The following are two non-definitive lists of the all-time highest-grossing films.
It includes box office takings only, not the ancillary earnings (video rentals, TV broadcasts, etc.), and serves only as a guide.
Amounts are in United States dollars, and are not adjusted for inflation. Given population growth and, to a far greater extent, inflation (in particular the considerable inflation of movie theater ticket prices), these numbers are not a very good indicator of the popularity of movies over time. For example, the film which has sold the highest number of tickets ever is Gone with the Wind, despite the population in 1939 being far lower than it is today, yet it does not feature anywhere on this list. Due to the advent of the home theater explosion in the 1980's, movie studios have increased the number of released titles in an amazing amount. Movies today have a shorter amount of time to make money and a more competitive marketplace due to the sheer number of new titles constantly being released. Five times as many movies are being released in the year 2006 as compared to 1976. Which makes it all the more remarkable what recent films such as Titanic and The Return of the King have done at the box office by exceeding the billion dollar mark worldwide.
| Rank | Movie name | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Titanic | $1,845,034,188 |
| 2 | The Return of the King (film) | $1,118,888,979 |
| 3 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US) | $976,475,550 |
| 4 | The Two Towers (film) | $926,287,400 |
| 5 | The Phantom Menace | $924,317,558 |
| 6 | Shrek 2 | $920,665,658 |
| 7 | Jurassic Park | $914,691,118 |
| 8 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | $892,213,036 |
| 9 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | $876,688,482 |
| 10 | The Fellowship of the Ring (film) | $871,368,364 |
| 11 | Finding Nemo | $864,625,978 |
| 12 | Revenge of the Sith | $849,997,605 |
| 13 | Spider-Man | $821,708,551 |
| 14 | Independence Day | $816,969,268 |
| 15 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | $792,910,554 |
| 16 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | $789,804,554 |
| 17 | The Lion King | $783,841,776 |
| 18 | Spider-Man 2 | $783,766,341 |
| 19 | A New Hope | $775,398,007 |
| 20 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | $744,106,957 |
| 21 | The Matrix Reloaded | $738,599,701 |
| 22 | The Da Vinci Code | $735,919,829 |
| 23 | Forrest Gump | $677,386,686 |
| 24 | The Sixth Sense | $672,806,292 |
| 25 | The Curse of the Black Pearl | $653,913,918 |
| 26 | Attack of the Clones | $649,398,328 |
| 27 | The Meltdown | $641,450,114 |
| 28 | The Incredibles | $631,436,092 |
| 29 | Jurassic Park | $618,638,999 |
| 30 | The Passion of the Christ | $611,899,420 |
| 31 | War of the Worlds | $591,416,316 |
| 32 | Men in Black | $589,390,539 |
| 33 | Armageddon | $553,709,788 |
| 34 | King Kong | $549,216,896 |
| 35 | Impossible II | $545,902,562 |
| 36 | The Day After Tomorrow | $542,771,772 |
| 37 | The Empire Strikes Back | $538,375,067 |
| 38 | Madagascar | $528,367,986 |
| 39 | Monsters, Inc. | $525,366,597 |
| 40 | Judgment Day | $519,843,345 |
| 41 | Meet the Fockers | $516,533,043 |
| 42 | Ghost | $505,702,588 |
| 43 | Aladdin | $504,050,219 |
| 44 | Troy | $497,409,852 |
| 45 | Twister | $494,471,524 |
| 46 | Toy Story 2 | $485,015,179 |
| 47 | Bruce Almighty | $484,572,835 |
| 48 | Shrek | $484,409,218 |
| 49 | Saving Private Ryan | $481,840,909 |
| 50 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | $478,207,520 |
Inevitably, a single inflation-adjustment cannot account for global inflationary fluctuations, and it also favors re-released films. Further, it treats all receipts as if they were earned in the initial year of release, which is clearly incorrect.
However, it does provide a more accurate (if estimated) long-term picture of financial success as it ignores current inflationary trends. Every decade since the 1930s is represented, with the exception of the 1950s.
The table has been compiled using the US consumer price index, adjusted to 2005 figures.
As with the above, this list does not include television or video sales.
| Rank | Movie name | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gone With the Wind (1939) | $2,699,710,936 |
| 2 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) | $2,425,862,786 |
| 3 | Titanic (1997) | $2,174,317,554 |
| 4 | A New Hope (1977) | $1,436,811,009 |
| 5 | Jurassic Park (1993) | $1,202,648,438 |
| 6 | Bambi (1942) | $1,191,311,757 |
| 7 | The Return of the King (film) (2003) | $1,175,528,250 |
| 8 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in US) (2001) | $1,058,997,333 |
| 9 | The Phantom Menace (1999) | $1,054,205,059 |
| 10 | The Lion King (1994) | $1,000,588,279 |
| 11 | Independence Day (1996) | $991,657,039 |
| 12 | The Two Towers (film) (2002) | $985,287,400 |
| 13 | The Sound of Music (1965) | $978,767,575 |
| 14 | Planet of the Apes (1968) | $977,132,692 |
| 15 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) | $966,612,040 |
| 16 | The Fellowship of the Ring (film) (2001) | $945,007,557 |
| 17 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) | $935,804,406 |
| 18 | Jaws (1975) | $912,899,628 |
| 19 | Finding Nemo (2003) | $908,394,209 |
| 20 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) | $891,719,985 |
| 21 | Spider-Man (2002) | $877,117,127 |
| 22 | The Exorcist (1973) | $870,322,714 |
| 23 | Forrest Gump (1994) | $864,696,421 |
| 24 | E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) | $851,419,200 |
| 25 | Revenge of the Sith (2005) | $848,480,246 |
| 26 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) | $811,115,427 |
| 27 | Spider-Man 2 (2004) | $805,131,538 |
| 28 | The Jungle Book (1967) | $802,223,303 |
| 29 | The Sixth Sense (1999) | $767,350,777 |
| 30 | The Matrix Reloaded (2003) | $775,988,356 |
| 31 | Ghost (1990) | $752,150,867 |
| 32 | Jurassic Park (1997) | $729,047,539 |
| 33 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) | $704,795,008 |
| 34 | Men In Black (1997) | $694,579,105 |
| 35 | Attack of the Clones (2002) | $693,187,865 |
| 36 | The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) | $687,015,694 |
| 37 | The Sting (1973) | $679,018,919 |
| 38 | Doctor Zhivago (1965) | $669,977,327 |
| 39 | The Empire Strikes Back (1980) | $665,181,894 |
| 40 | The Incredibles (2004) | $648,484,866 |
Lists of films | Best sellers | Film box office
Liste der erfolgreichsten Filme | Lista najbardziej dochodowych filmów | Lista e filmave më të suksesshëm | Lista över mest inkomstbringande spelfilmer | 最高興行収入映画リスト
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