Pokémon has been in the lives of fans everywhere in pretty much every format. From tabletop trading card games, to console games, to show, there are many formats in which the franchise can be enjoyed, depending on your mood.
The franchise has released many movies over the years, and shows no signs that it's going to stop making them. According to Box Office Mojo, these are the movies that have collected the highest amount at the box office so far, and it might be surprising how high some of them are on the list.
10 10. Pokémon: Jirachi—Wish Maker — $33,393,751
Pokémon Jirachi awakes every one thousand years to absorb the energy from a rare comet. A former Team Magma member wants to harness the power of this Pokémon, bringing him into conflict with some familiar characters: Ash Ketchum and his friends, the heroes of most Pokémon stories. Between science experiments such as a fake Groudon and the massive power Jirachi wields, the movie is a fun, dynamic adventure with some high stakes that clearly kept fans pleased and drew in a decent amount at the box office.
9 9. Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys — $34,337,258
The seventh film in the franchise, Destiny Deoxys, drew in almost $35 million. Ash and his friends meet the return of Deoxys, an ancient and powerful Pokémon that has a bone to pick with Rayquaza. The two Pokémon fight and get themselves into some trouble that Ash and his friends must save them from.
8 8. Pokémon: Lucario And The Mystery Of Mew — $37,228,626
The eighth film in the franchise brought in a little more than the seventh with Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
It's not unusual for Ash's Pikachu to be taken away and need his rescuing, but it's usually by Team Rocket — this time, it's by Mew, and Ash needs Lucario's help. It's one of the sadder and more adult Pokémon movies, dealing with themes of loss, love, and grief, so go into it with a tissue.
7 7. Pokémon: I Choose You — $37,552,144
An alternative start to Ash's journey, I Choose You is based on the pilot of the show but explores more of the beginning of the journey — for example, the Ho-Oh Ash briefly sees in the show is explored more in this movie, as well as the legendary dogs of the same generation.
It's a fun nostalgia trip that brings more of later generations into the first, and fans who were around for the first episode of the anime will love this movie. It performed decently at the box office, bringing in $37.5 million.
6 6. Pokémon: The Rise Of Darkrai — $42,496,749
The Rise of Darkrai deals with space and time, and how they can be affected by Pokémon, which is a pretty interesting and unusual premise for one of the Pokémon movies. Apparently, fans thought so too, as it brought in over $42 million at the box office, which was better than even the nostalgic trip of I Choose You.Â
5 5. Pokémon: Giratina And The Sky Warrior — $43,338,599
Another movie that deals with different dimensions and parallel universes (this one called the Reverse World) is Giratina and the Sky Warrior. Traveling back and forth through portals and different realities, Ash and his friends take a dive into something that's also quite different and unusual compared to other Pokémon plots.
Apparently, it was a hit, because it brought in $43 million at the box office.
4 4. Pokémon 3: The Movie — $68,411,275
The third Pokémon movie (also known as Spell of the Unown) deals with a world created by a lonely little girl, with the help of the Unown and the Entei she invented due to seeing it in a picture. It's up to Ash and company to reach out to her and convince her to take down this world, though it's not an easy job — having lost her parents, she's lonely, and goes as far as to bewitch Ash's mother.
3 3. Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power Of One — $133,949,270
The Power of One explores the legendary birds and one man's determination to capture them, though Lugia is strongly opposed to this happening. The message of this movie is heart-warming, insisting that change can happen even if one person — in this case, our hero, Ash — is willing to do something about what's wrong with the world.
Together Ash and the legendary birds manage to defeat the villain, as they always do.
2 2. Pokémon: The First Movie — $163,644,662
The movie that started it all is simply called The First Movie. Man-created Pokémon Mewtwo manages to escape his laboratory and, misguided, tries to create a safe haven for Pokémon but strongly opposes humans since he's never had a good interaction with them. He clones Pokémon, causing conflict with the real ones, and creates a battle that has dire consequences for Ash. Fans everywhere remember tearing up when Pikachu believed his brave trainer to be dead, and this film made a whopping $163.5 million at the box office.
1 1. Pokémon Detective Pikachu — $433,005,346
The most recent movie was the live-action Detective Pikachu, with Ryan Reynolds voicing Pikachu. It was a huge success — fans loved seeing a familiar world built up to be live-action, and all of the little Easter Eggs in the movie were fantastic. It went on to become the most successful Pokémon movie, totaling a huge $433 million at the box office. Kids clambered to go and see Pikachu, and adults who missed being part of this world paid for tickets too. Win-win!