I’m an aspiring filmmaker and like every filmmaker out there, I have a lengthy list of films that have inspired me along the way.
Movies That Changed Everything is a twelve part series examining the films that changed the way I looked at movies forever.
What films inspired you?
I’m a proud movie nerd.
We’ve covered that so it shouldn’t surprise anyone who reads this blog that I follow box office numbers closely. The only place I go for box office information online is Box Office Mojo.
Recently, I was checking the all time domestic numbers and decided to see if I could narrow the top 100 down to 10. Can you?
So here are my 10 favorite box office moneymakers.
Honourable Mention: Avatar, 300, The Sixth Sense, Saving Private Ryan
#4 – $460,998,007
I adore the original trilogy and enjoyed the prequels but A New Hope will always be my favorite. (Followed closely by Empire Strikes Back.)
XTRA | If I Could Only Recommend ONE Science Fiction Film
#9 – $403,706,375
It may not be my favorite superhero movie of all time but it certainly paved the way for some of the most entertaining movies in history.
“Go web go!”
#12 – $377,027,325
It’s tough to pick one movie when all three are in the top 100. I look at the series and see one giant incredible movie but I had to pick one so ROTK was the winner.
XTRA | Movies That Changed Everything: The Lord of the Rings
#22 – $319,246,193
Even though I absolutely hated the sequel, the original is one of the most entertaining popcorn movies I’ve ever seen on the big screen. It had giant fighting robots and some of the best and most complex visual effects ever created.
XTRA | Transformers 3? Apology accepted Michael Bay
#30 – $306,169,268
Will Smith is my favorite actor. I’m one of the reasons his movies always make 100 million+ in theaters. Independence Day will always be one of the greats. ID4 is a perfect example of a huge box office blockbuster. Big stars, big FX and big thrills.
XTRA | Wouldn’t it be awesome if Independence Day 2 was about…
#70 – $227,966,634
I talk about Signs a lot on this site. I even thought about leaving it off this list to avoid ‘Signs fatigue’. However, I simply couldn’t bring myself to leave my all time favorite movie off the list.
#41 – $281,576,461
It’s ambitious, it’s explosive, it’s cool and it’s confusing. It was once the record holder for most anticipated movie until it was toppled by The Dark Knight years later.
XTRA | What THE MATRIX screenplay taught me
#61 – $241,721,524
Twister may surprise some people but I’ve always loved this movie. When I was a kid, I used to be terrified of tornado warnings. This eventually ignited an interest in weather and this movie came along right in the middle of that childhood obsession. Twister is a fun movie. Plain and Simple.
#15 – $357,067,947
To this day, I’m still fascinated by how well the effects stand up compared to today’s standards. Such a fun movie.
#3 – $533,345,358
My second favorite movie ever. I’ve never been so excited to see a movie in my entire life and to have the film deliver on all the hype was amazing.
Try narrowing down your own list of 10 box office favorites. It’s not that easy.
Go to any major sports website and you will find Power Rankings. A popular ranking system that lists every team in a league from best to worst.
Since I work for a sports network, it makes perfect sense to take that system and rank my favorite movies of all time.
Except I’m doing things a little differently. These won’t be updated weekly. (That would be ridiculous) However, you will find links to stories I’ve written on the films in addition to trailers and bonus posts.
M. Night Shyamalan’s film inspired me to become a better screenwriter. There are definitely a ton of people out there who disagree with my number 1 pick but I stand by it. I feel like writing every single time I see it.
Christopher Nolan created the greatest superhero movie of all time.
All three films are included in this pick. Many people loved the first film but hated the trilogy as a whole but I disagree. I didn’t love Revolutions but Reloaded was incredible. Plus, you really can’t deny how amazing the first film was. Outstanding.
My favorite screenplay. I could watch those intense courtroom exchanges every single day.
When it comes to compelling characters, Will Hunting ranks very high for me.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a human being who didn’t like this movie. Just saying.
My #1 favorite comedy. The most quotable movie of all time amongst my circle of friends.
The first full length computer animated film is still the best. Then they went and followed it up with 2 stellar sequels.
An unbelievable filmmaking achievement. I watch every second of the trilogy AND the billion hours of special features at least once a year.
A classic baseball movie. For a movie nerd obsessed with sports, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Of course Martin Scorsese has a place on this list.
I love fascinating characters and John Nash’s story is brilliantly brought to life by Russell Crowe and director Ron Howard.
Christopher Nolan. His dream invading caper changed the way I’ll look at original screenplays forever. The best movie of 2010.
It’s always a proud moment when your favorite movie wins the Oscar. Russell Crowe appears twice in the top 15! Not bad.
I almost ignored this movie due to lack of interest. That would have been a huge mistake on my part.
Thousands of Aliens have invaded big screens around the world. There are countless stories of vicious species determined to kill us but also lovable beings that touched our hearts.
Regardless, there is always someone who wants to take them out. Most of the time, humans call in the big guns, tanks and jets to do the dirty work but there are instances when guns aren’t the answer.
Sometimes, the key to everything lies in a very simple and unexpected solution. However, it’s important to remember that not all Aliens are evil. Who would want to use E.T’s home sickness against him? That’s mean.
Here are 10 of the best Alien weaknesses.
Sometimes, defeating Aliens is just a matter of challenging them to competitive game of basketball and recruiting his royal Airness. (Oh and Bill Murray too.)
What are the odds that a prisoner who can only see in the dark finds himself on a planet with horrible monsters who only come out at night? Furthermore, what are the odds this prisoner would find himself on this planet juuuuuuust when a solar eclipse goes down? Bring on the light.
These fierce Martians are no match for the Indian Love Call.
Like Signs, I feel like this species should have done more research before invading our planet. You have to do your research!
It’s bad enough getting kicked in the groin but getting chin punched in the ball throat? Now THAT’S a weakness.
The space goop’s only weakness lies high on the decibel meter. Bells, gongs and other loud noises work nicely. In this case, a series of metal pipes arranged in a circular xylophone type formation.
He just wants to go home!
These Aliens were taking one hell of a risk invading Earth to harvest us. I don’t know if they noticed but there is a lot of water here.
Technologically advanced Alien civilizations have no answer for Jeff Goldblum’s quick thinking and hacking skills.
Arguably the most famous fictional Alien of all time is seemingly invincible except for a certain green rock.
Perhaps Alien strengths will be the next list…
I’m an aspiring filmmaker. Like every filmmaker out there, I have a lengthy list of films that have inspired me along the way. This series will examine twelve of the films that changed the way I looked at movies forever. Films that have greatly influenced the filmmaker I hope to become someday…
Signs is my favorite movie. Ever.
Normally when I make that statement, I receive a confused look in return.
It IS my all time favorite.
When Signs was released, I was already obsessed with M. Night Shyamalan’s films. The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were both amazing movies and I was eagerly anticipating what the director would come up with next.
I had no idea his next film would literally help me decide what to do with my life.
Signs was fun. It was a simple yet well executed concept with incredible characters but what stuck with me was how well he told his story. It was original, funny, emotional and entertaining. (Yes… Even the alien water thing.)
I can’t explain what happened. I just loved it.
Around the time that Signs was released, I was thinking seriously about making a life altering decision.
I was in University and well on my way to becoming an English teacher. The idea was to teach and use my summer holidays to write.
Truthfully, I was unhappy about the direction my life was heading. I had just realized that I didn’t want to be a teacher at all.
So I took a chance and transferred out of English and into a college broadcasting program.
It was the best decision I ever made as it led to my career as a professional editor. Now I have a job I absolutely love and I write whenever I can.
Where does Signs come in?
Signs arrived when I was weighing whether or not it was worth it to pursue film at all.
M. Night Shyamalan’s brilliant film opened my eyes again. Screenwriting is a big part of my life and there was no way I could leave it behind.
Before Signs came along, screenwriting was merely a hobby. Once I saw it, screenwriting became my passion.
To this day, whenever I see that movie, I want to stop everything and write.
Some people may think it’s strange that Signs is my favorite movie. I will even concede that there are tons of ‘better’ movies out there but that’s not always a good way to measure the impact a film can have on you.
Forget the fact that Mel Gibson isn’t the most popular person in the world right now. It’s not about Night’s current string of disappointing films. It’s not about the awards, the critics or the popular opinion.
For me, it’s about the movies you connect with. The movies that inspire.
I’ll always be thankful for that.
