The motion-picture industry last year began to recover from the pandemic-caused downturn in 2020, when box-office revenue plunged by 75%, according to accounting firm PwC.

2021 got off to a rough start, with just 23% of all movie theaters still shuttered in March. Gradually, Americans began to return to the cinema, and though revenue has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, there was more optimism in the industry that motion picture theaters still had a future.

To compile a list of the top domestic grossing movies in 2021, 24/7 Tempo ranked all movies released in 2021 by their domestic box office gross, using data from The Numbers. Data on opening gross box office and production studios are also for The Numbers.

Moviegoers in 2021 flocked to see superhero films such as “Venom: Let There be Carnage,” “Eternals,” and “Black Widow.” None of those movies will likely make any critics’ favorites list by year end, but all three made north of $160 million in domestic box office. (Some of 2021’s highest grossing movies would now be among the 50 highest grossing films directed by women.)

Animation films were popular this year, among them Warner Bros.’ “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” Disney’s offering “Encanto,” and the United Artists’ film “The Addams Family 2.” (These are the highest grossing independent films of all time.)

Critics and audiences found the tension-filled horror movie “A Quiet Place: Part II” as frightening as the original. Other horror flicks released in 2021 included “Halloween Kills” and “Candyman.”

This year marked Daniel Craig’s final appearance as James Bond in “No Time to Die.” The movie had an opening box office weekend of $55.2 million and was released in 4,407 theaters, the most theaters of any film on the list.

Click here to see America’s top grossing movies in 2021