The Top 10 Comic Book Movies of All Time [2012](Ranked by the Boxoffice Forums)

[#ED]

After a month of discussion. We finally have our Top 10 comic book movie List. Many users agreed on the same movies. Your RANK was very important. A few movies appeared on more lists, but weren't RANKED high enough. Let's get to it!

List based on: http://forums.boxoffice.com/index.php?/topic/6533-boxofficecoms-top-10-comic-book-movies-of-all-time-2012locked-top-10-list-coming-soon/

#10

Superman (1978)
(6400 Points)

Superman (also known as Superman: The Movie) is a 1978 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Richard Donner directed the film, which stars Christopher Reeve as Superman, as well as Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Valerie Perrine and Ned Beatty. The film depicts the origin of Superman, including his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton and his youthful years in the rural town of Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane, while battling the villainous Lex Luthor.

RottenTomatoes Score - 95%(Superman deftly blends humor and gravitas, taking advantage of the perfectly cast Christopher Reeve to craft a loving, nostalgic tribute to an American pop culture icon.)

Metacritic Score - 88

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $134,218,018 44.7%
+ Foreign: $166,000,000 55.3%
= Worldwide: $300,218,018

#9

X-Men: First Class (2011)
(6700 Points)

X-Men: First Class is a 2011 American superhero film, based on the X-Men characters appearing in Marvel Comics. The fifth installment in the X-Men series, the film was co-written and directed by Matthew Vaughn and produced by Bryan Singer, and acts as a prequel to the original X-Men trilogy. The story is set primarily in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto), and the origin of their groups—the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, respectively. The film stars James McAvoy as Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Lensherr, leading an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Zoë Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult and Lucas Till.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 87% (With a strong script, stylish direction, and powerful performances from its well-rounded cast, X-Men: First Class is a welcome return to form for the franchise.)

Metacritic - 65

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $146,408,305 41.4%
+ Foreign: $207,215,819 58.6%
= Worldwide: $353,624,124

#8

IRON MAN (2008)
(8700 Points)

Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is the first installment to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays military liaison James Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges plays Stark Industries executive Obadiah Stane.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 94% (Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey make this smart, high impact superhero movie one that even non-comics fans can enjoy.)

Metacritic score - 79

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $318,412,101 54.4%
+ Foreign: $266,762,121 45.6%
= Worldwide: $585,174,222

#7

BATMAN (1989)
(10,200 Points)

Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, and Jack Palance. The film, in which Batman deals with the rise of a costumed criminal known as "The Joker" (Nicholson), was the first installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 71% (An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson's Joker too often overshadows the title character.)

Metacritic - 66

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $251,188,924 61.1%
+ Foreign: $160,160,000 38.9%
= Worldwide: $411,348,924

#6

X2: X-Men United (2003)
(10,900 Points)

X2 (often promoted as X2: X-Men United or internationally as X-Men 2[2][3]) is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series. It stars an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Brian Cox, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, James Marsden, Halle Berry and Kelly Hu. The plot, inspired by the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, pits the X-Men and their enemies, the Brotherhood, against the genocidal Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox). He leads an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 88% (Tightly scripted, solidly acted, and impressively ambitious, X2: X-Men United is bigger and better than its predecessor -- and a benchmark for comic sequels in general.

Metacritic - 68

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $214,949,694 52.7%
+ Foreign: $192,761,855 47.3%
= Worldwide: $407,711,549

#5

Spider-Man 2 (2004)
(15,700 Points)

Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. The sequel to the 2002 film Spider-Man, it is the second film in Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco reprise their roles as Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, respectively.
Set two years after the events of Spider-Man, the film focuses on Peter Parker struggling to manage both his personal life and his duties as Spider-Man. Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), who takes a turn for the diabolical following a failed experiment and the death of his wife. Using his mechanical tentacles, Octavius is dubbed "Doctor Octopus" and threatens to endanger the lives of the people of New York City. Spider-Man must stop him from annihilating the city.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 93% (Boasting an entertaining villain and deeper emotional focus, this is a nimble sequel that improves upon the original.)

Metacritic - 83

A prime example of what every superhero movie should try to be. - Spaghetti

Sequels are rarely better than the original except with CB films, where usually the first is very good and then the second is amazing - chasmmi

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $373,585,825 47.7%
+ Foreign: $410,180,516 52.3%
= Worldwide: $783,766,341

#4

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
(16,700 Points)

The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the third and final installment in Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and it is the sequel to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane. The film introduces two main characters to Nolan's series: Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a cat burglar whose appearance in Gotham City sets in motion a chain of events that leads Batman to come out of retirement; and Bane (Tom Hardy), a mercenary whose objective is to destroy Gotham.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 87% (The Dark Knight Rises is an ambitious, thoughtful, and potent action film that concludes Christopher Nolan's franchise in spectacular fashion, even if it doesn't quite meet the high standard set by its predecessor.)

