A couple of years ago I took a look at the box office performances of the modern age (post-2000) comic book movies to see how popular these movies ended up being with the movie-going public after all the hoopla from opening weekend faded away. I also wanted to see how these stacked up once you adjusted the grosses for inflation because it wouldn’t make any sense to compare them in other way. (Well, unless they publicized total tickets sold, which is the only true comparison as ticket prices vary.) It was a lot of fun.

Now that another summer movie season is winding down, I’ve decided to revisit the box office numbers–this time casting a wider historical net–because the movie business has changed dramatically in the last 3-5 years, with things like the near-total collapse of the DVD market, the rise of 3D and its higher ticket prices, and an increased focus on the international (i.e. outside of the U.S. and Canada) box office by the major Hollywood studios.

As for methodology, the box office numbers come from BoxOfficeMojo and I used the US Inflation Calculator to get the adjusted grosses. While compiling the list I reached a grey area as to what exactly is a comic book movie and what isn’t, but at a certain point I just decided “what the hell” and I threw a lot of borderline films in the mix. Additionally, BoxOfficeMojo did not have foreign box office information for some films (indicated by “N/A”) so their ranking here would not indicate their total numbers, just those publicly available, but that’s okay because this is just all in good fun.

* – Denotes films still currently playing in theaters.

Year Poster Title Domestic Box Office (U.S. & Canada) International Box Office Total Box Office Adjusted Box Office 1. 2012

Marvel’s The Avengers $623,357,910 $888,400,000 $1,511,757,910 $1,538,109,013 2. 2013

Iron Man 3 $406,609,688 $804,600,000 $1,211,209,688 $1,211,209,688 3. 2012

The Dark Knight Rises $488,139,099 $636,300,000 $1,084,439,099 $1,103,341,706 4. 2008

The Dark Knight $533,345,358 $468,576,467 $1,001,921,825 $1,087,049,091 5. 1978

Superman: The Movie $134,218,018 $166,000,000 $300,218,018 $1,075,609,327 6. 2002 Spider-Man $403,706,375 $418,002,176 $821,708,551 $1,066,969,598 7. 2007 Spider-Man 3 $336,530,303 $554,341,32 $890,871,626 $1,003,675,320 8. 2004 Spider-Man 2 $373,585,825 $410,180,516 $783,766,341 $969,214,834 9. 1997

Men in Black $250,690,539 $338,700,000 $589,390,539 $857,814,780 10. 1989

Batman $251,188,924 $160,160,000 $411,348,924 $774,915,026 11. 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man $262,030,663 $490,185,894 $752,216,557 $765,328,270 12. 2010 Iron Man 2 $312,433,331 $309,623,643 $622,056,974 $666,391,602 13. 2013

Man of Steel * $290,229,822 $359,500,000 $649,729,822 $649,729,822 14. 2012

MIB3 $179,020,854 $445,005,922 $624,026,776 $634,904,042 15. 2008 Iron Man $318,412,101 $266,762,121 $585,174,222 $634,892,953 16. 2002

Men in Black II $190,418,803 $251,400,000 $441,818,803 $573,691,523 17. 1994

The Mask $119,938,730 $231,644,677 $351,583,407 $554,173,262 18. 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand $234,362,462 $224,997,093 $459,359,555 $532,264,655 19. 2003 X2: X-Men United $214,949,694 $192,761,855 $407,711,549 $517,607,538 20. 1995

Batman Forever $184,031,112 $152,498,032 $336,529,144 $515,825,865 21. 2007 300 $210,614,939 $245,453,242 $456,068,181 $513,816,317 22. 2011 Thor $181,030,624 $268,295,994 $449,326,618 $466,619,397 23. 2006 Superman Returns $200,081,192 $191,000,000 $391,081,192 $453,149,812 24. 2005 Batman Begins $205,343,774 $167,366,241 $372,710,015 $445,794,002 25. 1992

Batman Returns $162,831,698 $103,990,656 $266,822,354 $444,252,563 26. 1995

Casper $100,328,194 $187,600,000 $287,928,194 $441,331,196 27. 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine $179,883,157 $193,179,707 $373,062,864 $406,204,956 28. 2000 X-Men $157,299,717 $139,039,810 $296,339,527 $401,996,098 29. 2005 Fantastic Four $154,696,080 $175,883,639 $330,579,719 $395,402,457 30. 2011

