Budget: $25 million
Release date: August 10, 2011
Box office gross: $206,701,321
Profit: $181,701,321
"The Help" takes the top spot on our list by a landslide, out-profiting the second place finisher, "Midnight in Paris," by a whopping $50 million. It was the first film of 2011 to take top box office earnings for three consecutive weekends, and the only film among this year's Best Picture nominees to top $200 million in worldwide earnings.
Fun fact: The movie was shot entirely in Mississippi, the setting of the original novel by Kathryn Stockett. Stockett pleaded for the film to be shot there, but Mississippi's generous filming tax credit probably helped.
