It may have taken a few decades, but superhero movies have exploded in popularity in recent years to become one of the most successful genres in Hollywood. This can easily be determined by both the dedicated fanbase as well as the incredibly high box offices some of the hit franchises of the MCU, DCEU and beyond have earned in theaters.

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To celebrate some of the most successful superhero movies that have continued to draw in fans and earn huge global box office tallies, it's fascinating to take a look at the 50 highest-grossing superhero movies of all time, ranked from lowest to highest based on the film's worldwide earnings in U.S. dollars.

50 Superman Returns (2006) - $391,081,192

Brandon Routh in Superman Returns

Bryan Singer directed 2006's Superman Returns that starred Brandon Routh as the titular Man of Steel against Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor in a continuation of the original Superman cinematic franchise. Superman Returns wasn't well-received by fans but still did pretty well in theaters.

49 X2: X-Men United (2003) - $406,348,630

Characters from X2: X-Men United

The first sequel in Bryan Singer's hit X-Men franchise wowed fans when X2: X-Men United debuted in theaters in 2003. The film loosely adapted the iconic X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel that brought the X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood together against General William Stryker.

48 Batman (1989) - $411,348,924

Michael Keaton as Batman

Michael Keaton starred as the Dark Knight in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, which kicked off the long-running franchise that introduced a darker take on the character on screen. Jack Nicholson also starred as The Joker alongside Kim Basinger as reporter Vicki Vale in the high-grossing cinematic hit.

47 The Wolverine (2013) - $416,456,852

Hugh Jackman in The Wolverine

Hugh Jackman reprised his role as Logan/Wolverine from the X-Men franchise in his own solo trilogy of loosely connected films. 2013's The Wolverine from director James Mangold was the second film in the series, and it explored his time in Japan that helped define his comic character.

46 Thor (2010) - $449,326,618

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

The MCU was further expanded with 2010's Thor from director Kenneth Branagh that introduced Chris Hemsworth as the titular Asgardian hero alongside Tom Hiddleston's Loki.

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While not the most successful Phase One release of the MCU, Thor still did well at the global box office.

45 X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) - $459,260,946

X-Men The Last Stand Team Picture

2006 saw the release of Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand, which served as the conclusion to the original X-Men movie trilogy and attempted to adapt both "The Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Gifted" comic storylines. Despite doing well at the box office, it was considered a major disappointment following the excellent X2.

44 Ant-Man (2015) - $518,858,449

Paul Rudd as Ant-Man

Peyton Reed's 2015 Ant-Man introduced two generations of the titular size-changing hero as Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) trained a new Ant-Man named Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) as they faced off against Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll) over the powerful tech in the surprising heist hit.

43 X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - $542,537,546

X-Men: Apocalypse Movie

The second cinematic trilogy of the X-Men franchise technically concluded with 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse (though Dark Phoenix later finished off the prequel franchise). Oscar Isaac debuted as Apocalypse alongside a number of new mutants that tied into the previous trilogy.

42 Iron Man (2008) - $585,171,547

Iron Man 2008

Robert Downey Jr. starred as Tony Stark in Jon Favreau's Iron Man, which first hit theaters in 2008 and heralded the beginning of the MCU following an unforgettable post-credits where Nick Fury teased the eventual forming of the Avengers on screen.

41 Logan (2017) - $614,202,315

Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen in Logan

The finale of Hugh Jackman's solo Wolverine franchise hit theaters in 2017 with James Mangold's Logan

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The film took place in the near future of the X-Men franchise's cinematic timeline that explored the last days of Logan as he protected the future of mutantkind.

40 Iron Man 2 (2010) - $621,156,389

Tony Stark and James Rhodes in Iron Man and War Machine suits

Jon Favreau returned to direct 2010's Iron Man 2, which introduced a recast Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine in Stark's fight against the revenge-fueled Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). Iron Man 2 also featured Scarlett Johansson in her first appearance as the MCU's Black Widow.

39 Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018) - $623,144,660

Ant-Man and the Wasp in the MCU

Evangeline Lilly adopted her own costumed identity in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, which dived into the MCU's experimental science world as the Pyms' attempted to rescue the lost Jan van Dyne from the Quantum Realm with Scott Lang's help while they avoided new threats and villains.

38 Hancock (2008) - $624,234,272

Will Smith and Charlize Theron in Hancock

While Marvel and DC mostly dominate the highest-grossing superhero movies, 2008's Hancock from director Peter Berg was an original movie starring Will Smith and Charlize Theron that combined superhero elements with ancient mythology.

37 The Incredibles (2004) - $631,442,092

The Incredibles family on the island

The hit animation studio Pixar introduced its own take on the superhero family with Brad Bird's 2004 blockbuster The Incredibles. The movie explored a retired superhero couple that was forced to return to their costumed lives in order to protect their new family.

36 Thor: The Dark World (2013) - $644,602,516

thor dark world mcu

Alan Taylor directed 2013's Thor: The Dark World that further explored Asgard while also furthering the ongoing story of the Infinity Saga.

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Christopher Eccleston threatened the Nine Realms as the Dark Elf Malekith in the sequel that did well in the box office, though isn't one of the MCU's best-received.

35 Big Hero 6 (2014) - $649,683,252

Cast of Big Hero 6

2014's Big Hero 6 from Walt Disney Animation brought the obscure Marvel team to the big screen as the brilliant young Hiro assembled a team of tech-equipped scientists alongside his robotic friend Baymax to investigate a mysterious masked threat connected to his brother's death.

34 Justice League (2017) - $655,945,209

Joss Whedon's Justice League

The theatrical release of Justice League may have been recently outdone by HBO Max's release of Zack Snyder's Justice League among fans of the characters, but the original version of the film still places high on the worldwide box office.

33 Man of Steel (2013) - $667,999,518

Henry Cavill in Man of Steel

Director Zack Snyder launched the DCEU in 2013 with Man of Steel, which starred Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman in a reimagined look at the character's origin. Man of Steel may rank low in the box office compared to other DCEU releases, but it still sits high among fans.

32 Doctor Strange (2016) - $676,354,481

Doctor Strange header

Benedict Cumberbatch joined the MCU as the titular Sorcerer Supreme in Scott Derrickson's 2016 Doctor Strange. The movie was a mind-bending exploration into the magical side of the MCU that successfully drew crowds to the cinemas.

31 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) - $708,996,336

Electro vs Spidey in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

2014 saw the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 from director Marc Webb, which introduced Jamie Foxx as Electro and Dane Dehaan as Harry Osborn/Green Goblin.

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The sequel loosely adapted the iconic "Death of Gwen Stacy" storyline while also attempting to set up a Sinister Six movie that never developed.