The Adventures of Tintin $77,591,831 $296,402,120 $373,993,951 $388,387,478 31. 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger $176,654,505 $191,750,151 $368,404,656 $382,583,073 32. 2013

G.I. Joe: Retaliation $122,512,052 $249,400,000 $371,912,052 $371,912,052 33. 2008 Wanted $134,508,551 $206,924,701 $341,433,252 $370,442,780 34. 2011 X-Men: First Class $146,408,305 $207,215,819 $353,624,124 $367,233,698 35. 1990

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles $135,265,915 $66,700,000 $201,965,915 $360,967,328 36. 2013

The Wolverine * $125,079,463 $225,600,000 $350,679,463 $350,679,463 37. 1997

Batman and Robin $107,325,195 $130,0881,927 $238,207,122 $346,693,027 38. 2009

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra $150,201,498 $152,267,519 $302,469,017 $329,339,705 39. 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer $131,921,738 $157,126,025 $289,047,763 $325,647,486 40. 2003 Hulk $132,177,234 $113,183,246 $245,360,480 $311,495,797 41. 1990

Dick Tracy $103,738,726 $59,000,000 $162,738,726 $290,857,807 42. 2012

John Carter $73,078,100 $209,700,000 $282,778,100 $287,707,139 43. 2008 The Incredible Hulk $134,806,913 $128,620,638 $263,427,551 $285,809,404 44. 1981 Superman II $108,185,706 N/A $108,185,706 $278,017,031 45. 2005 Constantine $75,976,178 $154,908,550 $230,884,728 $276,158,468 46. 2007 Ghost Rider $115,802,596 $112,935,797 $228,738,393 $257,701,641 47. 2011 The Green Hornet $98,780,042 $129,037,206 $227,817,248 $236,585,020 48. 2002

Road To Perdition $104,454,762 $76,546,716 $181,001,478 $235,026,243 49. 2013

The Lone Ranger * $87,989,692 $142,400,000 $230,389,692 $230,389,692 50. 2011 Green Lantern $116,601,172 $103,250,000 $219,851,172 $228,312,361 51. 2003 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen $66,465,204 $112,800,000 $179,265,204 $227,584,970 52. 2003 Daredevil $102,543,518 $76,636,200 $179,179,718 $227,476,442 53. 2002 Blade II $82,348,319 $72,661,713 $155,010,032 $201,276,950 54. 2008 Watchmen $107,509,799 $77,749,184 $185,258,983 $200,999,323 55. 2010 Red $90,380,162 $96,191,551 $186,571,713 $199,868,867 56. 2005 Frank Miller’s Sin City $74,103,820 $84,650,000 $158,753,820 $189,883,550 57. 1998

Blade $70,087,718 $61,095,812 $131,183,530 $187,999,680 58. 2011 Cowboys & Aliens $100,240,551 $74,581,774 $174,822,325 $181,550,535 59. 2008 Hellboy II: The Golden Army $75,986,503 $84,401,560 $160,388,063 $174,015,271 60. 1995

Judge Dredd $34,693,481 $78,800,000 $113,493,481 $173,960,782 61. 1994

Timecop $44,853,581 $56,793,000 $101,646,581 $160,217,508 62. 2004 Blade: Trinity $52,411,906 $76,493,460 $128,905,366 $159,405,917 63. 2006 V For Vendetta $70,511,035 $62,000,000 $132,511,035 $153,541,903 64. 1980

Popeye $49,823,037 N/A $49,823,037 $141,243,472 65. 1983 Superman III $59,950,623 N/A $59,950,623 $140,604,676 66. 1982

Annie $57,059,003 N/A $57,059,003 $138,121,812 67. 1991

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II $78,656,813 N/A $78,656,813 $134,903,941 68. 2012

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance $51,774,002 $80,789,928 $132,563,930 $134,874,621 69. 2009 Surrogates $38,577,772 $83,867,000 $122,444,772 $133,322,498 70. 1997

Spawn $54,870,175 $32,969,867 $87,840,042 $127,844,750 71. 2004 Hellboy $59,623,958 $39,695,029 $99,318,987 $122,819,047 72. 2007