Metacritic - 78

- Great performances all around, arguably Bale's best out of the trilogy, as well as fantastic performances from Anne Hathaway who gave a Tour de Force, and Hardy who uses minimalism to portray true menace behind the mask. - Squaremaster316

A simply great ending to one of the greatest trilogies of all time. It had flaws, sure, but it's epic scope and personal journey for Bruce Wayne was impeccable. -Water Bottle

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $448,052,931 41.4%
+ Foreign: $632,902,188 58.6%
= Worldwide: $1,080,955,119

#3

Batman Begins (2005)
(19,300 Points)

Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman along with Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman. The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of the character from Bruce Wayne's initial fear of bats, the death of his parents, his journey to become Batman, and his fight against Ra's al Ghul's plot to destroy Gotham City by vaporizing the water supply into gas laced with the Scarecrow's fear-inducing toxin. It draws inspiration from classic comic book storylines such as The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Long Halloween.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 85% (Brooding and dark, but also exciting and smart, Batman Begins is a film that understands the essence of one of the definitive superheroes.)

Metacritic - 70

Best origin story. Batman Begins makes feel for Bruce Wayne and why he became batman. - Dexter of Surburbia

Brought back the Batman franchise from the dead - 75live

This portrayal of Batman just edges out the 1989 rendition. Captivating story and triumphant return of the Batman. - Punishment

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $206,852,432 55.3%
+ Foreign: $167,366,241 44.7%
= Worldwide: $374,218,673

#2

The Avengers (2012)
(21800 Points)

Marvel's The Avengers[4] (classified as Marvel Avengers Assemble in the UK and Ireland),[1][5] or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,1 based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is scripted and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor's adoptive brother Loki from subjugating Earth.

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 92% (With a script that never forgets its heroes' humanity and no shortage of superpowered set pieces, The Avengers lives up to its hype -- and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies.)

Metacritic - 69

Combining 4 big time solo comic book characters into an action movie, while giving each enough time to shine - Walt Disney

Whedon does an amazing job of bringing humor, action, drama in a single movie. Great performances by the leads. - druv10

You can actually follow the action, which feels like a comic book come to life. - Blackments

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $623,357,910 41.2%
+ Foreign: $888,400,000 58.8%
= Worldwide: $1,511,757,910

#1And Here We Go!(Of course)

The Dark Knight (2008)
(27,400 points!)

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the second part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The film introduces the character of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Gotham's newly elected District Attorney and the consort of Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who joins Batman and the police in combating the new rising threat of a criminal mastermind calling himself "The Joker" (Heath Ledger).

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 94% (Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.)

Metacritic - 82

Heath Ledger completely owns the movie as the crazed Joker, and Christopher Nolan's jaw-dropping vision of Gotham's mysterious hero hits an ultimate peak with this amazing film. - Spaghetti

The brilliantly structured, rock solid script that allowed for some fantastic moments, supporting performances, and the most ambitious ending to a film of the CBM genre and beyond. - Sqauremaster316

Still the bar for every movie and filmmaker nowadays - Omario

This movie set the tone for all comic book movies after it. No longer was a comic book movie just about a hero saving the day with special effects involved. The cast was amazing led by the Oscar winning performance of Heath Ledger. Any good comic book movie ever released from now on will be compared to The Dark Knight - iTz OnLy ED

Simply set a new standard for serious superhero movies. Had single-handedly the best interpretation of the Joker. It's emotional arc was also pretty good. - Water Bottle

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $534,858,444 53.2%
+ Foreign: $469,700,000 46.8%
= Worldwide: $1,004,558,444

Top 20 List RANKED BY Boxoffice.com

Make sure you read the rest 1st!

Here it is...

