Timeline of Major Movies Using MoCap.

Total Recall [1]

Total Recall (1990) The film won a "Special Achievement Award" for its Visual Effects by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The revolutionary use of motion capture was accomplished for the skeletal CGI characters (moving behind an X-ray screen) in the subway shootout scene.

Lord of the Rings Series (2001-2013) - Golum (Smeagle)
Avatar (2010) (Navi people)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)- the monkeys
Pacific Rim (2013) - the robotic suits

Development/History Milestones [1]
  Technical Mathematic concepts

• 1960s Disney Imagineering uses mechanical “motion programming” for audio animatronics
• 1960s Bill Polhemus at Harvard University, magnetic tracker
• 1962 First human motion to drive a digital character, :ee Harrisons Animac

References

[1] http://www.motioncapturesociety.com/resources/industry-history
[2] http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects14.html
[3]