List of highest-grossing films

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The following is a non-definitive list of the all-time highest-grossing films.

Contents

[edit] Worldwide highest grossing films adjusted for inflation

For a ranking of gross receipts of films to be meaningful over a 70+ year timespan, inflation must be taken into account. An inflation adjusted ranking is available from external sources. [1]

[edit] Worldwide highest grossing films unadjusted for inflation

A ranking of films over 70 or more years that does not take inflation into account is essentially meaningless, however the movie industry and press tend not to use inflation adjusted figures, often for marketing purposes (unadjusted figures make recently released films seem more popular).

The list is based on the total worldwide box office receipts, updated on March 13, 2008. It includes box office takes only, not the ancillary earnings (video rentals, TV broadcasts, etc.), and serves only as a guide. Amounts are in United States dollars, and are ranked without adjusting for inflation.

So far, only 3 films have passed the 1 billion dollar mark — Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest — when not adjusted for inflation.

The list has more 2007 films in the top 50 than any other year, with 8, followed by 2005 and 2004, each with 6. Over 70 percent of films in the top 50 are released after 2000, while no film prior to 1977 appears in the list because inflation is not considered.

List of worldwide highest-grossing films (ranked by unadjusted amounts)
Rank Movie name Studio(s) Worldwide Gross Year
1 Titanic 20th Century Fox $1,845,034,188 1997
2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Cinema $1,119,263,306 2003
3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $1,066,179,725 2006
4 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Warner Bros. $976,475,550 2001
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $960,996,492 2007
6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros. $938,468,864 2007
7 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line Cinema $926,287,400 2002
8 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 20th Century Fox $924,317,558 1999
9 Shrek 2 DreamWorks SKG $919,838,758 2004
10 Jurassic Park Universal $914,691,118 1993
11 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner Bros. $896,016,159 2005
12 Spider-Man 3 Sony/Columbia $890,871,626 2007
13 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Warner Bros. $878,988,482 2002
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line Cinema $871,368,364 2001
15 Finding Nemo Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $864,625,978 2003
16 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 20th Century Fox $849,997,605 2005
17 Spider-Man Sony/Columbia $821,708,551 2002
18 Independence Day 20th Century Fox $816,969,268 1996
19 Shrek the Third Paramount/DreamWorks SKG $798,957,081 2007
20 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Warner Bros. $795,541,069 2004
21 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal $794,900,000 1982
22 The Lion King Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $783,841,776 1994
23 Spider-Man 2 Sony/Columbia $783,766,341 2004
24 Star Wars (Later titled Episode IV: A New Hope) 20th Century Fox $782,400,000 1977
25 The Da Vinci Code Sony/Columbia $758,239,851 2006
26 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $744,783,957 2005
27 The Matrix Reloaded Warner Bros. $738,599,701 2003
28 Transformers Paramount/DreamWorks SKG $707,675,744 2007
29 Forrest Gump Paramount $677,387,716 1994
30 The Sixth Sense Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures $672,806,292 1999
31 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $654,264,015 2003
32 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 20th Century Fox $651,564,743 2006
33 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 20th Century Fox $649,398,328 2002
34 The Incredibles Walt Disney Company/Pixar $631,442,092 2004
35 Ratatouille Walt Disney Company/Pixar $621,283,913 2007
36 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal $618,638,999 1997
37 The Passion of the Christ Icon Entertainment $611,899,420 2004
38 Casino Royale Sony/MGM/Columbia $594,239,066 2006
39 War of the Worlds Paramount/DreamWorks SKG $591,745,528 2005
40 Men in Black Sony/Columbia $589,390,539 1997
41 I Am Legend Warner Bros. $583,886,216 2007
42 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount $582,766,892 2008
43 Night at the Museum 20th Century Fox $573,931,127 2006
44 Armageddon Buena Vista $553,709,788 1998
45 King Kong Universal $550,316,795 2005
46 Mission Impossible II Paramount $546,388,105 2000
47 The Day After Tomorrow 20th Century Fox $542,771,772 2004
48 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 20th Century Fox $538,375,067 1980
49 Iron Man Paramount $537,214,903 2008
50 Madagascar DreamWorks SKG $532,680,671 2005

Main source: BoxOfficeMojo Note: Gross includes re-released films.