TMNT $54,149,098 $41,459,897 $95,608,995 $107,715,170 73. 2013

Red 2 * $51,605,125 $53,231,000 $104,836,125 $104,836,125 74. 2010 Kick-Ass $48,071,303 $48,117,600 $96,188,903 $103,044,383 75. 2004 Catwoman $40,202,379 $41,900,000 $82,102,379 $101,528,784 76. 2001 From Hell $31,602,566 $42,955,549 $74,558,115 $98,398,177 77. 2007 30 Days of Night $39,568,996 $35,936,977 $75,505,973 $85,066,668 78. 2011

Priest $29,136,626 $49,172,505 $78,309,131 $81,322,935 79. 1986

Howard the Duck $16,295,774 $21,667,000 $37,962,774 $80,911,972 80. 1991

The Rocketeer $46,704,056 N/A $46,704,056 $80,101,913 81. 1994

The Crow $50,693,129 N/A $50,693,129 $79,903,590 82. 1980

Flash Gordon $27,107,960 N/A $27,107,960 $76,848,434 83. 1994

The Shadow $32,063,435 $16,000,000 $48,063,435 $75,758,611 84. 2005

A History of Violence $31,504,633 $29,236,194 $60,740,827 $72,651,378 85. 1979

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century $21,671,241 N/A $21,671,241 $69,728,859 86. 1993

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III $42,273,609 N/A $42,273,609 $68,338,726 87. 2005 Elektra $24,409,722 $32,271,844 $56,681,566 $67,796,144 88. 2004 The Punisher $33,810,189 $20,889,916 $54,700,105 $67,642,804 89. 2013

2Guns * $65,353,995 N/A $65,353,995 $65,353,995 90. 2013

R.I.P.D. * $32,731,495 $28,900,000 $61,631,495 $61,631,495 91. 1994

Richie Rich $38,087,756 N/A $38,087,756 $60,034,733 92. 1981

Heavy Metal $20,117,636 $N/A $20,117,636 $51,698,562 93. 2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World $31,524,275 $16,140,284 $47,664,559 $51,061,660 94. 2003

Bulletproof Monk $23,358,708 $14,355,171 $37,713,879 $47,879,409 95. 1999

Mystery Men $29,762,011 $3,699,000 $33,461,011 $46,916,916 96. 1999

Virus $14,036,005 $16,616,000 $30,652,005 $42,978,305 97. 2008 The Spirit $19,806,188 $19,225,149 $39,031,337 $42,347,594 98. 2013

Kick-Ass 2 * $22,526,445 $16,100,000 $38,626,445 $38,626,445 99. 2012

Dredd $13,414,714 $22,211,811 $35,626,525 $36,247,522 100. 1981

The Legend of the Lone Ranger $12,617,845 N/A $12,617,845 $32,425,501 101. 1987

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace $15,681,020 N/A $15,681,020 $32,244,925 102. 1984

Supergirl $14,296,438 N/A $14,296,438 $32,142,355 103. 2010 The Losers $23,591,432 $5,788,291 $29,379,723 $31,473,645 104. 1996

The Crow: City of Angels $17,917,287 N/A $17,917,287 $26,675,631 105. 1996

The Phantom $17,323,326 N/A $17,323,326 $25,791,329 106. 2001 Josie and the Pussycats $14,271,015 $595,000 $14,866,015 $19,619,444 107. 2009 Whiteout $10,275,638 $7,565,229 $17,840,867 $19,425,810 108. 1984

Sheena $5,778,353 N/A $5,778,353 $12,991,339 109. 2010 Jonah Hex $10,547,117 $356,195 $10,903,312 $11,680,402 110. 2001

Ghost World $6,217,849 $2,546,158 $8,764,007 $11,566,310 111. 2008 The Punisher: War Zone $8,050,977 $2,049,059 $10,100,036 $10,958,175 112. 2003

American Splendor $6,010,990 $1,975,094 $7,986,084 $10,138,680 113. 2013

Bullet to the Head $9,489,829 N/A $9,489,829 $9,489,829 114. 1993

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm $5,617,391 N/A $5,617,391 $9,080,969 115. 1995

Tank Girl $4,064,495 N/A $4,064,495 $6,229,985 116. 1996

Barb Wire $3,793,614 N/A $3,793,614 $5,648,011 117. 2006

Art School Confidential $3,297,137 $9,492 $3,306,629 $3,831,425 118. 1997

Steel $1,710,972 N/A $1,710,972 $2,490,194

Note: I scoured the internet for box office figures for Batman: The Movie (1966) but I couldn’t find any credible numbers or sourced numbers that I trusted. It remains in the top ten of my heart.