I don't know about you, but I love a disaster movie and we have been treated to some great ones over the years.
San Andreas
This week San Andreas is set to hit the big screen and we see Dwayne Johnson back in action - it really does look like it is going to be an edge of your seat ride.
We take a look at some of the best disaster movies in recent years and just how well they performed at the global box office.
- Titanic - $2,186,772,302
Of course, we know Titanic as a sweeping romance epic but it is also a disaster movie that is based on a true event that shook the world back in 1912.
Titanic hit the big screen in 1997 and followed the blossoming romance between Jack and Rose - set to the backdrop of the maiden voyage of the ill-fated ship. James Cameron was in the director's chair and on writing duties and it was a movie that propelled Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to global stardom.
The movie was both a critical and commercial success when it was released in 1997 - however, it was not released in the UK until the beginning of 1998. Fans flocked to cinemas to see the film and it became the first movie to gross over $1 billion at the global box office.
By the end of its first theatrical run, the movie had grossed in excess of $1.84 billion and remained the highest grossing movie of all time until Avatar was released back in 2009.
Titanic was re-released to commemorate the anniversary of the sinking of the ship in 2012 and went on to gross over $2 billion. It remains the second highest grossing movie of all time behind Avatar. Titanic went on to be nominated for fourteen Oscars - winning eleven, including Best Picture.
- Independence Day - $817,400,891
Of all the disaster movies that we have been treated to over the years, Independence Day remains my favourite.
Mixing disaster movie with science fiction, Independence Day is an action packed that cemented Will Smith as a bona-fide leading man.
Roland Emmerich was in the director's chair for the film and created some of the most iconic disaster movie images - we all remember the destruction of the Empire State Building and White House during the film.
Hard to believe but next year Independence Day will celebrate its twentieth anniversary - it really does make me feel incredibly old.
Independence Day was one of the most anticipated films of 1996 and went on to be both a hit with critics and cinemagoers. Independence Day was the highest grossing movie of that year - out-performing movies such as Twister and Mission: Impossible.
It went on to become the second highest grossing film of all time at the time - however, over the years it has slipped down the ranking and is now 46th highest grossing movie of all time. A sequel is in the pipeline and will see Emmerich back in the director's chair.
- 2012 - $769,679,473
Roland Emmerich has been behind a string of disaster movies during his directing career - the most recent being 2012 back in 2009.
A series of global catastrophes threatens the future of mankind and 2012 followed a struggling writer as he fights to keep his family alive.
John Cusack took on the central role of Jackson Curtis and was joined on the cast list by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Liam James, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson - it really was a terrific ensemble cast.
The marketing and viral marketing campaign but 2012 firmly in the minds of movie go-ers and it didn't come as a surprise when the film was a box office smash - even if it failed to hit the mark with critics.
By the end of its theatrical run, the movie had grossed over $769 million worldwide and was the fifth highest grossing movie of 2009; it finished the year behind Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
2012 was the last time that we saw director Emmerich tackle a disaster movie - he is set to return to that genre with the upcoming sequel to Independence Day.
- War of the Worlds - $591,745,540
War of the Worlds first hit the big screen back in 1953 but returned in 2005 with Steven Spielberg at the helm for the disaster/sci-fi film. Hard to believe that the film is celebrating its tenth anniversary this summer.
War of the Worlds was the first film for Spielberg since The Terminal and saw him reunite with Tom Cruise for their second project together - they had previous teamed up for Minority Report back in 2002.
The movie was loosely based on the novel by H.G. Wells and follows Cruise's character as tries to project his children from an alien invasion. Cruise was joined on the cast list by Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins.
The movie enjoyed box office success when it was released and grossed over $591 million at the global box office. It finished the year as the four highest grossing film - behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
At the time, War of the Worlds was the most successful film starring Cruise.
- Armageddon - $553,709,788
Space disaster movies were all the rage back in 1998 as Armageddon followed Deep Impact onto cinema screens - however, it was the former that was the most successful at the box office.
Armageddon saw Michael Bay back in the director's chair as he brought together a terrific ensemble cast that includes Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, and Peter Stormare.
After discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas is going to impact Earth in less than a month, N.A.S.A. recruits a misfit team of deep core drillers to save the planet.
Despite being released just months after Deep Impact, it was Armageddon that performed much better at the box office.
The movie grossed in excess of $553 million and ended 1998 as the highest grossing movie of that year - surpassing the rather epic and critically acclaimed Saving Private Ryan.
Armageddon helped propel the career of Ben Affleck and remains one of my guilty pleasure movies - it really is a terrific ride with a great cast.
- The Day After Tomorrow - $544,272,402
We have already taken a look at two other Roland Emmerich movies, in the form of Independence Day and 2012, and now we take a closer look at The Day After Tomorrow.
It was back in 2004 when The Day After Tomorrow hit the big screen and followed the human race as they tried to cope with extreme weather that sees the planet plunged into a new ice age.
Dennis Quaid took on the central role of paleoclimatologist Jack Hall and is joined on the cast list by Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Ian Holm, and Sela Ward.
The Day After Tomorrow was another huge box office hit for Emmerich as it grossed over $544 million by the end of its theatrical run.
The Day After Tomorrow ended 2004 as the sixth highest grossing film of the year, behind Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spider Man 2, The Incredibles, and The Passion of the Christ.
- Godzilla - $528,676,069
Godzilla is the most recent movie on our countdown as it hit the big screen last year and was an origins story of the iconic movie monster.
Godzilla marked the return of Gareth Edwards to the director's chair for the first time since he made his debut with Monsters back in 2010. Needless to say, Godzilla was the biggest film of his directing career to date.
Godzilla is a movie that pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.
Edwards has delivered a terrific cast, as Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, and David Strathairn are just some of the names that are on board.
Godzilla was one of the must see summer movies of 2014 and grossed around $200 million worldwide in its opening weekend. By the end of its theatrical run, the movie had taken over $528 million at the global box office.
This was the first time that we had seen an American Godzilla movie since the 1998 film of the same name - it was obvious that there was still a huge appetite for this iconic character with audiences.