See also: List of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada and Inflation-adjusted list of highest-grossing films in the U.S. and Canada

[edit] Issues with inflation

Due to the long term effects of inflation, notably the significant increase of movie theater ticket prices, the list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to more recent films; a film in 1910, given much lower ticket prices at that time, would have to sell close to 100 times as many tickets as a 2007 film in order for the two to have equal gross takings.[1] Further complications are added by the changing value of the US Dollar against other currencies, particularly the Pound and the Euro. The unadjusted list, while commonly found in the press, is therefore largely meaningless for comparing films widely separated in time, as many films from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases.[2] Some have suggested that studios prefer not to make inflation adjustments because doing so would reduce the grossing numbers and eliminate the ability to advertise new box-office "records."[2]

However, most media sources, including Box Office Mojo, the Guinness Book of World Records, and Entertainment Magazine, claim that Gone With The Wind is the highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation.

[edit] Highest grossing films by year

This is a list of the highest grossing films by year.[3][4] Gross numbers prior to 1977 include every release of the film.

Year Movie Worldwide gross
1918 Mickey $&0000000018000000.00000018,000,000
1919 The Miracle Men $&0000000003000000.0000003,000,000
1920 Way Down East $&0000000004500000.0000004,500,000
1921 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse $&0000000009200000.0000009,200,000
1922 Robin Hood $&0000000002500000.0000002,500,000
1923 The Covered Wagon $&0000000003800000.0000003,800,000
1924 The Sea Hawk
1925 The Big Parade $&0000000005000000.0000005,000,000
1926 Aloma of the South Seas $&0000000003000000.0000003,000,000
1927 The Jazz Singer $&0000000003000000.0000003,000,000
1928 The Road to Ruin $&0000000002500000.0000002,500,000
1929 The Broadway Melody $&0000000004400000.0000004,400,000
1930 Tom Sawyer $&0000000011000000.00000011,000,000
1931 Frankenstein $&0000000012000000.00000012,000,000
1932 Shanghai Express $&0000000003700000.0000003,700,000
1933 I'm No Angel $&0000000002900000.0000002,900,000
1934 The Painted Veil $&0000000001700000.0000001,700,000
1935 Top Hat $&0000000003200000.0000003,200,000
1936 Camille $&0000000002800000.0000002,800,000
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs $&0000000184900000.000000184,900,000
1938 You Can't Take It With You $&0000000005300000.0000005,300,000
1939 Gone with the Wind $&0000000390600000.000000390,600,000
1940 Pinocchio $&0000000084300000.00000084,300,000
1941 Sergeant York $&0000000016400000.00000016,400,000
1942 Bambi $&0000000026800000.00000026,800,000
1943 A Guy Named Joe $&0000000005400000.0000005,400,000
1944 Meet Me in St. Louis $&0000000007600000.0000007,600,000
1945 The Bells of St. Mary's $&0000000021300000.00000021,300,000
1946 Song of the South $&0000000056400000.00000056,400,000
1947 Golden Earrings $&0000000007000000.0000007,000,000
1948 Easter Parade $&0000000006800000.0000006,800,000
1949 Samson and Delilah $&0000000029300000.00000029,300,000
1950 Cinderella $&0000000085000000.00000085,000,000
1951 Quo Vadis $&0000000030000000.00000030,000,000
1952 This Is Cinerama $&0000000041600000.00000041,600,000
1953 Peter Pan $&0000000087400000.00000087,400,000
1954 Rear Window $&0000000026000000.00000026,000,000
1955 Lady and the Tramp $&0000000093600000.00000093,600,000
1956 The Ten Commandments $&0000000085400000.00000085,400,000
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai $&0000000033300000.00000033,300,000
1958 South Pacific $&0000000036800000.00000036,800,000
1959 Ben-Hur $&0000000073000000.00000073,000,000
1960 Let's Make Love $&0000000044800000.0000-044,800,000
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians $&0000000224000000.0000-0224,000,000
1962 Dr. No $&0000000059600000.00000059,600,000
1963 From Russia with Love $&0000000078900000.00000078,900,000
1964 Goldfinger $&0000000124900000.0000-0124,900,000
1965 The Sound of Music $&0000000163200000.000000163,200,000
1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? $&0000000028000000.00000028,000,000
1967 The Jungle Book $&0000000205800000.000000205,800,000
1968 Funny Girl $&0000000058500000.00000058,500,000
1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid $&0000000096700000.00000096,700,000
1970 Love Story $&0000000106400000.000000106,400,000
1971 Diamonds Are Forever $&0000000116000000.000000116,000,000
1972 The Godfather $&0000000135000000.000000135,000,000
1973 The Exorcist $&0000000357600000.000000357,600,000
1974 Blazing Saddles $&0000000119500000.000000119,500,000
1975 Jaws $&0000000470600000.0000-0470,600,000
1976 Rocky $&0000000117200000.000000117,200,000
1977 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope $&0000000782400000.000000782,400,000
1978 Grease $&0000000386500000.000000386,500,000
1979 Moonraker $&0000000210300000.0000-0210,300,000
1980 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back $&0000000538375067.000000538,375,067
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark $&0000000384100000.000000384,100,000
1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $&0000000756900000.000000756,900,000
1983 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi $&0000000572900000.000000572,900,000
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom $&0000000333100000.000000333,100,000
1985 Back to the Future $&0000000350600000.000000350,600,000
1986 Top Gun $&0000000344800000.000000344,800,000
1987 Fatal Attraction $&0000000320100000.000000320,100,000
1988 Rain Man $&0000000412800000.000000412,800,000
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade $&0000000474200000.000000474,200,000
1990 Ghost $&0000000505700000.0000-0505,700,000
1991 Terminator 2: Judgement Day $&0000000519800000.0000-0519,800,000
1992 Aladdin $&0000000504100000.0000-0504,100,000
1993 Jurassic Park $&0000000914691118.000000914,691,118
1994 The Lion King $&0000000783841776.000000783,841,776
1995 Toy Story $&0000000362000000.000000362,000,000
1996 Independence Day $&0000000816969268.000000816,969,268
1997 Titanic $&0000001845034188.0000001,845,034,188
1998 Armageddon $&0000000553709788.000000553,709,788
1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace $&0000000924317558.000000924,317,558
2000 Mission: Impossible II $&0000000546388105.000000546,388,105
2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone $&0000000976556263.000000976,556,263
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $&0000000926287400.000000926,287,400
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $&0000001118888979.0000001,118,888,979
2004 Shrek 2 $&0000000919838758.000000919,838,758
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $&0000000896016159.000000896,016,159
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $&0000001066179725.0000001,066,179,725
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $&0000000960996492.000000960,996,492
2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (as of June 10) $&0000000579826000.000000579,826,000