Movie / Points / # of appearances on everyone's Top 10 list
1. The Dark Knight / 27,400 Points / 33
2. The Avengers / 21,800 / 31
3. Batman Begins / 19,300 / 30
4. The Dark Knight Rises / 16,700 / 24
5. Spider-Man 2 / 15,700 / 26
6. X2: X-Men United / 10,900 / 21
7. Batman / 10,200 / 16
8. IronMan / 8700 / 26
9. X-Men: First Class / 6700 / 21
10. Superman / 6400 / 13
11. Spiderman / 5700 / 12
11. Watchmen / 5700 / 11
12. V For Vendetta / 4400 / 12
13. Batman Returns / 3900 / 7
14. Scoot Pilgrim vs The World / 3700 / 6
14. Oldboy / 3700 / 5
15. Superman II / 3500/ 9
16. Road To Perdition / 3000 / 5
17. The Amazing Spiderman / 2700 / 9
17. HellBoy II / 2700 / 5
18. X-Men / 2300 / 6
19. Men In Black / 2200 / 6
20. Captain America / 2100 / 3

I put this in spoiler so people don't just read this lol

I look forward to doing this next year as we may add on a few movies. Hopefully we get more users to participate.

Thanks everyone!

EDIT: I may add more to this soon.

Edited May 28, 2013 by iTz OnLy ED

[Squaremaster316]

Pretty much what I expected.

[The Toymaker]

So this entire poll and discussion was pointless because all of us knew that The Dark Knight would win, and 99% of us could have picked all of the other titles in the top 10.

[Blankments]

I'm actually rather surprised by the Dark Knight trilogy being so close to each other. Expected Spider-Man 2 or X2 to at least break it's streak.

[The Toymaker]

I'm actually rather surprised by the Dark Knight trilogy being so close to each other. Expected Spider-Man 2 or X2 to at least break it's streak.

Seriously? Given the history and nature of this forum, you're genuinely surprised by The Dark Knight trilogy performing so well in this poll?

[Blankments]

Seriously? Given the history and nature of this forum, you're genuinely surprised by The Dark Knight trilogy performing so well in this poll?

Not surprised by it performing well; I'm surprised by how DKR and BB are right next to each other.

[The Toymaker]

That's what I meant. This forum is known for kissing Nolan's rear, so to see Batman Begins in the same proximity as The Dark Knight is not a surprise for me at all. The ass-kissers here would feel like it was betraying Nolan not to vote for BB given the opportunity, and in a "Top" list of comicbook movies it gives them the best opportunity. So for me it's no surprise.

[druv10]

That's what I meant. This forum is known for kissing Nolan's rear, so to see Batman Begins in the same proximity as The Dark Knight is not a surprise for me at all. The ass-kissers here would feel like it was betraying Nolan not to vote for BB given the opportunity, and in a "Top" list of comicbook movies it gives them the best opportunity. So for me it's no surprise.

So why is TA number 2, considering TA's quite opposite of Nolan's trilogy.

[The Toymaker]

You haven't noticed that The Avengers is absolutely adored here too?

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

Spider-Man is not "adored" by this forum. Spider-Man 2 is nearly tied in points with TDKR, and is ranked higher(nearly twice as many points) than IM(Which is also "adored"). I think this is a pretty good list. I would switch SM2 and TDKR, but other than that, it looks very good to me.

Edited December 2, 2012 by ShAAken not Stirred™

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Spider-Man is not "adored" by this forum. Spider-Man 2 is nearly tied in points with TDKR, and is ranked higher(nearly twice as many points) than IM(Which is also "adored"). I think this is a pretty good list. I would switch SM2 and TDKR, but other than that, it looks very good to me.

I think Spider Man trilogy has really dated badly. Spider Man 2 is the only one that still holds up pretty good.

[The Toymaker]

I'd agree, but for different reasons. Spider-Man 2 is the only one that is worthy of the Spider-Man name. The first and third movies are terrible. The Amazing Spider-Man is brilliant, though it's only at #17.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

The Amazing Spider-Man is brilliant

Wow. We agree on something.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

I think Spider Man trilogy has really dated badly. Spider Man 2 is the only one that still holds up pretty good.

I'd have to agree with this. But SM1 was a dream come true for me, so I have a huge nostalgic connection to that film. But, even when I saw it the first time, there were parts I knew weren't all that great.

[The Toymaker]

Wow. We agree on something.

If we didn't, I'd be banned from this thread too.

[rickoshe4830]

everything is surpising in this world

[Olive]

TOP 10 all are great CBM's Edited December 2, 2012 by Olive

[#ED]

I also agree the Spider-Man trilogy is forgotten. The 3rd one left a bad again I guess.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

If we didn't, I'd be banned from this thread too.

You know that's not true.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

I also agree the Spider-Man trilogy is forgotten. The 3rd one left a bad again I guess.

Well, at least it's better than TASM.