, proving that the superhero genre is alive and kicking.

#3 – The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The closer of Chrisopher Nolan’s legendary Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises follows the re-emergence of Batman after an 8-year absence, and the growing threat of macho fighter – and League of Shadows alumni – Bane (Tom Hardy), causing Batman to save the day again. A huge success commercially and financially, The Dark Knight Rises made $448 million, proving that cinemagoers never got bored of Christian Bale’s outing as the Caped Crusader. Leading on from that:

#2 – The Dark Knight (2008)

My personal favourite film of all time, The Dark Knight follows the inner turmoil of Batman (Christian Bale) after The Joker (Heath Ledger) begins terrorising the city of Gotham. An incredible film with deep characters, a great script and incredible visual effects, The Dark Knight made $534 million in the US alone, and with a budget of just $185 million, made its money back several times over. However, there was one film that made more than even The Dark Knight:

#1 – Avengers Assemble/The Avengers (2012)

Who’s actually surprised at this? Joss Whedon’s mega superhero ensemble film – bringing Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow together – was a massive success, garnering never-before-seen amounts of critical and fan praise, and also managing to make an incredible $623 million in the US alone, and making $1.5 billion worldwide. With its sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron coming out in a few month, don’t be surprised if Avengers Assemble is knocked down to #2!

What is your favourite film from this list? Which films do you think should’ve made more, or less? As always, leave a comment below, and find us on these sites:

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