The animated film genre has always represented the pinnacle of imagination, blending groundbreaking technology with timeless storytelling to captivate audiences across every continent. From the pioneering magic of traditional cells to the hyper-realistic detail of modern computer graphics, these films are more than just entertainment; they are cultural touchstones that have redefined box office expectations. As we stand in late 2025, the financial and cultural dominance of animation is clearer than ever, with several billion-dollar entries cementing their place in history.
This list from Top 10 Most is a reasoned analytical perspective based primarily on unadjusted worldwide box office gross, the most reliable indicator of mass global appeal and popularity. It includes titles that have become multi-generational phenomena, with the current landscape dramatically reshaped by a new, record-smashing Chinese animated blockbuster that dethroned a long-standing Disney/Pixar reign. The popularity of these films speaks to universal themes—family, courage, and finding one’s place—that transcend language and culture, truly representing the “most popular” of all time.
Table of the Top 10 Most Popular Animated Movies
The following table presents the 10 highest-grossing animated films globally, with data verified as of November 2025.
| Rank | Title | Year | Worldwide Gross (Billion USD) | Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ne Zha 2 | 2025 | $2.21 | Beijing Enlight Pictures |
| 2 | Inside Out 2 | 2024 | $1.69 | Pixar / Disney |
| 3 | The Lion King (2019) | 2019 | $1.65 | Disney |
| 4 | Frozen II | 2019 | $1.45 | Disney |
| 5 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | 2023 | $1.36 | Illumination / Universal |
| 6 | Frozen | 2013 | $1.29 | Disney |
| 7 | Incredibles 2 | 2018 | $1.24 | Pixar / Disney |
| 8 | Minions | 2015 | $1.16 | Illumination / Universal |
| 9 | Toy Story 4 | 2019 | $1.07 | Pixar / Disney |
| 10 | Toy Story 3 | 2010 | $1.06 | Pixar / Disney |
Top 10. Toy Story 3
The third installment in Pixar’s foundational series, Toy Story 3, cemented the franchise as one of the most beloved of all time when it crossed the billion-dollar threshold in 2010. Its phenomenal success was driven by a pitch-perfect narrative that captured the bittersweet reality of growing up, focusing on Andy preparing to leave for college and his toys facing an uncertain future. This film proved that fully CGI-animated features could not only be financially successful but could also deliver a deeply emotional and universally resonant story capable of moving both children and the adults who grew up alongside Woody and Buzz.
The reason for this enduring popularity and strong box office ranking is its emotional maturity combined with impeccable humor and character writing, providing a genuinely satisfying and poignant conclusion to the initial trilogy. The final scene, where Andy passes his cherished toys to Bonnie, is widely regarded as one of the most heart-wrenching and perfect endings in cinematic history, validating the emotional investment audiences had made over fifteen years. It served as a powerful reminder of the deep connection people form with their childhood possessions, turning an animated film into a shared rite of passage.
Beyond the emotional core, the film’s status as a billion-dollar blockbuster in the early 2010s signaled the full-scale mainstream acceptance of computer animation as a reliable global draw, capable of competing with any live-action spectacle. The film’s success paved the way for the massive box office grosses seen throughout the 2020s, showing that quality, nostalgic storytelling, and a perfect mix of comedy and drama can generate overwhelming financial returns.
Key Highlights:
- Was the second-highest-grossing film of its release year (2010).
- It became the first animated film to gross over $1 billion worldwide, unadjusted for inflation.
- Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Top 9. Toy Story 4
Toy Story 4, released nine years after the widely considered perfect ending of its predecessor, proved that the toys’ story was far from over, comfortably joining the billion-dollar club with a worldwide gross of $1.07 billion. While initially facing skepticism over continuing the narrative, the film successfully justified its existence by introducing new, instantly iconic characters like Forky and Bunny & Ducky, while focusing on Woody’s existential journey to find new purpose outside of a child’s direct ownership. Its success reaffirmed the enduring brand strength of Pixar’s original creation.
The analytical reason for this high ranking is its perfect balance of nostalgia and novelty, drawing in returning fans while still appealing to a new generation of viewers. The film’s stunning, hyper-detailed animation set a new benchmark for CGI quality in 2019, showcasing the visual prowess of the studio. Furthermore, the overseas appeal remained immense, driven by the universally relatable themes of change, friendship, and finding your own destiny, ensuring its financial success was spread globally.
