Top 15 Highest Grossing Action Movies Ranked

Top 15 Highest Grossing Action Movies Ranked

Action movies have been one of the most popular genres for the last several decades. There’s been some awesome action movies and some not so awesome action movies. So today I’m going to be ranking the 15 highest grossing action movies. Let’s get started!

15. Spectre: Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as James Bond and this is such a frustrating movie. There’s a lot in here that I do enjoy, but it makes some choices that I don’t like. On the positive, this is the most expensive James Bond movie of all time. Skyfall was a huge hit for the franchise so they gave this movie a whole lot of money. And you can see that budget on screen, there’s some very cool and expensive action set pieces in here. Daniel Craig is still great as James Bond, he can bring this swagger and this toughness to James Bond that makes him a great and memorable Bond. Christoph Waltz is of course a world class talent so he’s great as the villain. But, the big plot twists this movie goes for, the big swings it takes don’t fully work for me. The idea of having Waltz be Bond’s half-brother and how Waltz was the villain all along up to this point in time is stupid. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves in movies, it ruins the movie and the logic of it doesn’t make sense. Overall, of Craig’s era of Bond movies this is the most frustrating one and it’s the weakest film on this list. 

14. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: This has been a punching bag for the internet for 16 years now. People were so excited for another Indiana Jones movie almost 20 years after The Last Crusade came out. The movie we got still has some of the magic, but a story that doesn’t work. Steven Spielberg still knows how to stage action, there’s some very memorable action set pieces here. Whether that’s the opening warehouse fight, the motorcycle chase, or the car chase in the jungle there’s a lot of great action in here. Harrison Ford is of course fantastic as Indiana Jones, he has not skipped a beat with his performance. But the ideas here aren’t great, it’s been well documented that the ideas that Harrison Ford was not happy with this movie. George Lucas had his ideas he wanted, but Ford and Spielberg didn’t like it. You can see that on screen, the idea of having aliens in this world doesn’t work. The CGI is infamous for being terrible, Shia LeBeouf swinging on vines with monkeys…doesn’t look good. Also, it’s very unclear what the villain’s motivation in this movie is so you don’t care about them. They got Cate Blanchett to be the villain, but she feels wasted. I don’t think this movie is as bad as people want to make it out to be, there’s fun to be had. But it’s still not a very good movie. 

13. F9: This was a movie that I had a fun time watching in the theater. I’ve seen it a few times at home since then. If I was to rank this movie after the theater, this would be higher. But with over three years since it came out, I don’t think it’s aged well. Like most people have said, this is the Fast and Furious movie where things went too far. There’s some stupid fun to be had with Roman and Tej going into space, but it also feels over the top and them pushing the boundaries where I don’t think it fully worked. Even some of the other stuff with the reveal of John Cena being Dom’s brother strains credibility. It’s a movie that provided a fun theatrical experience, but that energy and entertainment very much wasn’t present upon rewatch. I know some people hate this movie; they view it as the bottom of the barrel of the Fast and Furious franchise. I can 100% understand where people are coming from, that’s not the case with me. Even the weaker films are fun and enjoyable, beyond the goofy side of things there is some fun to be had with the action and characters. 

12. Fast X: After the Ludicrousness of F9, I thought they wisely dialed back on the stupidness. This movie feels more in line with the franchise in its prime which was Fast Five to Furious 7.  There’s still stupid stuff in here, there’s still moments in here where they make Dom a superhero with shielding an explosion with a car door…doesn’t make much sense, but it’s still fun. This movie has one of the more straightforward plot lines of the franchise, from the very beginning we understand what Jason Momoa’s motivation is. Throughout the movie, it’s Dom and his friends…excuse me family trying to stop and avoid Jason Momoa. Speaking of Jason Momoa, he fits perfectly into this franchise, the bravado and energy that he oozes fits nicely into this fun franchise. He’s easily one of the best villains of the franchise, since we know very early on what his motivation is we can follow his journey more easily. Beyond that, Alan Ritchson and Brie Larson are fun additions to this franchise, their characters fit nicely into this world. It’s hurt by it being the eleventh entry in this franchise, where by this point we know what to expect and so some of the surprise factor is gone. 

11. The Fate of the Furious: This movie was coming right after the franchise in its prime, there’s still some of that magic and energy from those movies in here. There’s a lot of very memorable sequences and moments here. The constant banter between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham was a lot of fun, that entire prison sequence always puts a smile on my face. There’s more stupid stuff in here, but it didn’t go too far. The idea of them driving sports cars on ice makes enough sense and there’s even a lot of fun that comes with that with Roman’s reaction and the team having to rescue him. I do the film’s tone all over the place, there’s some dark stuff in here Cipher killing Dom’s baby in front of the baby’s mother. Then you also get Johnson and Statham throwing insults at each other, the tone is where this movie gets held back. Also, Charlize Theron is a good actress. I don't know if she fits in this franchise. She’s a bit serious here given how goofy and over the top the franchise is. I get they want to make her villainous and dangerous, but there’s still a way to do that and have it be fun. This is a solid entry in the franchise, there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had. But there’s also some flaws present. 

