Image Credit: Disneyfied, or Disney tried? You know what’s surprising? “Santa Claus 2” — the forgettable sequel to the Christmas hit, “Santa Claus” — did better at the box office than “Remember The Titans,” “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids,” and “Mulan.”
You might also be surprised by the top 10 highest grossing Disney movies of all time. Before you check out the list, try to guess what they are. Go ahead…
Okay, now check out the list.
10. The Jungle Book
This new foray into CGI animals replacing our beloved animated ones was both eagerly anticipated and highly feared. What if they tarnished the legacy of this classic with bad effects and strangers singing favorite songs. With Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken playing the part of the orangutan, this movie grossed $364,001,123 after it came out on 4/15/16.
9. Frozen
Most parents would rather blow their brains out than watch this winter masterpiece one more time. But this is one of the biggest animation films for Disney in recent years (1 of 3 fully animated movies in the top 10). The award-winning “Let It Go” is the song of the 2010’s, and the story has everyone engrossed. It pulled in $400,738,009 after it came out on 11/22/13.
8. Captain America: Civil War
First of all, the marriage of Marvel and Disney continues to make all of our geek dreams come true, so we love them for that. But pitting two beloved characters against each other has high risks. With Captain America at the center of everything, the world seemed to be collapsing. The superheroes we love turned on each other. Viewers wanted to know what was going to happen next, so they spent $408,084,349 at the box office watching this movie.
7. Iron Man 3
The third installment Iron Man series shows our hero’s world falling apart — literally. His house crumbles, his Iron Man suit, and all his technology are blown to bits, and his life is in danger. It’s no wonder this movie pulled in $409,013,994 — people were dying to see if Iron Man could triumph against the greatest odds of all!
6. Toy Story 3
Sequels are hit-and-miss a lot of times. As I mentioned before, Santa Claus 2 was a flop, and Caddyshack 2 is just wrong. So when Toy Story 3 came out, many people thought they were stretching it too far — I, thinking nostalgically, was worried it would ruin the original and the second one. But it didn’t, and the money speaks. And $415,004,880 is what this movie made at the box office.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley returned in the second installment of this hit series. Think about it — when you get those three on a screen together, the movie has to be big. This film found a treasure chest worth of booty: $423,315,812 at the box office.
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Will Captain America finally be defeated? What role does The Hulk play — is he good or evil? Fans waited in anxious anticipation to see how our beloved heroes would survive this one or if one of the dreaded deaths in the comic books would finally play out. This movie made a whopping $459,005,868 at the box office taking us on the ride of a lifetime on 5/1/15.
3. Finding Dory
We may owe this sequel to the talents and fan base of Ellen DeGeneres. While “Finding Nemo” was a hit (number 13 on this list), Finding Dory blew it out of the proverbial water. This sequel caused a wave of money to roll in — $485,731,426 to be exact.
2. Marvel’s The Avengers
Iron Man is in a lot of the top 10 movies for Disney. And for a good reason — he’s just awesome. But that didn’t mean that the first superhero ensemble was going to be a hit. We have Joss Whedon to thank for juggling so many leading personalities into a cohesive team that stole our collective hearts. It raked in $623,357,910 4,349 when it came out in 2012.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
When George Lucas passed the most iconic torch in history to the entertainment giant that is Disney, we all crossed our fingers that it wouldn’t result in another dose of the prequels. Are we surprised that this is the highest grossing Disney film of all time? I mean, it’s Star Wars. Imagine all of the Star Wars superfans, the younger kids into Star Wars, as well as the general public all going to see this movie. So, the fact that it earned nearly a billion dollars ($936,662,225) at the box office is both fitting and a welcome relief to the generations of fans that came before it.
Image Credit: Disneyfied, or Disney tried? You know what’s surprising? “Santa Claus 2” — the forgettable sequel to the Christmas hit, “Santa Claus” — did better at the box office than “Remember The Titans,” “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids,” and “Mulan.” 
