The biggest box office hits of the decade

The past decade has been historic at the box office. James Cameron's Avatar set the stage for the record-breaking ten-year span, opening in 2009 but making most of its money in 2010, and becoming the then highest-grossing movie of all time along the way. Despite this, by the decade's end Avatar would be dethroned at both the domestic and worldwide box office. Since then, the decade has featured some of the highest highs and the lowest lows as Hollywood has struggled to reach moviegoers in a fractured entertainment landscape. With streaming services giving viewers more opportunity to watch some of the biggest and best movies from the comfort of home, major Hollywood studios have tried to keep luring moviegoers out to the multiplex by turning any existing property into a franchise.

Where does that leave the box office? That's obviously a big question, but there's no denying that the last ten years have seen a lot of big-budget franchise pictures dominating the top of the charts, leaving less room for original stories. Shocking literally nobody, Disney dominated the decade. More surprising is that many years found one movie winning domestically, with a completely different film taking the throne worldwide. Which movies were the most commercially successful of all? You may be surprised. Here are the biggest box office hits of the decade.