The 15 highest-grossing animated movies of all time

Worldwide gross: $970,766,005

That’s right — you’ll see a lot of movies involving Minions on this list. The beloved “Despicable Me” franchise from Illumination has only grown in popularity over the decades.

Worldwide gross: $979,161,632

This beloved Disney movie is the oldest on this list, and that’s a testament to just how well it performed when it opened 30 years ago. Though ticket prices have continued to climb in the years since, Simba and the gang are still safely in the top 15.

Worldwide gross: $1,000,617,985

After knocking the original “Super Mario Bros.” out of the park in 2023, Nintendo and Universal expanded the beloved universe in the sequel with more worlds and more characters, resulting in major box office coin.

Worldwide gross: $1,025,521,689

Here marks our first billion-dollar earner.

Chronicling Judy Hopps’ adventures in “Zootopia” was a big lift for Walt Disney Animation, which had been searching for another megahit after “Frozen.”

Worldwide gross: $1,029,266,989

Pixar created a new story for our favorite forgettable fish, which turned out to be a cash cow for the studio.

Worldwide gross: $1,034,800,131

Introducing Gru’s brother in the third movie gave the “Despicable Me” franchise its first billion-dollar earner. It wouldn’t be the last.

Worldwide gross: $1,067,316,101

Regarded by many as the best movie in the “Toy Story” franchise, Woody and the gang’s journey that leads to them almost being incinerated was a winning mix of drama and lighthearted fun for an audience that grew up with the franchise.

Worldwide gross: $1,073,841,394

Almost a decade after “Toy Story 3” came the fourth installment. Though it wasn’t as memorable as the previous release, that clearly didn’t matter at the box office.

Worldwide gross: $1,159,457,503

Illumination knew the Minions were popular. But the studio didn’t know just how much of a hit the babbling yellow things were until this stand-alone movie made a killing at the box office.

Worldwide gross: $1,243,225,667

Fourteen years after Pixar released the hit original, “Incredibles 2” came to theaters and delivered a story that in some ways surpassed the Oscar-winning first title.

A main reason for that is its deeper examination of the superhero family (“Why did they change math?!?”), which touches on female empowerment and the rigors of caring for a growing child… that has zany powers.

Worldwide gross: $1,310,530,830

From its hit song “Let it Go” to Olaf becoming the latest beloved Disney character, “Frozen” was a grand slam for Disney Animation Studios.

Worldwide gross: $1,360,879,735

For decades, Illumination was known mostly as the studio that released the “Despicable Me” movies and created the Minions characters. But taking the Super Mario Bros. IP and turning it into a box office smash has made it an animation house that rivals Pixar.

Worldwide gross: $1,453,683,476

Though not as memorable as the first “Frozen,” that didn’t matter at the box office. The first movie was such a sensation that audiences returned in droves to see the story continue.

Worldwide gross: $1,698,863,816

After years of being a box office behemoth, Pixar hit a snag during the pandemic. Relegating titles like “Luca” and “Turning Red” to direct-to-streaming led to frustration and low morale within the company.

But those down times are over as “Inside Out 2” is the highest grosser for Pixar yet.

“Inside Out 2” hit the $1 billion global mark in 19 days, the fastest ever for an animated movie. And along with “Deadpool & Wolverine,” it’s the only other movie released in 2024 that crossed the $1 billion mark.

Worldwide gross: $1,866,647,950

Nine years after its original release, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde return with another entertaining buddy comedy story that audiences can’t get enough of.

The secret to the sequel’s huge success was how well it played in China. American-made titles haven’t performed well there post-pandemic (and fewer are being released there), but Disney pulled it off, as the title has taken in over $600 million in China alone.