This film is a fascinating study in franchise management, demonstrating how a studio can successfully revisit a beloved, seemingly concluded story without tarnishing its legacy. It’s a testament to the fact that audiences will return for a franchise when the creative team finds a fresh, meaningful angle, not just a cash-grab, allowing the Top 10 Most cherished characters to evolve in a powerful and fitting way.
Key Highlights:
- Grossed over $1 billion, largely by focusing on Woody’s individual arc.
- Introduced the immensely popular character, Forky, voiced by Tony Hale.
- The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for 2019.
Top 8. Minions
Emerging from the shadow of the Despicable Me franchise, the 2015 spin-off Minions became a global phenomenon, shattering box office predictions to earn $1.16 billion worldwide. This remarkable success was a direct result of the characters’ staggering cultural popularity, driven by their unique, gibberish-laced humor and instantly recognizable yellow aesthetic. The film functioned as a pure comedy vehicle for Kevin, Stuart, and Bob, telling an origin story that appealed almost entirely through visual slapstick and manic energy, transcending language barriers.
The Top 10 Most critical reason for its enormous ranking success is the Minions’ near-unmatched merchandise and marketing appeal, which translated directly into ticket sales across virtually every global market. The film proved that the supporting characters, when powerful enough, could anchor a movie that generated revenue on the scale of a flagship Pixar or Disney title. Illumination Entertainment cemented its position as a major competitor in the animation space, leveraging simplistic, universally funny characters for maximum box office efficiency.
The legacy of Minions is its demonstration of the power of a successful comedic brand to sustain a cinematic universe. It showed Hollywood that popularity isn’t solely tied to complex narrative; sometimes, the most popular films are those that offer uncomplicated, pure fun, turning simple, yellow pill-shaped creatures into billion-dollar icons.
Key Highlights:
- The first film in the Despicable Me franchise to surpass $1 billion worldwide.
- It became the highest-grossing film for its production company, Illumination, until 2023.
- The Minions themselves generate billions in merchandise revenue annually.
Top 7. Incredibles 2
Pixar’s long-awaited sequel, Incredibles 2, arrived in 2018, fourteen years after the original, immediately proving its status as a highly demanded blockbuster by grossing $1.24 billion globally. The film seamlessly recaptured the stylish mid-century aesthetic and sharp family dynamics of its predecessor while shifting the spotlight to Elastigirl’s career, addressing themes of gender roles and work-life balance with sophistication. The combination of thrilling superhero action and relatable domestic comedy resonated powerfully with the multi-generational audience eager for its return.
The analytical reason for its outstanding ranking performance lies in the unique blend of the superhero genre with Pixar’s signature emotional depth and visual excellence. The long wait amplified anticipation, turning the release into a major cinematic event that drew in both nostalgic adults and new younger viewers. Its innovative action sequences, particularly the introduction of baby Jack-Jack’s chaotic powers, were widely praised and helped to drive repeat viewings, a key factor in reaching this elite financial tier.
This film is a compelling case study on delayed gratification in filmmaking, showing that if the creative foundation is strong enough, a sequel—even after a significant hiatus—can become a monumental global success. The film’s confident tone and high-stakes adventure delivered the cinematic spectacle audiences crave from both a superhero and a Top 10 Most-tier animated feature.
Key Highlights:
- Secured the largest opening weekend for an animated film at the time of its release.
- The film was the first Pixar sequel to surpass the original’s box office by a massive margin.
- Focuses on Elastigirl, Helen Parr, as the central hero, tackling modern domestic themes.
Top 6. Frozen
Released in 2013, Frozen redefined the Disney Princess narrative and became a global cultural phenomenon, earning $1.29 billion worldwide and setting the stage for a new era of dominance for the studio. Shifting the focus from romantic love to the powerful bond of sisterhood between Elsa and Anna, the film broke new ground by tackling themes of self-acceptance and familial complexity. The movie’s appeal was instantaneous and massive, driven primarily by its unforgettable soundtrack and powerful character arcs.
