7 Highest Grossing DC Movies: Aquaman tops

DC is a leading superhero movie brand that is going through a difficult phase in terms of box office. Here's having a look at DC's highest grossing movies.

Updated on Jul 11, 2024  |  07:58 PM IST |  103K
Jason Momoa
Aquaman is the highest grossing DC movie of all time (Credit: DC Comics, Warner Bros)
Key Highlight
  • Aquaman grossed 1.15 billion dollars worldwide to become the highest grossing DC movie
  • The Batman is unquestionably the most popular DC Comics character
  • DC looks to redeem itself with Joker 2 and the new Superman movie after string of underperformers.

DC Comics, popularly known as just DC, is a leading studio that specialises in superhero flicks. Over the years, they have seen major commercial success but currently, they are in their rebuilding phase, courtesy a string of films that have disappointed at the box office. They have a few very exciting films in production and if they perform well, it will benefit their future slate of releases, significantly. Let's have a look at the highest grossing DC movies at the worldwide box office so far. 

7 Highest Grossing DC Movies At The Worldwide Box Office

Aquaman

1. Aquaman

Aquaman is the highest grossing DC movie to date. It is the 10th highest grossing superhero film of all time and that’s not too pretty for a studio like DC that once used to pretty much rule the list. 8 Marvel movies are in the top 10 highest grossing superhero films list against just one of DC.

Aquaman grossed around 1.15 billion dollars at the worldwide box office. It was the 5th highest grosser of the year it was released in, that is 2018. It was also the 20th highest grossing film of all time, then. The sequel of Aquaman titled Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could only manage around 435 million dollars; over 60 percent down from the first film.

The Dark Knight Rises

2. The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale as Batman was the second superhero film to click 1 billion dollars at the worldwide box office, the first being The Dark Knight - the second film of the Batman Trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie was pretty much a rage. It’s a film that truly defines the peak of DC Comics.

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As the Dark Knight Rises grossed 1.08 billion dollars at the worldwide box office, Batman became the only superhero franchise to have 2 billion-dollar plus grossers. While it was the third highest grosser of the year it released in, it was the 7th highest grossing film of all time.
 

Joker

3. Joker

DC bankrolled a film focusing on the antagonist of Batman, Joker. The movie surpassed all expectations, and became the fourth DC movie to crack a billion dollars at the box office; after The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises and Aquaman.

Joker continues to be the highest grossing R-rated flick of all time. It is the most profitable superhero film of all time, primarily due to the controlled budget that it was made at. The second part of Joker titled Joker: Folie à Deux is set to release in October 2024 and the expectations from the film are to gross a billion dollars or thereabouts.
 

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The Dark Knight

4. The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is the first superhero film to have grossed over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. It is the second film in the most influential superhero trilogy of all time. The film more than doubled the collections put up by the first film of the trilogy, The Batman.

The Dark Knight was the highest grosser of 2008 and the 4th highest grossing film of all time at the time of its release.
 

Batman V Superman

5. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is looked at as the biggest lost opportunity for a superhero flick. The film had an insane amount of hype but it didn’t quite live up to the expectations. It broke numerous initial box office records but the lifetime number was seen as underwhelming.

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice grossed around 875 million dollars and what’s intriguing is that nearly half of its collections came in the very first weekend. The film was profitable for the makers but it did take a toll on the brand image. This had to be an easy 1 billion dollars at least, based on the bumper start.

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Wonder Woman

6. Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot was a huge money-spinner at the box office, grossing over 800 million dollars at the worldwide box office. It came a year after the DC film with a massive untapped potential - Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. 

Wonder Woman grossed more than Batman V Superman in North America, as it collected around 412.5 million dollars. The sequel of Wonder Woman titled WW84 was affected by the pandemic and failed to even match its budget.

The Batman

7. The Batman (2022)

The Batman starring Robert Pattinson was a hit at the box office, grossing almost 775 million dollars against a budget of under 200 million dollars. It continues to be the highest grossing DC film post pandemic. 

The Batman got favourable reviews. Obviously matching the Batman Trilogy films helmed by Christopher Nolan was going to be a herculean task but The Batman came through as a film that was liked by majority of its viewers.

Following is a list of DC's Highest Grossing Movies, on the basis of worldwide gross:-

Rank Movie Worldwide Box Office
1 Aquaman 1.148 billion dollars
2 The Dark Knight Rises 1.081 billion dollars
3 Joker 1.074 billion dollars
4 The Dark Knight 1.006 billion dollars
5 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice 874 million dollars
6 Wonder Woman 822 million dollars
7 The Batman 771 million dollars

Disclaimer: The box office figures are compiled from various sources as well as our own research. The figures can be approximate and Pinkvilla does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the films in question

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Conclusion:

DC still continues to be one of the biggest superhero movie studios. Yes, it did lose its way with a series of underperformers but the future looks bright. The new Joker film and the new Superman film are highly anticipated by the audiences. If they strike a chord with the audiences, we can well expect both of them to track down a billion each.

Which is your favourite DC film from DC’s highest grossing movies at the worldwide box office list? Let us know your opinion.
 

ALSO READ: 7 Highest Grossing Marvel Films: Avengers Endgame tops

Frequently asked questions related to DC Comics' highest grossing movies

How do Batman movies rank among the highest grossing DC films?
Batman is the most popular DC character and Batman movies make up most of DC's highest grossing films

Which Wonder Woman movie has grossed the most?
The highest grossing DC film featuring Wonder Woman is Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The highest grossing Wonder Woman centric film is Wonder Woman (2017)

Which DC movie had the biggest opening weekend?
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice had the biggest opening weekend for a DC

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About The Author

A journalist who is perennially hungry for entertainment. Loves tracking and analyzing box office collections of movies. Also enjoys

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