Looking over the top grossing movie titles, successful movies seem to have several factors in common.

1. Genre Many of the most successful titles are in the fantasy, sci-fi and adventure genre. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurrassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean and Spiderman are all in the Top Ten Grossing Trilogies of all time. Click here to see the top grossing trilogies of all time.

2. High Budget High budgets lend themselves to good marketing, popular actors, and exciting special effects. Click here to see the budgets of top earning movies.

3. Being Part of a Trilogy If the first movie in the series is good, then people are likely to see the other two. Ending a movie with a cliffhanger compels moviegoers to see the sequel. Nine out of ten of the greatest grossing movies of all time are trilogies. (The oddity is Titantic, which is the #1 highest grossing movie of all time.) Click here to see the top grossing films list.

4. Dark Colors One blog analyses the colors of 25 movie posters, concluding that all the highest grossing movies have had dark-colored posters. His argument is that the dark colors of the posters are the same colors in the movie, as the movie’s scenes are the natural subject of the poster. He says that NC-17 rated movies have the darkest array of colors in the posters, and G movie posters have the lightest. Click here to see this blog.

5. Season of Release The highest grossing movies are released during Christmas or summer break. This is when it is easier for the general public to go to the movies.

6. Stories from Literature original stories don’t stand a chance when they stand up against movies based on stories we’ve all read, be it Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars or Spiderman comic books.

5. Star Wars

Let the force be with you! These movies are so colossal, even those wierdos who haven’t seen them know what a light sabre is. The story tells us that being courageous and knowing ourselves are our best defenses from becoming a raspy-voiced dude living in an oversized helmet.

4. Spiderman

Peter Parker is the nerdy high school kid turned sensitive superhero who gets the only girl he’s ever loved. We like him because his character is more believeable than the super-muscular, overly good-looking traditional superheroes. He doesn’t always do the right thing, and that makes him endearing.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean

Swordfighting, treasure-hunting, swindling pirates are cool all by themselves. Add Johnny Depp as eccentric Jack Sparrow, and the movie takes us on a non-stop adventure thrill ride. Let’s not forget the film was created from a Disneyland amusement attraction. For cursed pirates who can’t eat or drink but are eternally hungry and thirsty, the least of their worries are chasing women. 

2. Back to the Future

Who hasn’t wanted to go back in time to fix life’s woes-of-the-moment? This movie taught us that DeLoreans are the only way to time travel. Whether it’s dodging missle-carrying Libyians, playing the electric guitar in the school auditorium, or towing behind cars on his skateboard, Marty McFly is the coolest teenager ever. His unlikely friendship with the genius yet unsavvy scientist Doc Brown makes for some excellent cross-generational humor.

1. Lord of the Rings

Epic books lend themselves to epic movies. The look of this film is amazing. That creepy gollum character makes everyone nervous all the way to the end, as does that monstrous eye in Mordor. Leave it to Tolken to make us take elves, orcs, and small hairy hobbits seriously.

That’s what some people say about their favorite movie triologies…

“I don’t really like any movie trilogy. I think they are trying too hard to make another movie out of the original one,” said Pre-medical sophomore Nyawal Deng.“I love The Lord of the Rings! It feels real, it seems like I am in it,” said nursing sophomore Erwin Simanjuntak.

“Lord of the Rings, I like the storyline, the actors and the action part a lot,” said International Studies Sophomore Richard McKnight.

“Pirates of the Caribbean! I enjoyed the story line a lot,” said art and women studies sophomore Mary Luong.

“I like both Back to the Future and Spider-man, I just love it,” said Business sophomore Josie Villages.

“I will pick Pirates of the Caribbean, I hate the story line but l like the music and how epic it is in a large scale,” said Kinesiology sophomore Emily Fleckenstein.

“I think I have to go with spider-man. I like how intense it can go and spider-man is hot,” said Business Sophomore Melissa Shannon.

“Back to the Future, I love old school movies,” said Botany Freshmen Morgan Harlow.