NOTE: From here on out, I’m giving all of these movies a B+ and above. 11 & 12 I still thought were good. The top 10 here are all movies that I think range from very good to the best of all time. 

10. Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw: I know we’re talking about a lot of Fast and Furious movies here, but there’s a lot of competition in this ranking. Of the Fast and Furious movies, this is the one that has grown up on me the most. I liked the film when I first watched it. But with the passing of time and rewatching it, I’ve grown to appreciate this film a good bit. Like I said, the banter between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham was a lot of fun in The Fate of the Furious, so getting an entire movie with them bickering back and forth and throwing insults at each other is fantastic and puts a smile on my face. Vanessa Kirby is a great addition who’s able to keep up with the two of them. This is easily one of the more fun films of the franchise, it exists to put a big smile on your face. You get all of the stupidity you expect from this franchise. The images of Dwayne Johnson holding onto a truck and a helicopter in the finale, it’s stupid but it’s a whole lot of fun. You can nitpick the logic of this movie all day long, but you don’t care because you’re having so much fun. 

9. Fast & Furious 6: After the massive success of Fast Five, this franchise built off of that foundation and created another fun blockbuster. This is another movie that’s filled with iconic, great, and memorable sequences that put a smile on my face every single time I watch it. Whether that’s the car chase through London, Brian going back to prison, or the finale with the longest runway in the world. No matter what it is, it’s fun to watch and still has all of the charm and magic from this run of the franchise. Luke Evans as Owen Shaw is one of the franchises’ best villains, he’s great at playing villainous roles. He’s able to be dark and villainous, but not so dark that he feels out of place like Charlize Theron’s Cipher. I also like how his team consists of the opposites of our heroes, Roman even makes a joke about that in this movie. It’s not them going up against one person, but rather a team of people. The chemistry between our heroes is a lot of fun here, there’s a lot of great one liners in this movie. This is another rock solid entry in this franchise. It delivers everything that I want from a Fast and Furious movie. 

8. Skyfall: The movie that was released to celebrate 50 years of James Bond movies. They went all out here and it shows, they delivered a fantastic James Bond movie that is my second favorite of the Craig era of movies. This is a movie that’s able to balance being this incredibly entertaining movie with stellar action while being emotional and having character moments. On the action front, this movie delivers the best action set pieces of the franchise. The opening sequences with the train are fantastic, that might be my favorite cold open of Craig’s era of movies. But all throughout the movie, you get these fantastic action set pieces that are massive and you can see everything that’s happening. It’s also a movie with emotions and character moments, several of the relationships in this movie are fleshed and feel layered. Bond’s relationship with Javier Bardem’s villain is more layered, there’s a past and a history there that’s not really present between Bond and other villains. Even Bond’s relationship with M is best used in this movie and I love the arc and the moments they give Judi Dench in this movie. Also, Adele writes one of the best Bond songs of all time. All around, this is a fantastic James Bond movie. 

7. Fast Five: This movie gave the franchise a much needed energy boost. They realized they have a stupid franchise and they leaned into it. They had a bit more fun with this movie, it’s more action focused, there’s a bit more humor, and a bit more stupidity. The idea of taking the Ocean’s Eleven format and putting it into this franchise is a lot of fun. There’s some fantastic sequences that come with that, it delivers one of the best finales of the franchise. The idea of Dom and Brian driving safes filled with money through the streets of Rio, is maybe a bit ridiculous but it seems plausible enough that it's easy to just go along with it and enjoy. There’s both fun and emotional moments with the team. There’s conflict and disagreements between our characters, but it feels earned and you understand why the characters are feeling the way that they are. Of course, you get the introduction of The Rock here. This movie kind of changed the trajectory of his career. He was of course already a big movie star and super famous. But the movie star that we know The Rock to be now, sort of started with this movie. This isn’t my favorite entry in the franchise, but I know it is for a lot of people and they’re not wrong when they say that. 

6. No Time to Die: At this point in the list, it starts getting really hard because I absolutely love the rest of these movies. The fact this movie is at #6 kind of pains me, but sometimes rankings are hard like that. I just thought this was a fantastic conclusion to Daniel Craig’s era of Bond movies. Granted, this is the only Bond movie that I’ve seen in the theater so there could be some biases towards that. But I had an absolute blast watching this movie and I think it’s the most well rounded of his movies. You get all of the big action set pieces and sequences that you’d expect from a James Bond. It’s pretty incredible to go from watching Dr. No and No Time to Die and you see the escalation of cinema and how much action movies have changed. The stakes and motivations of the movie are close and personal to Bond, it’s a very personal story that you feel the stakes in. It concludes Craig’s era of Bond nicely, this is a very different take on Bond and I appreciate that and the way they close things out, I think works and fits with this era of Bond. Also, there’s a nice steady stream of jokes in this movie. Constantly from beginning to end, there’s humor but it never undercuts the dramatic moments. This is a fantastic movie and it’s my favorite Bond movie. 

