{"id":350698,"date":"2026-06-14T13:29:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=350698"},"modified":"2026-06-14T13:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:59:30","slug":"barbie-avatar-super-mario-more-which-one-delivered-the-biggest-return-on-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/14\/barbie-avatar-super-mario-more-which-one-delivered-the-biggest-return-on-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbie, Avatar, Super Mario & More\u2014Which One Delivered The Biggest Return On Budget?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Films
Movies That Crossed $1 Billion In The Last 5 Years(Photo Credit \u2013Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Amongst these $1 billion+ global grossers, James Cameron\u2019s Avatar: The Way of Water is the highest-grossing film with a large $2.334 billion<\/strong> worldwide total, followed by Tom Holland\u2019s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.921 billion)<\/strong> and the animated sequel Zootopia 2 ($1.867 billion).<\/strong> However the query is, which film delivered one of the best return relative to its budget? Let\u2019s break down the numbers.<\/p>\n

Hollywood Movies That Earned $1 Billion+ In The Last 5 Years (Worldwide)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

    Earnings-To-Budget Performance<\/strong><\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie: 13.61x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Zootopia 2: 12.45x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. Barbie: 11.30x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    4. Lilo & Stitch: 10.38x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    5. Spider-Man: No Way Home: 9.61x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    6. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: 9.11x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    7. Inside Out 2: 8.50x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    8. Top Gun: Maverick: 8.49x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    9. Moana 2: 7.06x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    10. Avatar: The Way of Water: 5.07x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    11. Avatar: Fire and Ash: 3.72x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    12. Deadpool & Wolverine: 2.49x<\/strong><\/li>\n
    13. Jurassic World: Dominion: 2.15x<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What These Numbers Indicate<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

      The Super Mario Bros. Movie \u2013 Trailer<\/strong><\/h4>\n