Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
2011 is already over and boy has it been a great year for movies - there has been some real corkers over the last twelve months.
Not only have the movies been great but they have been smashes at the box office, with three movies breaking the magical $1billion barrier this summer.
So while there are plenty of films to be getting excited in 2012 it’s time to looks back at where were the biggest grossing movies of the last year.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2: $1.3 billion
It comes as no surprise that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is the biggest movie of the year as the franchise came to a triumphant close this summer.
A generation of Potter fans said goodbye to the boy wizard, Ron and Hermione as David Yates helmed the final instalment.
Fans flocked to see the movie and it grossed in excess of $1.3 billion during its theatrical run - the first Potter movie to break the $1billion barrier.
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $1.12 billion
Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the third film in the franchise and has proved to be the most successful - nothing could have got any worse than Revenge of the Fallen it has to be said.
Michael Bay was back in the director’s chair for what believed to be the final time - but it seems he may possibly be returning for a future project.
But one thing that was certain was that this was Shia LaBeouf’s final outing as Sam as he bowed out of the franchise.
This is the biggest grossing Transformers movie and the franchise as a whole has so far taken more than $2.6 billion at the global box office.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $1, 04 billion
This summer saw the return of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow for a fourth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
It had been four years since we had seen the swashbuckling Sparrow and he made a triumphant return in On Stranger Tides as he was joined by a new cast that included Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane.
The movie became the second film in the franchise to break $1 billion - following in the footsteps of Dead Man’s Chest - giving Depp his third billion dollar movie; the other being Alice In Wonderland.
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 - $663 million
The first animation on our biggest grossing movies of 2011 countdown is in at four in the form of Kung Fu Panda 2 - which came three years after the first.
Jack Black was back as Panda while Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman and Lucy Lui all also lent their voices to the movie once again.
And there was even more success second time around as Kung Fu Panda 2 out performed it’s predecessor at the box office - could there be a third movie in the horizon?
5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 - $634 million
This autumn saw Twilight fever sweep the globe once again but are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Do be quite honest I would just settle for a good movie which really has been in short supply where this franchise is concerned.
Despite being a poor reflection of the book Breaking Dawn 1 has performed well at the box office and has so far grossed in excess of $634 million. The franchise comes to a close this time next year.
6. Fast Five - $626 million
Who would have thought that when Vin Diesel and Paul walker teamed up for the first time a decade that we would still be talking about these movies in 2011?
Well Fast Five burst onto the big screen this summer as Diesel & Walker reunited in what is one of the best movies in the franchise.
And director Justin Lin isn’t afraid to put a new spin on the franchise as it turned into an excellent heist movie.
The movie is the most successful in the franchise and more films are believed to be in the pipeline!
7. The Hangover Part II - $581 million
In the summer of 2009 The Hangover was the sleeper hit of the year propelling Bradley Cooper to global fame.
Two years later and the Wolfpack are back to do it all over again while Todd Phillips is back in the director’s chair.
While the movie may be a pale imitation of the first, and no where near as funny, the movie has been a monster hit and is one of the biggest grossing comedies of all time after taking $581 million.
8. Cars 2 - $551 million
Summer of 2010 and Pixar were basking in the glory of Toy Story 3 as it broke $1 billion at the box office - twelve months on and they had another hit on their hands with Cars 2.
Back in 2006 cars enjoyed a $461 million success - fives years on and a further million saw Pixar with yet another big hit on their hands.
Owen Wilson was back as Lightening McQueen while John Lasseter was back in the director’s chair.
9. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $481 million
Everyone remembers the awful Tim Burton movie and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the summer movies that I wasn’t too sure about.
But if you haven’t seen this then you really should check it out as this was one of the best blockbuster films of the year.
The motion capture work, Andy Serkis is now a master at this, was blended seamlessly with the live action in what was an exciting and yet emotional movie.
$481 million at the box and I have my fingers tightly crossed for a sequel!
10. Thor $448 million
Thor has been one of my favourites all year as marvel Comic movies had a super year at the box office.
Newcomer Chris Hemsworth took on the title role in what was a great summer blockbuster that shot him to fame.
Director Kenneth Branagh mixed CGI fuelled action with excellent character development - I am so looking forward to the planned sequel.
But we will be seeing Hemsworth reprise the role next summer as he joins The Avengers.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
2011 is already over and boy has it been a great year for movies - there has been some real corkers over the last twelve months.
Not only have the movies been great but they have been smashes at the box office, with three movies breaking the magical $1billion barrier this summer.
So while there are plenty of films to be getting excited in 2012 it’s time to looks back at where were the biggest grossing movies of the last year.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2: $1.3 billion
It comes as no surprise that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is the biggest movie of the year as the franchise came to a triumphant close this summer.
A generation of Potter fans said goodbye to the boy wizard, Ron and Hermione as David Yates helmed the final instalment.
Fans flocked to see the movie and it grossed in excess of $1.3 billion during its theatrical run - the first Potter movie to break the $1billion barrier.
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $1.12 billion
Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the third film in the franchise and has proved to be the most successful - nothing could have got any worse than Revenge of the Fallen it has to be said.
Michael Bay was back in the director’s chair for what believed to be the final time - but it seems he may possibly be returning for a future project.
But one thing that was certain was that this was Shia LaBeouf’s final outing as Sam as he bowed out of the franchise.
This is the biggest grossing Transformers movie and the franchise as a whole has so far taken more than $2.6 billion at the global box office.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $1, 04 billion
This summer saw the return of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow for a fourth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
It had been four years since we had seen the swashbuckling Sparrow and he made a triumphant return in On Stranger Tides as he was joined by a new cast that included Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane.
The movie became the second film in the franchise to break $1 billion - following in the footsteps of Dead Man’s Chest - giving Depp his third billion dollar movie; the other being Alice In Wonderland.
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 - $663 million
The first animation on our biggest grossing movies of 2011 countdown is in at four in the form of Kung Fu Panda 2 - which came three years after the first.
Jack Black was back as Panda while Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman and Lucy Lui all also lent their voices to the movie once again.
And there was even more success second time around as Kung Fu Panda 2 out performed it’s predecessor at the box office - could there be a third movie in the horizon?
5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 - $634 million
This autumn saw Twilight fever sweep the globe once again but are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Do be quite honest I would just settle for a good movie which really has been in short supply where this franchise is concerned.
Despite being a poor reflection of the book Breaking Dawn 1 has performed well at the box office and has so far grossed in excess of $634 million. The franchise comes to a close this time next year.
6. Fast Five - $626 million
Who would have thought that when Vin Diesel and Paul walker teamed up for the first time a decade that we would still be talking about these movies in 2011?
Well Fast Five burst onto the big screen this summer as Diesel & Walker reunited in what is one of the best movies in the franchise.
And director Justin Lin isn’t afraid to put a new spin on the franchise as it turned into an excellent heist movie.
The movie is the most successful in the franchise and more films are believed to be in the pipeline!
7. The Hangover Part II - $581 million
In the summer of 2009 The Hangover was the sleeper hit of the year propelling Bradley Cooper to global fame.
Two years later and the Wolfpack are back to do it all over again while Todd Phillips is back in the director’s chair.
Tagged in Harry Potter