8 Giant Fantasy Movies Nobody Can Explain. Somebody Bought a Billion Dollars of Tickets.

Grosses near or past a billion. movie.guru scores hovering around the 5.5 median or below it. Somebody kept buying tickets. Let's find out who.

The last one is beloved, and that's exactly why it's here.

1. 8
   Alice in Wonderland (2010)4.8

   Everyone remembers the hat. Nobody remembers the plot.

   $1.025 billion worldwide for a 4.8 movie.guru score. Tim Burton built a whole Wonderland and the most memorable thing in it is a hat.
2. 7
   Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)4.0

   The fourth Pirates movie is a mermaid-shaped shrug.

   A reported $410.6M budget, 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, still $1.047 billion worldwide. Ian McShane as Blackbeard deserved a better boat and a better script.
3. 6
   The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)4.9

   An A CinemaScore on a 4.9 movie is pure loyalty.

   $888.9 million worldwide on a reported $136M budget. Critics beat just 30% of movies. Fans showed up anyway, like a family reunion with extra vampires.
4. 5
   Aquaman (2018)5.8

   An octopus played the drums and it made a billion.

   $1.152 billion worldwide, the biggest gross on this list, for a 5.8 movie.guru score. Jason Momoa carried it on pure vibes and premium hair conditioner.
5. 4
   Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)5.0

   Nostalgia sold this one. The pod race just signed the receipt.

   $1.047 billion worldwide on a reported $113.8M budget. Over 941,000 IMDb votes, and people keep rewatching it to confirm it's still a 5.0.
6. 3
   Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)5.7

   Nobody can explain this plot, including the people who wrote it.

   43% on Rotten Tomatoes, $961.7 million worldwide, a reported $300M budget. Nine pirate lords, a giant whirlpool, and audiences still graded it A minus.
7. 2
   Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)4.8

   The C minus CinemaScore was audiences being polite.

   $1.077 billion worldwide and a 4.8 movie.guru score. Opening night crowds graded it C minus and bought tickets anyway. That's not fandom. That's a subscription you forgot to cancel.
8. 1
   Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)6.1

   The fan favorite is a 6.1 riding Davy Jones' tentacles.

   Critics beat only 37% of movies, audiences beat 71%. $1.066 billion worldwide, 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fun? Sure. A classic? Sorry, 839,031 IMDb voters, no.

$281.39 says somebody in the comments defends At World's End by explaining the plot and gets it wrong.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it