The Highest Grossing Films of 2016, Ranked

Looking back at movies from 2016, some trends continued, while others shifted. For example, certain franchises still dominated ticket sales, but the initial success of films like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them didn’t last. Now, with ten years of perspective, we can better judge which popular movies truly earned their success.

Here’s a ranking of 2016’s top-grossing movies, from lowest to highest. As with any list like this, some choices might be debatable, and not everyone will agree with where each film lands. Feel free to discuss and argue your favorites! But it’s clear these movies still resonate with audiences today.

Suicide Squad Fails To Make Great Use of a Premise

Looking back almost ten years later, Suicide Squad stands out as a particularly disappointing movie. It started with a lot of promise – a clever and edgy idea, a strong cast, interesting characters, and a fantastic, memorable trailer. These elements helped make it a box office success, despite the final film being a messy, overdone, and ultimately unsatisfying experience.

Despite a strong performance by Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad was ultimately flawed. It struggled with uneven editing, a confusing plot, and an overly intense style, and it used far too many popular songs. The film was a critical failure, and while James Gunn’s later, more successful The Suicide Squad tried to fix things, the original’s poor reception had already hurt the franchise.

Finding Dory Is Sweet, But Appropriately Forgettable

By the time Finding Dory came out, Pixar’s films hadn’t been receiving the same critical acclaim as their earlier hits. Movies like Cars 2, Brave, and The Good Dinosaur didn’t reach the success of WALL-E, Ratatouille, Up, or The Incredibles. It became clear that, unlike the original Toy Story trilogy, sequels were being made primarily to profit from popular characters and animation, rather than because of strong creative stories.

The 2016 sequel, Finding Dory, directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane, was a charming and funny addition to Pixar’s collection, though it didn’t leave a lasting impression. This might be appropriate for a movie centered around a forgetful fish! While Finding Dory offered moments of humor, silliness, and sweetness, it didn’t resonate with audiences as powerfully or remain as memorable as the beloved original, Finding Nemo.

The Jungle Book Is Visually Stunning, But Now Lacks Wonder

From a technical standpoint, this film is truly remarkable. The incredibly realistic animals pull you right into the story, and it’s one of the better live-action Disney remakes we’ve seen – though it’s not perfect.

Despite its visually stunning presentation, this new version of the 1967 animated film shares problems with other recent Disney remakes, a trend that became noticeable after the financial success of The Jungle Book. The biggest issue is its uncertainty about how to approach the original story by Rudyard Kipling. While it can be darker than most Disney films, it loses some of the charm and heartwarming quality of the 1960s classic. And when it tries to mirror the earlier adaptation, the results feel strange and awkward.

While visually impressive with its realistic computer-generated animals, The Jungle Book feels more like a technical showcase than a truly compelling story. It’s also hampered by similar problems seen in Jon Favreau’s disappointing 2019 remake of The Lion King – a film so flawed it actually diminishes this one. Despite these issues, The Jungle Book benefits from excellent casting, particularly Bill Murray as Baloo and a memorably quirky Christopher Walken as King Louie.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Is Appealing, But Not Spellbinding

After the huge success of the first eight Harry Potter movies, it was expected that Warner Bros. would find ways to make more money from the franchise. But with Harry’s story already told, the studio had to explore other, lesser-known parts of the Wizarding World to continue the series.

The movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), a prequel and spin-off focusing on Newt Scamander’s magical creature guidebook, came about in a way that wasn’t universally loved. Unlike the Harry Potter series, which beautifully showed a character’s growth from childhood, Fantastic Beasts was more successful when it simply explored its unique wizarding world. It felt less captivating when it attempted to be like Harry Potter. Sadly, the later Fantastic Beasts films tried too hard to recreate the original’s magic, losing the qualities that made the first movie enjoyable.

Although not one of the strongest films in the Fantastic Beasts series, this movie is definitely the best of the three. It’s enjoyable thanks to great performances by Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, and Alison Sudol, and it builds a fascinating world set in 1920s New York City with appealing character relationships. Sadly, these relationships weren’t explored as much in the sequels. Despite the Fantastic Beasts series ultimately being unsuccessful, this first film still deserves to be watched.

The Secret Life of Pets Was Cute, But Lacks Staying Power

Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets takes a familiar idea – what do our companions get up to when we’re not home? – and applies it to pets instead of toys. While the concept isn’t groundbreaking, the movie’s charm made it a hit with audiences, and it went on to become one of the biggest box office successes of 2016.

