Top 10 Highest Grossing Super Hero Movies Of All Time

9. Guardians of the Galaxy – $333.2 million

Without a doubt, this is the underdog champion of the bunch, and the bet that’s paid off most handsomely for any studio that has gambled on a big budget super hero flick. It’s hard to return to the proper mental space needed to analyze just how unlikely Guardians reaching this level really was. We’re talking about characters most of the moviegoing public had never heard of, in a sci-fi setting that eliminated the most obvious ties to other Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by a guy whose previous claim to fame was … what? Writing the remake of Dawn of the Dead, maybe?

James Gunn and company succeeded by recognizing exactly what they had, beginning with characters whose obscurity belied how great they were. The casting was excellent, the action and humor were dished out in just the right proportions, and the story was easy to digest without insulting one’s intelligence. And if there was a film buddy tandem more ready-made for breakout status than Rocket Raccoon and Groot in recent memory, I can’t remember what it might be.

Marvel simply knocked this one out of the park. In the unlikely event that the Avengers franchise runs out of steam after a second movie, Guardians is ready to step up in its place. Who could ever have imagined that?