The film’s high ranking is fundamentally attributed to its stunning musical success and cultural resonance, establishing a long-lasting, multi-generational franchise with unprecedented merchandising power. The song “Let It Go” became a worldwide anthem, propelling the film’s popularity far beyond typical animated releases and driving massive international grosses. Frozen‘s innovative twist on classic fairy tale conventions resonated deeply with modern audiences, providing a fresh and empowering narrative that appealed equally to boys and girls.
What makes Frozen a particularly memorable entry on this Top 10 Most list is its status as a wholly original concept—not a sequel, remake, or adaptation of a pre-existing non-Disney IP—to reach the billion-dollar milestone. It proved that in the 2010s, original animated stories with powerful, complex female leads could become the highest-grossing films in the world.
Key Highlights:
- The first Disney Animation Studios feature to surpass $1 billion.
- The soundtrack peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
- Held the title of the highest-grossing animated film of all time for six years.
Top 5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The 2023 collaboration between Illumination and Nintendo, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, achieved an extraordinary box office total of $1.36 billion globally, successfully translating one of video gaming’s most recognizable characters to the big screen. Capitalizing on decades of nostalgia, the movie delivered a fast-paced, visually vibrant adventure that respected its source material while creating a fun, accessible story for general audiences. Its overwhelming popularity signaled the immense untapped potential of video game adaptations in the modern cinematic landscape.
Its powerful fifth-place ranking is a direct reflection of the Mario IP’s colossal, multi-generational appeal, particularly in international markets where gaming culture is a dominant force. Critically, the film succeeded by focusing on highly stylized, appealing animation and a soundtrack rich with memorable in-game music and sound effects, creating an immersive experience for fans. This was a triumph of brand power, demonstrating how a simple, well-executed story based on a beloved, globally recognized intellectual property can achieve elite-tier blockbuster status.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a historical inflection point for animated cinema: it proved that a non-Disney/Pixar animated film could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the established giants in the global box office and comfortably surpass a significant number of them. Its success validated the current strategy of leveraging beloved, universally recognized pop culture icons into animated feature gold.
Key Highlights:
- The highest-grossing video game movie adaptation of all time.
- The highest-grossing film produced by Illumination Entertainment.
- Was the second film of the 2020s to surpass $1 billion worldwide.
Top 4. Frozen II
The 2019 sequel, Frozen II, continued the Arendelle sisters’ saga, grossing an immense $1.45 billion worldwide, showing the undiminished financial and cultural power of the Disney franchise. Taking a darker, more mythic turn than the original, the film explored the origins of Elsa’s powers and her family’s history, satisfying fans’ desire for deeper lore and new magical landscapes. The strong international presence and holiday release timing ensured its box office performance remained spectacular.
The reason for this elevated ranking is a clear result of the massive, built-in audience established by the first film, ensuring a massive opening and long legs throughout the lucrative holiday season. Analytically, the film succeeded by deepening the character relationships and providing new, complex musical numbers that, while perhaps less catchy than “Let It Go,” were grander in cinematic scope. It perfectly executed the expectations for a highly anticipated sequel: bigger spectacle, higher stakes, and more emotional resolution for the beloved characters.
For Top 10 Most, the story of Frozen II‘s success is a classic tale of a global phenomenon reinforcing its financial might. It proved that the ‘sisterhood’ narrative was not a one-off but a sustainable, powerful foundation for a multi-billion-dollar cinematic franchise that continues to influence fashion, music, and theme parks globally.
Key Highlights:
- The film achieved a $1.45 billion global gross, solidifying the franchise’s powerhouse status.
- It held the title of the highest-grossing animated sequel until 2024.
- Featured the most advanced visual effects yet for Disney Animation at the time.
Top 3. The Lion King (2019)
Disney’s “live-action” photorealistic animated remake of The Lion King in 2019 generated a stunning $1.65 billion at the worldwide box office, which, for calculation purposes, is generally categorized alongside its computer-animated peers due to its purely digital production. This gargantuan figure is a testament not just to the power of the Disney brand, but to the deep, timeless emotional core of the original 1994 story. Reimagining the Pride Lands with astonishing, technically perfect visuals, the film was an instant cinematic event.
The primary reason for its extraordinary popularity and high position is the potent combination of nostalgia and cutting-edge technology. Audiences returned in droves, eager to see Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa brought to life in a way that blurred the line between animation and nature documentary. The built-in, multi-generational audience for this specific story—a Shakespearean tragedy set in Africa—ensured massive appeal across all demographics and international territories, easily surpassing the original’s impressive unadjusted gross.
