Barbie, Avatar, Super Mario & More—Which One Delivered The Biggest Return On Budget?

From superhero movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, to animated movies like Zootopia 2 and Inside Out 2, and visually stunning sci-fi extravaganzas like Avatar: The Way of Water and its sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, audiences have witnessed several blockbuster Hollywood movies spanning multiple genres within the last five years. And a few of them even surpassed the coveted $1 billion mark on the worldwide box office.

Amongst these $1 billion+ global grossers, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is the highest-grossing film with a large $2.334 billion worldwide total, followed by Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.921 billion) and the animated sequel Zootopia 2 ($1.867 billion). However the query is, which film delivered one of the best return relative to its budget? Let’s break down the numbers.

Hollywood Movies That Earned $1 Billion+ In The Last 5 Years (Worldwide)

Here is an inventory of the Hollywood movies released prior to now five years (2021-2026) that grossed over $1 billion worldwide, together with their worldwide totals and estimated budgets, per Box Office Mojo.

1. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): Worldwide Total: $2.334 billion | Budget: $460 million
2. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): Worldwide Total: $1.921 billion | Budget: $200 million
3. Zootopia 2 (2025): Worldwide Total: $1.867 billion | Budget: $150 million
4. Inside Out 2 (2024): Worldwide Total: $1.699 billion | Budget: $200 million
5. Top Gun: Maverick (2022): Worldwide Total: $1.503 billion | Budget: $177 million
6. Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025): Worldwide Total: $1.486 billion | Budget: $400 million
7. Barbie (2023): Worldwide Total: $1.447 billion | Budget: $128 million
8. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023): Worldwide Total: $1.361 billion | Budget: $100 million
9. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024): Worldwide Total: $1.338 billion | Budget: $537 million
10. Moana 2 (2024): Worldwide Total: $1.059 billion | Budget: $150 million
11. Lilo & Stitch (2025): Worldwide Total: $1.038 | Budget: $100 million
12. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026): Worldwide Total: $1.002 billion | Budget: $110 million
13. Jurassic World: Dominion (2022): Worldwide Total: $1.002 billion | Budget: $465 million

Earnings-To-Budget Performance

1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie: 13.61x
2. Zootopia 2: 12.45x
3. Barbie: 11.30x
4. Lilo & Stitch: 10.38x
5. Spider-Man: No Way Home: 9.61x
6. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: 9.11x
7. Inside Out 2: 8.50x
8. Top Gun: Maverick: 8.49x
9. Moana 2: 7.06x
10. Avatar: The Way of Water: 5.07x
11. Avatar: Fire and Ash: 3.72x
12. Deadpool & Wolverine: 2.49x
13. Jurassic World: Dominion: 2.15x

What These Numbers Indicate

Based on the above figures and calculations, we will observe that although Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Zootopia 2 are the highest three highest-grossing movies within the last five years, it’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie that delivered one of the best return relative to its budget (13.61x). Zootopia 2 (12.45x) ranks No. 2 on the list, followed by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (11.30x). Based on the budgets utilized in this evaluation, two movies, Deadpool & Wolverine (2.49x) and Jurassic World: Dominion (2.15x), didn’t cross the commonly used 2.5x earnings-to-budget benchmark.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Trailer

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Must Read: From Toy Story 5 To Minions & Monsters: 5 Upcoming Animated Movies That Could Outgross The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Worldwide

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