Pics: The Highest Grossing Comic Book Films

Budget: $110 million

Gross: $215 million


The second 'X-Men' film from director Bryan Singer has the mutant super team trying to find a mutant assassin who made an attempt on the President's life. Patrick Stewart returned as Professor X and Sir Ian McKellan as his nemesis Magneto.

Budget: $210 million

Gross: $234 million


Director Brett Ratner took over this entry in the 'X-Men' franchise which saw mutants turn against each other as a cure for the mutant gene had supposedly been discovered. This was the last film in the franchise before it was rebooted with 'X-Men: First Class.'

Budget: $90 million

Gross: $250 million


Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones teamed up for this adaptation about two agents in a top secret organization that monitors alien activity in New York City. The two would pair up again in a sequel. Smith is returning as his character Agent J in the third film in the series, due out next year.

Budget: $35 million

Gross: $252 million


Michael Keaton became the Dark Knight in Tim Burton's adaptation of the Batman comic book. Jack Nicholson played a perfectly twisted version of The Joker who no one could think of topping, until Heath Ledger came along. The soundtrack for the film was also notable, being provided by Prince.

Budget: $200 million

Gross: $312 million


The high-action follow up to 'Iron Man' introduces many new characters from Iron Man lore, including War Machine (Don Cheadle), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Whiplash (Mickey Rourke). The most standout scene from this film: The fight scene from the Monaco raceway. Suitcase armor anyone?

Budget: $140 million

Gross: $318 million


Robert Downey Jr. took on the role of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark who creates the first Iron Man armor to escape a terrorist camp after being kidnapped in Afghanistan. Iron Man's first real test is fighting against adversary Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges, who builds a robot suit of his own.

Budget: $258 million

Gross: $336 million


Spider-Man tackled a double threat in this film as Spidey's foes Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace) teamed up to take on ol' Webhead. The story starts off with Maguire in Spidey's famous black suit, which is actually an alien being. This would be the last Spidey film with this cast and director.

Budget: $200 million

Gross: $374 million


Tobey Maguire returned to the role of Peter Parker in this sequel which sees Spider-Man take on one of his greatest foes from the comic book series: Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina.

Budget: $139 million

Gross: $234 million


Director Sam Raimi's first entry in the 'Spider-Man' franchise saw Tobey Maguire cast as Peter Parker and gave the world his origin story. Kirsten Dunst joined Maguire as Mary Jane Watson and Willem Dafoe as long-time Spider-Man adversary Green Goblin.

Budget: $185 million

Gross: $533 million


Christopher Nolan's second film in his Batman trilogy introduces Batman's greatest foe: The Joker. This time Heath Ledger was tapped to bring his version of The Joker to the screen, and did so with such a twisted edge that it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. Even you, Jack Nicholson.

Comic book movie adaptations have become huge moneymakers over the past few years, so with the release of Marvel's 'Captain America: The First Avenger' today, let's take a look back at some of the genre's highest grossing films.