5. Furious 7: This is a fantastic addition to the Fast and Furious franchise that blends being this stupid action movie, but it doesn’t go too far with being emotional with how they treat Paul Walker’s sendoff here. Walker did halfway through making this movie and they had to change the movie to make sure they give him his sendoff and it works. It is an incredibly fun movie from beginning to end, it came out when the franchise was in its prime. The action is big and exciting to watch, but it doesn’t feel like a parody of itself like some of the later films do. There’s some great action set pieces in here, the big stand out would be the driving the cars out of the plane chase sequence. The finale goes back to the roots where it is set in Los Angeles. You have Vin Diesel and Jason Statham having a lightsaber battle with this big dramatic score playing, but it fits the movie perfectly. Then of course, this movie can make you cry in the final moments as the send off to Brian and how they pay tribute to Paul Walker is beautiful. I never thought a Fast and Furious movie would make me cry, but here we are. 

4. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol: This is where the hot streak of the Mission Impossible franchise started. From Ghost Protocol to Dead Reckoning, it’s been nothing but fantastic movies. There’s a whole lot in this movie to enjoy and have fun with. Brad Bird is a fantastic director, one of my favorite directors of all time. He helped create this rollercoaster ride of the later Mission Impossible movies, where it starts very fast paced and it never lets up until the credits roll. In this movie, every 10-15 minutes there’s another big epic action sequence. There’s something crazy that Tom Cruise is trying to do, mainly you have to talk about the Dubai tower sequence that’s fantastic. I think that’s the best sequence of the entire movie, the way it’s shot and just how dynamic it is it puts you on the edge of your seat. I wish I could have seen this movie on the big screen, just to experience that sequence. You also get a lot of fun sequences with gadgets, with Ethan and Benji breaking into the building at the beginning. There’s just a whole lot about this movie that I love, this is an A-level movie for me. My ranking of the last four Mission Impossible changes constantly. 

3. Mission Impossible: Fallout: This is an interesting film in the franchise as it’s the first time that a director returned to direct a film in this franchise. I think that’s a big reason why this movie works, because it feels like a continuation of Rogue Nation. One of the big positives about that movie is that it starts to connect the world of Mission Impossible, this movie continues that. The mistakes and choices that Ethan Hunt and his team made come back to haunt them. It’s the fallout of the past movies, this movie feels different while still delivering the Mission Impossible experience. You get more big and epic action sequences. Tom Cruise said this is the biggest practical action movie of all time. You see that on screen with the helicopter stuff in the third act or the car chase through Paris. Or even the halo jump early on in the movie. Even the smaller fights like the bathroom brawl are fun and exciting to watch, but Cruise and McQuirre know how to stage the action. Henry Cavill is a great addition to this movie, he’s able to be a great movie star while also playing a great villain opposite Tom Cruise. Once again, this is another fantastic addition to the franchise, different days of the week this could be my favorite of the franchise. 

2. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation: For me, this the most fun Mission Impossible that I think has the most memorable sequence, jokes, and moments of the franchise. This movie starts off entertaining and thrilling and it never lets up until the credits roll. This movie just flies by and moves from action sequence to action sequence at a breakneck pace. All of the movies start with a fantastic sequence before the title card appears, this movie being no exception. The image of Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a plane as it’s taking off is incredible, it’s so much fun to watch. And I love how they started the movie with a big iconic stunt but they keep on finding ways to keep you entertained without trying to top what came before. The rest of the sequences with the opera house, the car chase, or the underwater sequences it’s all fantastic and so entertaining to watch. This was the start making performance for Rebecca Ferguson, who’s appeared in several other great projects over the years. What’s so impressive is that she’s able to go toe to toe with Tom Cruise and be great. When you cast somebody early in their career and they can go toe to toe with an A-list movie star, that’s impressive. There’s also just a great stream of jokes in this movie, every few minutes is a great joke that always puts a smile on my face. All in all, this is currently my favorite of the Mission Impossible franchise whenever I re-rank these movies, it could change. 

1. Top Gun: Maverick: I remember when this movie was first announced being so cynical and skeptical about the idea of a 30+ year long sequel to Top Gun. I love that movie, but it wasn’t obvious what a sequel would look like. They started putting out trailers and they were solid trailers. I went to see the movie and absolutely loved it. Where they told a very personal and emotional story that has stakes to it, you care about Maverick’s arc in the movie. They tell a story with Maverick about him getting older and how the older he’s gotten affected his relationship with others. They still give Maverick the same positives and flaws that they gave him in the original, but mature it and find the humanity in it. It’s able to balance it with just thrilling and exciting aerial sequences that make you feel like you’re in the air. You watch behind the scenes videos, you see Tom Cruise explain this stuff and you know just how much time went into making these sequences worth seeing on the big screen. Like most of Tom Cruise’s blockbusters it moves so quickly, it’s never boring. This is what a blockbuster should be, it should be funny, entertaining, thrilling, and heartfelt and this movie delivers all of that on an incredible scale. I don’t know if I will say this is Cruise’s best movie, but it’s certainly in the top 3.