As a Top 10 Most film, this iteration of The Lion King showcases the immense commercial value of the Disney vault, demonstrating that audiences are willing to pay top dollar to re-experience classic stories with a technologically enhanced perspective. It is a modern marvel of CGI artistry fused with a narrative masterpiece.
Key Highlights:
- Held the title of the highest-grossing animated film of all time for several months in 2019.
- Its $1.65 billion gross significantly surpassed the unadjusted total of the original 1994 film.
- Utilized groundbreaking, photorealistic CGI technology, making it a technical benchmark.
Top 2. Inside Out 2
Pixar made a triumphant, record-breaking return in 2024 with Inside Out 2, which resonated so universally it earned an unbelievable $1.69 billion globally. This massive sequel expanded on the concept of human emotions by introducing new, complex feelings like Anxiety, Envy, and Ennui as its protagonist, Riley, enters the tumultuous world of adolescence. The film expertly navigated these new emotional terrains with humor, sensitivity, and a fresh visual palette, connecting instantly with a worldwide audience navigating their own periods of rapid change.
The analytical reason for this phenomenal second-place ranking is its incredible cultural timing, tapping into a global conversation about mental health and the complexity of modern youth. The character of Anxiety, in particular, became an immediate cultural icon, driving unprecedented repeat viewings and word-of-mouth. The film successfully blended the fun, character-driven storytelling of the original with an emotionally vital new premise, demonstrating that Pixar’s creative engines remain unparalleled in delivering globally impactful narratives.
For a brief period, Inside Out 2 held the distinction of being the highest-grossing animated movie in history, proving that original, emotionally intelligent IP—even a sequel—can achieve financial heights once reserved for established fantasy and superhero franchises. It is a powerful reminder that complex emotional narratives are the ultimate blockbuster material in the November 2025 entertainment world.
Key Highlights:
- Briefly held the record as the highest-grossing animated film of all time in 2024.
- Was the first animated film since 2019 to surpass the $1.5 billion threshold.
- The character of Anxiety quickly became one of the most popular new animated characters of the decade.
Top 1. Ne Zha 2
At the apex of animation history, as of November 2025, sits the Chinese CGI spectacle Ne Zha 2, with an unprecedented worldwide gross of $2.21 billion.
This mythological sequel is not merely a box office success; it is a global industry-shaker, becoming the first animated feature to ever cross the formidable $2 billion milestone. Building on the foundation of the 2019 original, this sequel continued the tale of the mischievous, demon-slaying hero from classic Chinese mythology, delivering a visual feast of epic fantasy action and sophisticated digital artistry.
The primary reason for its undisputed top ranking is its utterly colossal and dominating performance in the Chinese market, which accounted for the vast majority of its gross, combined with an increasingly successful international rollout. Its cultural specificity—telling a beloved, familiar story with state-of-the-art animation—turned it into a mandatory national event. Its success signifies a massive, seismic shift in the animation industry, demonstrating that the global box office crown is no longer solely the domain of Hollywood studios like Disney or Universal.
The impact of Ne Zha 2 is far-reaching, fundamentally changing the definition of global popularity in animation. For Top 10 Most, this film proves that animated cinema is a universal language, and a culturally powerful, technically brilliant film from any nation can achieve the absolute pinnacle of commercial success, setting an astonishing new financial benchmark for all future animated releases.
Key Highlights:
- The highest-grossing animated film of all time, surpassing the $2 billion mark.
- It became the highest-grossing non-English language film in history.
- The first animated film from a non-Hollywood studio to hold the global box office title.
Conclusion
The world of animation, as evidenced by this Top 10 Most ranking, has transcended its niche to become the single most reliable genre for global box office success. What these films share is not just stunning animation, but a human (or superhuman) core that connects on an emotional level: the love of a sister, the fear of an emotion, or the quest for self-discovery. As of November 2025, the landscape has fundamentally changed, with the staggering success of Ne Zha 2 signaling a new, multi-polar world where international and culturally specific animated IP can not only compete but dominate. The future promises continued technical innovation and, most certainly, even higher box office records as these deeply personal, yet universally appealing, animated stories continue to capture the collective imagination of the planet.
