2017 was a great year of memorable movies. The year saw the release of The Last Jedi as well as Pennywise’s invitation to the 21st century. It was also the time when The Greatest Showman’s songs began to echo worldwide. With the year producing a lot of great movies, it begged the question, “Which one was 2017’s best?”
This list will provide 2017’s best movies in their box office order. The movie on the top of the list dominated all the films ever released that year in terms of its revenue. Continue scrolling to see 2017’s Top 20 movies.
1. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
The late 2017 film tops the charts for the best movies of the year. This Star Wars episode saw a death in the franchise. The movie also followed Rey as she tried to recruit Luke Skywalker to join the Resistance against the forces of Kylo Ren. The Last Jedi is the highest-grossing movie of 2017 with more than $1.3 billion at its box office, and also the second highest-grossing Star Wars movie, behind its predecessor, The Force Awakens.
2. Beauty and the Beast
Up next is Disney’s live action adaptation of the classical eponymic fairytale, featuring Emma Watson and Dave Stevens. This modern musical racked up $1.26 billion at the box office, peaking as the 10th highest-grossing movie of all time, and is now at the 22nd spot, behind Frozen. It scored 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and a similar score of 7.1 on IMDb.
3. The Fate of the Furious
With a box office of $1.24 billion, the successor to Furious 7 comes third on the list of 2017 Blockbusters. Furious 8 is the first Furious movie to not feature Paul Walker, as its predecessor has been a tribute to Walker’s passing. The Fate of The Furious is the 24th-highest-grossing movie of all time and the second-highest-grossing Furious movie, only behind its predecessor.
4. Despicable Me 3
The third Despicable Me installment is the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2017. This movie follows the adventures of Gru as he is being groomed to return to his usual villain way of life. Despicable Me 3 earned $1.04 billion worldwide. It is the highest-grossing movie in the franchise after Minions (2015).
5. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
The board game Jumanji gained a modern and electronic twist to it in the 2017 film. Welcome to the Jungle is the sequel to the 1995 film, retaining the same game mode vibe, but instead of having the game manifest elements in real life, the players are sucked into the now-video game Jumanji. It gained $995 million in its box office.
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming
The first Spider-Man movie under the MCU is the sixth among the top-grossing 2017 movies. The film follows the story of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he balances the life of a common high school student and being a superhero. It earned $880 million in its box office.
7. Wolf Warrior 2
Up next is the Chinese film Wolf Warrior 2. The film is about a soldier named Leng Feng protecting some medical workers from armed rebels. Wolf Warrior 2 used to be the highest-grossing non-English film of all time until it was dethroned in 2021 by another Mandarin-Chinese film, The Battle at Lake Changjin. This is the only non-English film among the top 2017 movies.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The second MCU of this list bags the eighth spot. Having earned $870 million in its box office, it earned not just the eighth-highest-grossing 2017 movie, but also fared better than Volume 1 (which grossed $773 million). It earned a rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, with critics praising its “action-packed plot, dazzling visuals, and irreverent humor.”
9. Thor: Ragnarok
With an $865 million box office, Thor: Ragnarok comes ninth on the list. This film featured Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as he saved Asgard during the imminent Ragnarök, which is believed to be the end of the world in Norse mythology. The movie is widely eblived to be the best entry in the MCU’s Thor franchise.
10. Wonder Woman
The 2017 Wonder Woman movie featured Gal Gadot as the titular character. The film followed Wonder Woman as she prepares to go up against Ares, the Greek god of war, set against the backdrop of World War I. The superhero movie earned around $823 million at its box office.
11. Coco
The second animated film on this list is the hit Mexican-themed musical animated cartoon, Coco. The film’s plot revolves around the titular character being transported to the Land of the Dead where he seeks the advice of his long-gone ancestors to fix broken family ties. Coco won the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 2018 Oscars.
12. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Next on the list features Johnny Depp as Captain Sparrow in his quest to find Poseidon’s trident to defeat Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) who sought revenge against him. The film generally received negative reviews. However, the movie was still a hit at the box office, raking in $795.9 million.
13. It
The movie where Pennywise was popularized to the world might be too low in the list of best 2017 movies; however, It is inarguably one of the most memorable movies in this list. The only reason why this is in the lower half is its box office of $702 million, which 12 movies have surpassed. It was generally well-received, with critics on Rotten Tomatoes noting that the movie amplified “the horror in Stephen King’s classic story without losing touch with its heart.”
14. Justice League
Justice League is a superhero film by DC. The film underperformed with $658 million at its box office against its $750 million breakeven point. Most of the comments about the film talked about its lack of focus and blandness. The movie starred Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, and Jason Momoa.
15. Logan
Logan features Hugh Jackman as the titular character. Logan is the final installment of the Wolverine trilogy, following the 2009 and the 2013 movies, in the X-Men franchise. It earned around $619 million at its box office and received generally good reviews, scoring 8.1 on IMDb and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
16. Transformers: The Last Knight
The Last Knight is the fifth Transformers movie, and it earned $605 million at its box office. While that number seems to follow the trend in this list, it hides the fact that the movie is a $100 million loss for Paramount. Its successor, Bumblebee, fortunately, did not suffer such losses financially and critically.
17. Kong: Skull Island
Kong: Skull Island saw its main characters venture into the mysterious and unknown area known as Skull Island which Kong’s home. The Island hasda lot of resources but is guarded by deadly beasts. The film racked up $567 million in box office.
18. The Boss Baby
The first Boss Baby movie followed an adult-like baby who was against humans now loving puppies more than babies. It earned $528 million at its box office. In the 2018 Oscars, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, but it was beaten by Coco, which was already seen in this list. Still, its deserving of a spot in the best 2017 movies list.
19. Dunkirk
Dunkirk was about the evacuation of Allied troops on the beaches of the eponymic French city. It is a historical movie where the Nazis overwhelm the protagonist, which mirrors the actual historical event. Dunkirk won three awards at the 2018 Oscars: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing.
20. War for the Planet of the Apes
Last on this list is War for the Planet of the Apes with a box office of $491 million. The movie chronicled a war that took place between the apes and the humans, with a primary ape in the pursuit of revenge. It was nominated for the Best Visual Effects award at the 2018 Oscars.
