Top Grossing Movies: One Billion Dollars Milestone Quiz

Answer: Titanic

A recently engaged Rose (Kate Winslet) boarded the Titanic along with her fiancé, Cal (Billy Zane), who came from a wealthy family. On the ship, Rose met Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) when she tried to commit suicide by jumping off the stern of the ship. Both of them were immediately attracted to each other. However, Rose's mother, Ruth, forbade her to see Jack because he was just an artist of low social status.

After learning about the intimate relationship between Rose and Jack, Cal ordered his bodyguard to slip an expensive necklace, the Heart of the Ocean, into Jack's pocket. He then framed Jack for stealing the necklace. Jack was arrested and handcuffed to a pipe. He was later rescued by Rose.

When the ship collided with an iceberg and began to sink, the passengers fled in panic. Rose and Jack found a small, floating wall panel. Rose sat on it while Jack held tightly onto the panel. While Rose was rescued later by an officer, Jack died of hypothermia.

"Titanic" was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11 of them, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography. The movie was also famous for its trademark line said by Jack, "I am the king of the world!", as well as the song sung by Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On".

Answer: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Based on the popular novels written by J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was directed by Peter Jackson. In the movie, Sauron launched a war to conquest the Middle-Earth. In order to stop the evil Sauron from doing so, Frodo and Sam knew that they needed to destroy the powerful One Ring.

Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, made their way to Mordor to destroy the One Ring. However, upon arriving at Mount Doom, Frodo succumbed to the powerful One Ring. Instead of destroying it, he put it on his finger. An angry Gollum then bit off Frodo's finger. In the intense fight, Frodo survived but Gollum fell into the volcano, together with the ring. With the destruction of the ring, Sauron was defeated.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was nominated for a total of 11 Oscars and it won all of them, which included Best Picture, Best Director and Best Make-Up.

It was estimated that as many as 100,000 people gathered at the streets of Wellington for the world premiere of the movie. Interestingly, the figure was approximately a quarter of the city's population.

Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

In "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", the wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann was interrupted when Lord Cutler Beckett arrested the couple for helping Captain Jack Sparrow escape. In exchange for his freedom, Will was tasked by Cutler to find the special compass owned by Jack.

On the Black Pearl ship, Jack learned that he must pay Davy Jones' debt by giving him 100 souls in three days. Otherwise, Davy would send the Kraken sea monster to destroy his ship. Jack later learned from a voodoo priestess that the key that unlocked the Dead Man's Chest was in Jones' possession. In order to find the heart of Davy Jones, Jack asked for help from both Will and Elizabeth.

Th movie won the Best Visual Effects award at the 79th Academy Awards. The movie was also nominated for three other awards - Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Art Direction.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was banned in China because of the cannibalism scene featured in the movie.

Answer: The Dark Knight

In the movie, Christian Bale starred as Bruce Wayne or Batman. The Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, was the new criminal in Gotham City. He was known for his trademark lines, "Why so serious?" and "Let's put a smile on that face." He was the mastermind behind all the ludicrous and ruthless crimes.

With the help from Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Batman decided to take down The Joker once and for all. However, in the process, Batman suffered a great loss when his friend, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) was killed.

"The Dark Knight" received eight Oscar nominations and won two of them - Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) and Best Sound Editing. Ledger died of a drug overdose on Jan 22, 2008, after the filming of the movie concluded. The movie was also chosen as the movie of the year by Empire magazine in 2008.

Answer: Avatar

Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine, was recruited to join the Avatar programme to replace his scientist twin brother, who was killed in a robbery. He traveled to a distant planet named Pandora. He learned that the scientists were interested in the valuable mineral called unobtanium that could be found on the planet.

However, when Jake failed to convince the Na'vi to move from their Hometree, the head of the programme, Parker, decided to destroy the sacred tree. Torn between following orders from his superior and protecting the Na'vi's sacred site, Jake chose the latter and teamed up with the Na'vi in the ultimate battle to protect their homeland.

"Avatar" was released in 3D. The movie earned more than 700 million dollars in the US alone. It was also the first movie to gross more than two billion dollars worldwide. The movie was nominated for the Best Picture award in the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, but it lost to "The Hurt Locker", which was directed by Cameron's ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow.

Commenting on the movie, Steven Spielberg praised, "It is the most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since 'Star Wars'."

Answer: Alice in Wonderland

In "Alice in Wonderland", Mia Wasikowska portrayed the titular character. After a sudden marriage proposal, she fell into a rabbit hole. She then landed in the world of Wonderland, where she was greeted by many magical creatures, which included the Cheshire Cat and the twin Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

With the help provided from her newly made friends and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Alice killed the Jabberwocky using the Vorpal Sword. She also helped the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) defeat her evil sister, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).

Directed by Tim Burton, the movie was based on the novels "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass", written by Lewis Carroll. It won the Best Costume Design award at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

Answer: Toy Story 3

"Toy Story 3" followed the adventure of Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) in which they embarked on a rescue mission to save their friends who were accidentally thrown away by Andy's mother.

The main antagonist in the movie, Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear, or Lotso, was voiced by Ned Beatty. He was the leader at the Sunnyside Daycare Center. Mr. Pricklepants, voiced by Timothy Dalton, was a stuffed hedgehog while Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, was Barbie's boyfriend.

Only three animated movies competed for the Best Animated Feature award at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards held in 2011. "Toy Story 3" beat "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Illusionist". The movie was one of the ten movies that were nominated for the Best Picture award, which was won by "The King's Speech".

Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Unlike the previous three movies, which were directed by Gore Verbinski, the fourth movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was directed by Rob Marshall. The movie was loosely based on the novel "On Stranger Tides", written by Tim Powers.

In the movie, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was asked by King George II to locate the Fountain of Youth before the Spaniards found it. Jack was joined by his former lover, Angelica (Penélope Cruz) in his mission. Jack also needed to find two silver chalices and collect a mermaid's tear before performing the ceremony at the Fountain of Youth.

It was reported that Johnny Depp used his own money to purchase water proof jackets for approximately 500 crew members. Hans Zimmer, who scored the second and third movies, composed the soundtrack for this movie.

Answer: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

In "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", it was revealed that in 1969, Apollo 11 was sent to the Moon by the US to investigate a Cybertronian spacecraft that crashed there eight years earlier. In the movie, Shia LaBeouf reprised his role as Sam Witwicky. However, Megan Fox, who played Sam's love interest was replaced by a new character, Carly Spencer, played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Two accidents were reported while filming the movie. The first incident involved a snapped steel cable, which injured a stuntman. Bay then decided to reuse a scene from his previous movie, "The Island" (2005). The second mishap was a car accident between a police car and the Camaro that portrayed Bumblebee in the movie.

Commenting on the movie, Roger Ebert, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, said, "It is a visually ugly film with an incoherent plot, wooden characters and inane dialog. It provided me with one of the more unpleasant experiences I've had at the movies."

Answer: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

The seventh "Harry Potter" book, written by J. K. Rowling, was split into two separate movies, entitled "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2".

In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", the final battle saw the duel between Harry and Voldemort. Voldemort's killing curse backfired on him and killed him instantly. Harry survived and the wizarding community rejoiced over the death of the Dark Lord.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (2011) earned a whooping $92.1 million on its first day, and this broke the single day box office record, which was previously held by "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009), with $72.7 million.