[edit] Highest grossing film series

Highest Grossing Film Series (unadjusted)
Rank Series & Studio(s) Total worldwide
box office
No. of films Average of films Highest grossing film of series
1 Harry Potter (Warner Bros. Pictures) $4,690,485,371 5[A] $897,096,620 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ($976,956,263)
2 James Bond (EON Productions/MGM/UA) $4,355,700,000 21[A] $207,414,285 Casino Royale ($594,239,066)
3 Star Wars (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) $4,121,071,021 6[B] $686,845,170 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ($924,300,000)
4 The Lord of the Rings (New Line Cinema) $2,916,544,743 3[C] $972,181,581 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1,119,263,306)
5 Pirates of the Caribbean (Walt Disney Pictures) $2,794,366,513 3[A] $931,455,504 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1,066,200,651)
6 Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures) $2,495,718,076 3[A] $831,906,025 Spider-Man 3 ($890,449,338)
7 Shrek (DreamWorks Animation SKG) $2,161,714,655 3[A] $720,571,552 Shrek 2 ($920,665,658)
8 Jurassic Park (Universal Pictures) $1,902,110,926 3[D] $634,036,975 Jurassic Park ($914,691,118)
9 Indiana Jones (Paramount Pictures/Lucasfilm) $1,695,000,000 4[E] $423,750,000 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($501,000,000)
10 Batman (Warner Bros. Pictures) $1,624,772,639 5[B] $324,954,528 Batman ($411,348,924)
Main source: BoxOfficeMojo (sum of individual film grosses)
A  As of 2007
B  As of 2005
C  As of 2003
D  As of 2001
E  As of June 2008 with latest movie still playing

[edit] Record holding highest grossing films throughout film history (United States and Canada)

This list includes those films which have held the record for highest grossing film released in the United States and Canada [5]

List of highest-grossing films throughout history (unadjusted)
Since Movie name # of years held Gross (at time of record)
1915 The Birth of a Nation 7 $9,283,673
1921 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 16 $10,000,000
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 2 $184,925,486
1939 Gone with the Wind 34 $189,523,031
1973 The Exorcist 2 $232,671,011
1975 Jaws 2 $260,000,000
1977 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 6 (1977-1982, 1997) $307,263,857
1983 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 14 $435,110,554
1997 Titanic 11 $600,788,188

[edit] External links

Adjusted for inflation:

Unadjusted for inflation:

Other all time highest grossing films:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Domestic Grosses: Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation (1910 adjustor: $0.07, 2006 adjustor: $6.58.) Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  2. ^ a b Fallacy Files. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  3. ^ Yearly Box Office. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  4. ^ WorldwideBoxofffice.com. WorldWideBoxoffice.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  5. ^ Index of All Time Box Office Records