Michael Bay's $553 Million Sci-Fi Movie Is The Only Movie In The Last 26 Years To Have This Box Office Distinction

Armageddon is director Michael Bay's beloved $553 million sci-fi movie, and the film is somehow the only movie in the last 26 years to have this box office distinction. Michael Bay is one of the kings of the box office, with his Transformers and Bad Boys series being famous for their incredibly box office performances. However, the most notable box office record that a Michael Bay movie holds is held by Armageddon, with this unique fact about the film making it one of the most notable movies of the last three decades.

While Armageddon has earned mixed critical reviews, the film was a massive box office hit upon its release, with the Michael Bay movie making $553.7 million on a budget of $140 million. Armageddon went on to become the highest-grossing movie of 1998 worldwide, with it being the second highest-grossing movie domestically after Saving Private Ryan. The involvement of Michael Bay, the epic premise, and Armageddon's star-studded cast are to thank for Armageddon's performance, although the film wasn't able to rely on one common box office factor.

Armageddon Was The Last Non-Franchise Movie To Top The Global Box Office

Thanks To This Barbie News

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As it turns out, Michael Bay's 1998 movie Armageddon was the last non-franchise movie to top the global box office at the end of a year. Since Armageddon became the highest-grossing movie of 1998 26 years ago, every movie after has either been a sequel or spawned one. Some of these were sequels, like Mission: Impossible 2 or Toy Story 3, prequels like Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, or started out as original films and later spawned sequels, like Avatar or Frozen.

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One piece of news led to Armageddon recently claiming this record, and it all has to do with Barbie. Barbie was the highest-grossing movie of 2023, meaning that for a brief moment, it was the highest-grossing movie of a year that wasn't part of a movie franchise. However, Barbie 2 is now in the works, meaning that Armageddon is once again the most recent movie that meets this criteria without spawning a sequel.

Why Armageddon Never Got A Sequel

There Was Never Any Word On A Sequel

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Despite it being a huge box office hit, there was never been word of an Armageddon sequel, to the surprise of many fans. One reason for the lack of a sequel could have to do with it being a difficult premise to follow up, as another asteroid would have to come close to Earth, and another team of drillers would have to be trained to destroy it. This is incredibly unlikely, and would probably make a sequel seem unnecessary.

Related 10 Highest-Grossing Sequel Movies Of All Time It's no secret that major studio blockbuster films tend to dominate box offices. However, their sequels often result in even higher lifetime grosses.

Another possible explanation is that Michael Bay may simply not have wanted to do another one. Michael Bay was full of ideas in the late 1990s, with him finishing Armageddon and moving on to make Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, The Island, and Transformers. Bay was putting out all kinds of hits at the time, and it is possible that he wanted to do something new rather than do another Armageddon movie.