The 86-minute movie about pets is enjoyable and easy to watch, like a sweet treat. It’s fun while it lasts, but it doesn’t have the lasting impact of a truly substantial film. The Secret Life of Pets is charming and pleasant, perfect for relaxed viewing, but it doesn’t resonate as strongly as the excellent Toy Story movies it tries to be like.

While The Secret Life of Pets is enjoyable, it’s not a truly memorable film. It’s understandable why the follow-up movie in 2019 wasn’t very successful. The movie is fun, but doesn’t offer much depth or originality.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Created a New Kind of Star Wars Hero

Looking back, it’s surprising how incredibly successful the dark and gritty film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was. This movie, which fills the gap between earlier Star Wars films, immediately establishes that the new characters won’t have a happy ending – something Star Wars fans likely expected. Even with its generally somber tone, Rogue One earned over a billion dollars, proving that Star Wars films could still be hugely profitable.

The movie feels uneven, clearly showing the different approaches of original director Gareth Edwards and Tony Gilroy, who did extensive uncredited reshoots. Rogue One struggles to find the right mix between inspiring rebel storytelling and scenes designed purely to please fans. However, it’s a well-shot, gritty, and exciting film that feels more sophisticated than most, and it actually improves with each viewing.

Zootopia Was A Wild Success With its Creative Commentary

Disney making an animated movie about talking animals isn’t a new idea – it’s something they’ve always done! But that didn’t make this film any less enjoyable, and it absolutely proved it was worth making. It’s a charming movie that delivers.

With its clever and humorous take on the animal world, excellent voice acting from Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, and Jenny Slate, and surprisingly insightful social messages, Zootopia stood out from other animated animal movies and became a big hit. A sequel followed, though it didn’t quite reach the same heights, it still captured some of the charm of the original 2016 film. Unlike many forgettable animal movies, like The Secret Life of Pets, Zootopia left a lasting impression.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Deserves Another Chance

It’s hard to argue that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn’t controversial. Even dedicated comic book fans had issues with Zack Snyder’s ambitious take on the DC universe. The movie was dark, violent, and took big risks, and while not all of them paid off, looking back now, it’s possible to appreciate it as a visually striking and unconventional take on these classic heroes.

It’s possible past reactions have unfairly influenced how people see this film. However, it’s a surprisingly thoughtful and gritty take on the conflict between two flawed superheroes, with beautiful visuals and a grand, dramatic style. Ben Affleck also gave a strong performance as Batman that didn’t get enough recognition.

Deadpool Redefined the R-Rated Superhero Flick

With the main character now established, it’s easy to overlook just how risky the initial concept was. It was truly impressive that the filmmakers were able to make it work.

Ryan Reynolds first encountered the character Deadpool – known as the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ – when he played him in the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He quickly became a fan and passionately campaigned to portray the character properly in a future film. After a test leak generated huge excitement online, director Tim Miller and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick created the wildly popular, R-rated movie fans had been waiting for – and it delivered.

As a huge film fan, I loved Deadpool. It was hilarious, energetic, and just didn’t seem to care what anyone thought! You could really feel how much Ryan Reynolds, the director, and the writers genuinely loved this character – it was clear they were passionate about bringing him to life. Honestly, it feels like the last big Marvel movie made purely out of love and a willingness to take a chance, and that heart really shines through in every scene.

Captain America: Civil War Was Liberating For the MCU

Marvel movies used to be guaranteed hits, but recently that hasn’t been as true. Looking back at Captain America: Civil War is a good reminder of a high point, as it set the stage for the massive success of Avengers: Endgame. Though it feels more like another Avengers movie than a true Captain America sequel, Civil War raised the emotional stakes, delivered exciting action inspired by the comics, and successfully introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man. This proved that directors Anthony and Joe Russo were capable of handling the ambitious Avengers films.

With the Russo brothers finishing their work on Avengers: Doomsday, they have a great opportunity to reignite interest in the superhero franchise. They can do this by focusing on the compelling personal stories and strong relationships between characters that made previous films so successful. Captain America: Civil War, released a decade ago, is a prime example – it was a standout hit not only for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also a major success at the global box office, remaining one of the strongest superhero films of 2016.

2026-05-21 05:12