Top 10 Most Profitable Films of the Decade

Movie accounting is a tricky thing. The deceptive practices movie studios use when calculating the bottom line went widely unnoticed until a famous lawsuit brought things to light. The Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist/humorist Art Buchwald wrote a screenplay that became the basis for the Eddie Murphy film, "Coming to America". After suing Paramount Pictures, it was determined that Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim were entitled to 19% of the net profits from the film. When it was time for the duo to be paid, however, Paramount Studios claimed that there were no net profits. This despite film grosses of $145 million against production costs of only $48 million.

Motion picture accounting is so complex, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has issued a Statement of Position on Accounting for Motion Picture Films to address acceptable accounting practices for financial reporting of movies and their distribution, as well as accounting for film costs and participation agreements.

When I think of profitability, I think of my gross income less my expenses. Therefore, in compiling this list of the ten most profitable movies of the last ten years, I chose to rank them based on one criteria - absolute profit, which subtracts production costs from 50% of the world-wide gross receipts (the amount estimated to find its way back to the studio). Gross receipts do not include video or television revenues.

Let's count 'em down:

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Walt Disney Pictures released the third of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in 2007. Closely tied to the second installment, this film reunites Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann) and Orlando Bloom (Will Turner). Geoffrey Rush creates a menacing Barbossa, while audiences are treated to a portrayal of Captain Teague, Sparrow's father, by Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards, who Depp has long held inspired his Sparrow characterization.

Gross Receipts: $960,996,492

Budget: $150,000,000

Profit: $330,498,246

9. Finding Nemo

This delightful 2003 animated children's film from Walt Disney Pictures featured an all-star (voice) cast including Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Willem DaFoe, Allison Janney, and Geoffrey Rush. I got a chance to meet the polite nine-year old Alexander Gould (Nemo) when he came to my newspaper for an interview. He would go on to portray Shane Botwin in the cable television show Weeds.

Gross Receipts: $866,592,978

Budget: 94,000,000

Profit: 339,296,489

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Warner Bros.' second installment of the boy wizard series produced a respectable box office upon its release in 2002, even with a $25,000,000 smaller budget than the first.

Director Chris Columbus returned to helm the story. Legendary composer John Williams won a BMI Film Music Award for his score.

Gross Receipts: $878,987,880

Budget: $100,000,000

Profit: $339,493,940

7. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

George Lucas wrote and directed this 1999 20^th Century Fox film that is a prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy released in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Ewan McGregor is the young Obi Wan Kenobi from the earlier films. Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, and Frank Oz (as the voice of Yoda) are also in the cast.

Gross Receipts: $924,288,297

Budget: $115,000,000

Profit: $347,144,149

6. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Twentieth Century Fox's third installment in the Ice Age animated saga earned a respectable payday when it hit the screens this past summer. Lending their talented voices to the production were Queen Latifah (Ellie), Denis Leary (Diego), and John Leguizamo (Sid), who brought his children Allegra and Lucas to work with him - as the voices of "Aardvark Girl" and "Aardvark Boy".

Gross Receipts: $886,965,190

Budget: $90,000,000

Profit: $353,482,595

5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Warner Bros.' 2001 adaptation of the first of J. K. Rowling's immensely popular children's books has brought in the most money of any of the Harry Potter movies so far.

Making overnight sensations out of its stars Danielle Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), the film also starred a supporting cast that included veteran actors Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore) and Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall). While the film failed to garner any Oscars, its nearly billion dollar box office is a fine consolation prize.

Gross receipts: $976,457,891

Budget: $125,000,000

Profit: $363,228,946

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

New Line Cinema did it again with its 2002 Oscar-winning (best sound and best visual effects) film from the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. In this part of the saga, Frodo (Elijah Woods) and Sam (Sean Astin) head to Mordor to destroy the One Ring.

Gross Receipts: $962,284,377

Budget: $94,000,000

Profit: $369,142,189

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Walt Disney Pictures reunites Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swan), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) in this 2006 sequel to The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was based on the Disney boat ride. This film not only hit it big at the box office, its visual effects team won an Oscar. The team also won a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films. Their transformation of Bill Nighy into Davey Jones was worthy of the accolades alone.

Gross Receipts: $1,065,659,812

Budget: $150,000,000

Profit: 382,829,906

2. Shrek 2

Dreamworks/SKG's 2004 follow up to the wonderful animated film, Shrek, is as good as the original movie. Returning character voices included Mike Myers (Shrek), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona), and Eddie Murphy (Donkey). Additions to the cast include the voices of Julie Andrews as Fiona's mother and Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots.

Gross Receipts: $919,838,758

Budget: $70,000,000

Profit: $389,919,379

1. The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King

Claiming the top spot on our leader board is New Line Cinema's 2003 conclusion to the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy. Winning 11 Oscar statuettes, including best picture, the film also garnered an impressive 108 awards from various professional organizations around the world.

Returning to the incredible ensemble class were Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, and Ian McKellen.

Gross Receipts: $1,133,027,326

Budget: $94,000,000

Profit: $472,513,663

While that's the end of the official list of the Top Ten Most Profitable Movies of the Decade (1999-2009), I feel compelled to add an Honorable Mention:

Paranormal Activity

While its $107,132,000 (to date) box office would not otherwise get it near this list, its $15,000 budget makes it noteworthy. With a return on investment of 357,006.67%, it has toppled The Blair Witch Project from the perch it has held for the past decade as Number 1 on the list of the most profitable movies based on ROI. This new release is still adding to its box office, thanks in part to a clever (and low cost) marketing plan launched through Facebook.

Sources:

www.imdb.com

www.the-numbers.com