“I enjoy watching movies with everything, Lord of the Rings is my favorite,” said Communication Junior Randall Dunn.

“I don’t really have one, but I think I would pick The Lord of the Rings. It is a really good trilogies, I like the setting of it,” said engineering junior Simeon Heyes.

“Spiderman of course, I really like the third one, I never thought the story can go like that, “said Psychology Junior Jamie Post. 

 
So now…is your turn to tell us your reason!

Can you imagine a world without movie trilogies? It would be a dark, cruel world to live in, that’s for sure! A world devoid of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Lord of the Rings? How terrible!

Movie trilogies are responsible for for creating some very iconic and immortal characters:

Yep. The world just wouldn’t be the same without these characters. And that’s a fact, Jack!

The highest grossing movie trilogy of all-time is Star Wars (Episodes I-III)!

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)

U.S. Box Office: $431,065,444

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002)

U.S. Box Office: $310,675, 583

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

U.S. Box Office: $380,262,555

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TOTAL U.S. BOX OFFICE: $1,122,003,585 (yikes!)

The second highest grossing movie trilogy is Spider-Man!

Spider-Man (2002)

U.S. Box Office: $403,706,375

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

U.S. Box Office: $373,377,893

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

U.S. Box Office: $336,530,303

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TOTAL U.S. BOX OFFICE: $1,113,614,571

The third highest grossing movie trilogy is Pirates of the Caribbean!

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

U.S. Box Office: $305,411,224

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

U.S. Box Office: $423,271,331

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

U.S. Box Office: $309,404,152

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TOTAL U.S. BOX OFFICE: $1,038,086,707

So there you have it. The top 3 highest grossing movie trilogies of all-time. This information could save your life someday. Or not.

Movies are escapism, pure and simple. People go to movies to forget about their reality. That’s why Spider-Man 2 grossed $373 million in the U.S. alone, and movies about the war in Iraq, such as In The Valley of Elah, grossed only $6 million. People go to the movies to be entertained, not be be reminded of harsh realities. This is why the greatest and most profitable movie trilogies of all time are often fantasy based, such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Spider-Man. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be bitten by a radioactive spider and then become a super-hero and fight crime? People don’t want to spend their hard-earned money to go and watch people exactly like them dealing with everyday problems, they want to watch Spider-Man battle it out with Doctor Octopus on a train filled with innocent bystanders hoping and praying that Spider-Man can save them all from certain death. Movies offer escapism, and the greatest movie trilogies of all time are filled with incredible acts of bravery, death-defying stunts, and mind-blowing special effects to bedazzle the audience, who walk out of the theater with a smile on their face, having just witnessed the power of movie magic. Pure entertainment.

Movie trilogies are a big part of pop culture. Movies bring people together. “A fellow Star Wars fan, eh? Cool!”

Here is a brief list of great quotes from some very memorable movie trilogies:

“Go ahead, make my day!”

~Dirty Harry

“Luke, I am your father!”

~Star Wars

“When this baby hits 88 M.P.H., you’re going to see some serious shit!”

~Back to the Future

“Give me some sugar, baby!”

~Army of Darkness

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

~The Godfather

“You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

~Jaws

“I’ll be back!”

~The Terminator

“Me? I’m dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It’s the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly… stupid.”

~Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

“Hasta la vista, baby!”

~The Terminator 2

Lord of the Rings

Back to the Future

Star Wars

Matrix

Hear ye, hear ye! We are conducting a survery to find out which movie trilogy the beloved internet community feels worthy of the title of GREATEST MOVIE TRILOGY OF ALL TIME!!! Feel free to come together and let your voices be heard! All opinions are welcome, the point of this adorable little blog is to get as much feedback from you gentle readers as humanly possible! Ready? On your mark… Get set…… Go!

Here’s a brief list of possibilities (write-ins welcome!):

Back to the Future

Lord of the Rings

Star Wars

The Godfather

American Pie

Spider-Man

X-Men

The Matrix

The Man with No Name

Austin Powers