Purdue University - Fall 2022

Astronomy 154, Chapter 5 Presentation

Professor Whitley, Section 4

May 01, 2022

Included in the list are charts of the top box-office earners, a chart of high-grossing

animated films by the calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-

grossing animated film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing animated film franchises

and series. For instance, All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office

performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting

rights and merchandise.

Teacher’s Note: Great improvement from the previous draft.

PRESENTATION SLIDES:

Slide 1 Title: Key Points

Animated family films have performed consistently well at the box office, with Disney

enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home video era with Walt Disney Animation

Studios, who have produced films such as Aladdin and The Lion King, both of which were

the highest-grossing animated film of all time upon their release. Disney Animation also

enjoyed later success with the Frozen and Moana films, in addition to Pixar, of which the

films from the Toy Story, Inside Out, Finding Nemo, and Incredibles franchises have been

the best performers. Beyond Disney and Pixar, franchises Despicable Me, Shrek, Ice Age,

Fengshen Cinematic Universe, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and Doraemon have been met
with the most success. Additionally, the current highest-grossing animated film is Ne Zha 2,

a Chinese film that has grossed nearly $2.1 billion worldwide as of March 5, 2025, the first

ever animated film to reach $2 billion worldwide. == Highest-grossing animated films ==

The chart below lists the highest-grossing animated films. Figures are given in United States

dollars (USD). Many films that were released during the 20th century do not appear on this

list as figures have not been adjusted for inflation, and as a result the films on this list have

all had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 2005.

Slide 2 Title: Key Points

Films that have not played since then do not appear on the chart due to ticket price

inflation, population size, and ticket purchasing trends not being considered. If inflation

were adjusted for, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would appear at the top of the chart

with an adjusted gross of $2,297,000,000. All except the original 1994 version of The Lion

King, which is a traditionally animated film, are computer-animated films. Despicable Me is

the most represented franchise with all six films (including the Minions films) in the top 50

highest-grossing animated films. The top 14 films on this list, each having grossed in excess

of $1 billion worldwide, are also ranked among the top 50 highest-grossing films of all time.

== Highest-grossing animated films by animation type ==

=== Computer animation ===

The following chart is a list of the highest-grossing computer-animated films. The films on

this list have all had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 2005.

Slide 3 Title: Important Facts

Inside Out, and Moana franchises, as well as the main films in the Madagascar franchise, are

on the list while the Toy Story, Shrek, Ice Age, and How to Train Your Dragon franchises

feature often. The top 49 films listed are also among the 50 highest-grossing animated films

and the top 11 are among the 50 highest-grossing films, each having grossed in excess of $1

billion worldwide. === Stop motion animation ===

A total of 38 stop motion films have grossed in excess of $1 million. All feature films in the

Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep franchises are on the list, with Wallace and Gromit

being the most represented franchise on the list, with three films. The films on this list have

all had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 1975. === Traditional animation ===

The following chart is a list of the highest-grossing traditionally-animated films. The two

films in the animated Jungle Book franchise appear on the chart, along with the first two

from both the SpongeBob SquarePants and Pokémon feature series; these three are the

most frequent franchises thereon with two titles each.

Slide 4 Title: Important Facts

The top film on this list is also among on the 50 highest-grossing animated films. ==

Highest-grossing animated films by year ==

The top-grossing animated films in the years 1937, 1940, 1942, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1961,

1967, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2020, 2024 and 2025 were also the highest-

grossing films overall those years. Computer-animated films have been the highest earners

in 1995, 1998–2019, and every year since 2021 while 1975 and 1993 are the only years

when a stop motion animated feature grossed the highest. Traditional animated films have

topped every other year. The Ice Age franchises have had the most entries be the highest-

grossing animated films of the year with four films, while the Rescuers and Finding Nemo all
had both films in each respective franchise be the highest-grossing animated films of the

year they were released. Disney films has top the list the most of any studio topping the list

32 times. Animal Farm, Out of an Old Man's Head, Fritz the Cat, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu

no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train were the only four adult animated films on the chart.

The top-grossing animated film of the year has usually been an American film, with a few

exceptions.

References:

1. Wikipedia (n.d.)