The following is a non-definitive list of the all-time highest-grossing films. If inflation was taken into account Gone With The Wind, is the highest grossing film of all time according to Entertainment Magazine.
Worldwide highest grossing films
The list is based on the total worldwide box office receipts, updated on November 20, 2007. 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. An adjusted figure for each ranked film is provided for comparison.
Only 3 films so far 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 — 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.
| Rank | Movie name | Studio(s) | Worldwide Gross | Year | Adjusted to 2007 | genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Titanic | 20th Century Fox/Paramount | $1,845,034,188 | 1997 | $2,361,643,760 | |
| 2 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | New Line Cinema | $1,118,888,979 | 2003 | $1,254,493,458 | |
| 3 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista/Walt Disney | $1,066,179,725 | 2006 | $1,091,036,097 | |
| 4 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Warner Bros. | $976,475,550 | 2001 | $1,138,118,112 | |
| 5 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Buena Vista/Walt Disney | $961,002,663 | 2007 | $961,002,663 | |
| 6 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Warner Bros. | $938,467,860 | 2007 | $938,467,860 | |
| 7 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | New Line Cinema | $926,287,400 | 2002 | $1,062,218,402 | |
| 8 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | 20th Century Fox | $924,300,000 | 1999 | $1,144,556,362 | |
| 9 | Shrek 2 | DreamWorks SKG | $920,665,658 | 2004 | $1,005,470,223 | |
| 10 | Jurassic Park | Universal | $914,691,118 | 1993 | $1,305,887,734 | |
| 11 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Warner Bros. | $896,013,036 | 2005 | $946,479,720 | |
| 12 | Spider-Man 3 | Sony/Columbia | $890,871,626 | 2007 | $890,871,626 | |
| 13 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Warner Bros. | $878,988,482 | 2002 | $1,007,978,453 | |
| 14 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | New Line Cinema | $871,368,364 | 2001 | $1,015,611,827 | |
| 15 | Finding Nemo | Buena Vista/Walt Disney | $864,625,978 | 2003 | $969,414,887 | |
| 16 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | 20th Century Fox | $849,997,605 | 2005 | $897,872,534 | |
| 17 | Spider-Man | Sony/Columbia | $821,708,551 | 2002 | $942,292,796 | |
| 18 | Independence Day | 20th Century Fox | $816,969,268 | 1996 | $1,074,192,224 | |
| 19 | Shrek the Third | Paramount/DreamWorks SKG | $797,750,521 | 2007 | $797,750,521 | |
| 20 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Warner Bros. | $795,541,069 | 2004 | $868,820,129 | |
| 21 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Universal | $792,900,000 | 1982 | $1,695,080,518 | |
| 22 | The Lion King | Buena Vista/Walt Disney | $783,841,776 | 1994 | $1,091,137,371 | |
| 23 | Spider-Man 2 | Sony/Columbia | $783,766,341 | 2004 | $855,960,805 | |
| 24 | Star Wars (Later titled Episode IV: A New Hope) | 20th Century Fox | $775,400,000 | 1977 | $2,764,209,060 | |
| 25 | The Da Vinci Code | Sony/Columbia | $758,239,851 | 2006 | $775,917,069 | |
| 26 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | Walt Disney/Buena Vista | $744,783,957 | 2005 | $786,732,874 | |
| 27 | The Matrix Reloaded | Warner Bros. | $738,599,701 | 2003 | $828,114,773 | |
| 28 | Transformers | Paramount/DreamWorks SKG | $706,471,251 | 2007 | $706,471,251 | |
| 29 | Forrest Gump | Paramount | $679,400,000 | 1994 | $945,750,472 | |
| 30 | The Sixth Sense | Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures | $672,806,292 | 1999 | $833,132,881 | |
| 31 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Walt Disney/Buena Vista | $654,264,015 | 2003 | $733,557,968 | |
| 32 | Ice Age 2: The Meltdown | 20th Century Fox | $651,564,743 | 2006 | $666,754,992 | |
| 33 | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | 20th Century Fox | $649,398,328 | 2002 | $744,696,359 | |
| 34 | The Incredibles | Pixar/Walt Disney | $631,442,092 | 2004 | $689,605,630 | |
| 35 | Ratatouille | Disney/Pixar | $620,551,046 | 2007 | $620,551,046 | |
