It's been a good year for the box office, with four 2015 movies earning a spot on the 10 highest-grossing films of all time.
From Universal Picture's Minions, the highest-grossing non-Disney animated movie of all time, to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel's third movie to surpass the $1 billion threshold, here's a rundown of the top grossing movies of 2015.
Science fiction film The Martian starring Matt Damon, based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel, would become director Ridley Scott's highest-grossing film, making over $571 million worldwide to shatter its initial Box Office forecast of $46 million.
Jennifer Lawrence's last performance as Katniss Everdeen grossed over $247 million in its opening weekend worldwide to become the 24th-biggest opening of all time, against a budget of $160 million. In February, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said the studio is looking at possibilities for prequels and developments to continue the film series.
This year's anticipated return of George Lucas's Star Wars franchise, directed, co-produced, and co-written by J.J. Abrams, broke several box office records, making $529 million its first weekend to become the highest-grossing worldwide opening of any film. Walt Disney Studios confirmed two sequels to be released in May 2017 and 2019.
Tom Cruise's fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series was a critical and commercial success, taking in over $56 million at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend. By May 2015, Paramount confirmed a sixth film, which is due to begin production in 2016.
Daniel Craig's fourth performance as James Bond in Spectre sees Bond pitted against global crime organization SPECTRE. With a budget around $245 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made, but managed to gross over $837 million worldwide to make up the difference.
Pixar Animation Studios's Inside Out, following the mind of a young girl as she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco, was praised by critics and went on to gross over $90 million in its first weekend. It has since grossed over $851 million worldwide and has been nominated for numerous awards.
The family comedy Minions, spinoff of the successful Despicable Me franchise, received mixed reviews, but went on to outgross both Despicable Me films to make over $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the 10th highest-grossing film of all time and the second highest-grossing animated film.
Sequel to 2012's The Avengers and the 11th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Age of Ultron made over $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the sixth-highest grossing film of all time and third Marvel movie to surpass the $1 billion threshold. Its two sequels, Avengers: Infinity War: Part 1 and Avengers: Infinity War: Part 2, are scheduled for release on May 4, 2018, and May 3, 2019.
Paul Walker's final Fast and the Furious franchise appearance would go on to become a box office success. Following Walker's death, his brothers, Caleb and Cody, stepped in, among others, as stand-ins to finish his scenes. The film grossed over $397 million worldwide in its first five days of release and a total $1.5 billion worldwide. The sequel is scheduled for release in 2017.
Jurassic World, the fourth installment in the Jurassic Park series, starring Chris Pratt, broke records by grossing $500 million worldwide in its opening weekend. It would go on to gross over $1.6 billion worldwide to become the third highest-grossing film of all time, winning the title of the highest-grossing film of 2015. Its sequel is scheduled for release in 2018.