| 36 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Universal | $618,638,999 | 1997 | $795,172,744 | |
| 37 | The Passion of the Christ | Icon Entertainment | $611,899,420 | 2004 | $668,262,839 | |
| 38 | Casino Royale | Sony/MGM/Columbia | $594,239,066 | 2006 | $608,092,853 | |
| 39 | War of the Worlds | Paramount/DreamWorks SKG | $591,745,528 | 2005 | $625,074,769 | |
| 40 | Men in Black | Sony/Columbia | $589,390,539 | 1997 | $757,577,994 | |
| 41 | I Am Legend | Warner Bros. | $580,687,764 | 2007 | $580,687,764 | |
| 42 | Night at the Museum | 20th Century Fox | $573,558,399 | 2006 | $586,930,048 | |
| 43 | Armageddon | Buena Vista | $553,709,788 | 1998 | $700,799,566 | |
| 44 | King Kong | Universal | $549,358,447 | 2005 | $580,300,295 | |
| 45 | Mission Impossible II | Paramount | $546,388,105 | 2000 | $654,586,910 | |
| 46 | The Day After Tomorrow | 20th Century Fox | $542,771,772 | 2004 | $592,767,689 | |
| 47 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | 20th Century Fox | $538,375,067 | 1980 | $1,347,897,770 | |
| 48 | Madagascar | DreamWorks SKG | $532,680,671 | 2005 | $562,683,166 | |
| 49 | The Simpsons Movie | 20th Century Fox | $525,468,939 | 2007 | $525,468,939 | |
| 50 | Monsters, Inc. | Buena Vista/Walt Disney | $525,366,597 | 2001 | $612,334,061 |
- Main source: BoxOfficeMojo
- Note: Gross includes re-released films.
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] It is probable 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]
Highest grossing film series
| 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) | $4,485,483,098 | 5 (as of 2007) | $897,096,620 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ($976,475,550) |
| 2 | James Bond (EON Productions/MGM/UA) | $4,355,700,000 | 21 (as of 2007) | $207,414,285 | Casino Royale ($594,239,066) |
| 3 | Star Wars (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) | $4,212,592,742 | 6 | $702,098,790 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ($924,300,000) |
| 4 | The Lord of the Rings (New Line Cinema) | $2,916,544,743 | 3 (as of 2003) | $972,181,581 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1,118,888,979) |
| 5 | Pirates of the Caribbean (Walt Disney Pictures) | $2,680,308,734 | 3 | $893,436,245 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1,066,179,725) |
| 6 | Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures) | $2,495,718,076 | 3 (as of 2007) | $831,906,025 | Spider-Man 3 ($890,449,338) |
| 7 | Shrek (DreamWorks Animation SKG) | $2,161,714,655 | 3 (as of 2007) | $720,571,552 | Shrek 2 ($920,665,658) |
| 8 | Jurassic Park (Universal Pictures) | $1,902,110,926 | 3 (as of 2001) | $634,036,975 | Jurassic Park ($914,691,118) |
| 9 | Batman (Warner Bros. Pictures) | $1,624,772,639 | 5 (as of 2005) | $324,954,528 | Batman ($411,348,924) |
| 10 | The Matrix (Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures) | $1,623,967,842 | 3 (as of 2003) | $541,322,614 | The Matrix Reloaded ($738,599,701) |
- Main source: BoxOfficeMojo (sum of individual film grosses)
Record holding highest grossing films over time
This list includes those films which have held the record for highest grossing film in North America (the United States and Canada).[3]
| 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 | 18 | $10,000,000 |
| 1939 | Gone with the Wind | 26 | $142,000,000 |
| 1965 | The Sound of Music | 8 | $163,214,286 |
| 1973 | The Exorcist | 2 | $193,000,000 |
| 1975 | Jaws | 2 | $260,000,000 |
| 1977 | Star Wars (Later retitled Episode IV: A New Hope) | 6 | $307,263,857 |
| 1983 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | 14 | $359,197,037 |
| 1998 | Titanic | 10 | $600,788,188 |
References
- ^ Domestic Grosses: Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation (1910 adjustor: $0.07, 2006 adjustor: $6.58.) Retrieved 2007-04-23.
- ^ a b Fallacy Files. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
- ^ Index of All Time Box Office Records
External links
Adjusted for inflation:
- Box Office Mojo - Inflation-adjusted grossing lists since 1910
- Australian All Time Adjusted box office
Unadjusted for inflation:
- Top 100 adjusted and unadjusted for inflation
- The Numbers all time worldwide chart
- IMDB all time worldwide chart
- Box Office Mojo
- flixit.co.uk
Other all time highest grossing films: