The ratings of the highest-grossing films of all time, which are gleefully reprinted by numerous media outlets after the release of any blockbuster that has grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, are useless marketing nonsense that is far from reality.
It makes almost no sense to directly compare the box office receipts of films released even as recently as 2020-2024, because inflation in the United States (and box office receipts are usually calculated in US dollars) in 2023 alone ranged from 3.4 to 5.5%, depending on the criteria used. What can we say about the films of the 2010s (+40% since 2010), 1990s (+142% since 1990), 1960s, and 1930s? And we're not even talking about changes in the cost of movie tickets, the number of cinemas, the number of viewers, etc. It's all about money.
So forget about the traditional top. Of course, some of the films you know from the standard rankings are also in the top grossing films of all time, adjusted for inflation, but it also includes titles you may not have heard of, as well as films from genres that are no longer popular.
Box office receipts are recalculated from time to time by representatives of Guinness World Records, taking into account the consumer price index (CPI). The most complete recalculated rating was published in 2014, and since then, Wikipedia editors have been recalculating it annually, adding inflation for the past year. That is, the figures below are those as of the end of 2023. All box office receipts are adjusted for inflation.
If you want to recalculate the box office figures yourself, the most famous and probably the most accurate inflation calculator based on the Consumer Price Index for the United States is available on the website of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - here. As of now, the calculator allows you to take into account inflation from January 1913 to August 2024.
1. Gone with the Wind
Box office receipts $4.341 billion
Release date: 1939
Genre: historical drama
The immortal classic by Victor Fleming based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell and starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. 13 nominations and 8 Oscars won, the love of the audience and huge box office.
Hollywood has always been on the hunt for good stories, so David Selznick acquired the rights to film Margaret Mitchell's novel a month after its publication, in July 1936, for $50,000 ($1.1 million in 2024 prices). But work on the film was difficult.
They were looking for an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara for a very long time: 1,400 women took part in the auditions. Clark Gable asked for and received a fabulous fee at the time - $1.25 million ($28 million in today's money), which is half of the small budget paid by MGM, which acted as a distributor through its parent company Loew's Inc. Filming began in early 1939, and post-production was completed only a month before the premiere.
In total, Gone with the Wind cost $3.85 million to produce, or $86.5 million in 2024 prices, but the film made a lot of money. It is believed that the film grossed over $390 million at the box office during its original release in 1939 and several re-releases in the 1990s, and this does not include the limited releases of the restored version in the 2020s. Recalculated for inflation, this figure is more than $4.341 billion. Avatar, move over!
2. Avatar
Box office receipts $3.957 billion
Release date: 2009
Genre.: sci-fi
Okay, so Avatar has moved down from first place, but not far, because this James Cameron sci-fi movie made a lot of money in 2009 and even made all 3D movies extremely popular for a while.
Avatar's budget was $237 million in 2009, or $345 million in 2024 prices, making it one of the top 20 most expensive films of all time, adjusted for inflation, but it also grossed a lot of money. The original 2009 release, plus the 2010 (Avatar: Special Edition with 9 extra minutes) and 2022 (4K remaster with some scenes in 48 fps) re-releases brought in $2.923 billion, or $3.957 billion adjusted for inflation.
And, of course, 3 more Oscars and the audience's desire to see the sequel, which they got in 2022 in the form of Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned another $2.3 billion. In December 2025, the next installment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, and in 2029 - the tentative Avatar 4. We wish Mr. Cameron good health.
3. Titanic
Box office receipts $3.677 billion
Release date: 1997
Genre: historical drama
And again, Mr. Cameron, who can rightfully be considered the highest-grossing director of all time.
You can have different opinions about Titanic, despising its frankly naive and sappy romantic line, but it is truly an epic film made by a man who was obsessed with finding the real Titanic, with fantastic underwater filming, incredible special effects at the time, and talented actors. 11 Academy Awards is something to behold. This, by the way, is a record for the number of Oscars for one movie, which Titanic shares with Ben-Hur (1959) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Titanic's budget was $200 million in 1997, or $390 million in 2024, making it the ninth most expensive movie of all time. In addition to the original release in 1997, Titanic has been released in theaters several times: in 2012, a 4K 3D version was released, in 2017, a Dolby Vision version in honor of the film's 20th anniversary, and in 2023, a 3D 4K HDR version with higher fps. In total, the movie earned $2.264 billion, or $3.677 billion adjusted for inflation. Not bad for a tear-jerking melodrama.
4. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Box office receipts $3.563 billion
Release date: 1977
Genre: sci-fi
Attentive readers who follow the top grossing films should say now: "That's been done before!" because Star Wars, like Titanic and Avatar, occupies the top of the traditional widely publicized rankings. Yes, but no.
In the standard top 10 of the highest-grossing movies, there is only Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The original 1977 Star Wars didn't even make it into the top 50, which, by the way, includes five Star Wars films, including Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
The box office of the first (fourth) part of the saga is quite modest by today's standards, at $775 million. But if we take inflation into account, it is already a respectable $3.563 billion. By the way, the budget of the original Star Wars is only $11 million, or $59 million in 2024 prices. This is more than modest for a blockbuster of this level.
Like other films in this selection, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (by the way, the extended title appeared only in 1981) received a lot of awards, including six Academy Awards. The film was re-released in theaters in 1978, 1979, 1981, and 1982. In addition, on the 20th anniversary of the film in 1997, a digital remaster with some alternative scenes was released as part of the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition.
A few days ago, actor James Earl Jones, the legendary voice of Darth Vader, passed away.
5. Avengers: Endgame
Box office receipts $3.275 billion
Release date: 2019
Genre: sci-fi
Avengers: Endgame is the peak of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the best comic book movie. It's a must-see.
Marvel Studios hasn't been doing well lately, but in 2019, Avengers: Endgame really looked like a worthy conclusion to the saga of 10 years and more than 20 films. It was really impressive how the authors thought through all the interweaving of plots and films and how they successfully completed all the storylines.
The production of Avengers: Endgame cost an impressive $356 million ($440 million in 2024 prices), but it's still less than Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Why this is so is not clear at all.
Unlike the previous films on the list, Avengers: Endgame didn't win any of the major cinematic prizes, but it did make a good amount of money. $2.799 billion in 2019 prices, or $3.275 billion adjusted for inflation.
In total, the Marvel Cinematic Universe films have earned $31.1 billion since 2008. This is the largest movie franchise in history. We are not going to recalculate for inflation: the MCU has 34 films released over 16 years. The latest, Deadpool & Wolverine, has already grossed $1.287 billion. It's a lot, but not a record. On the other hand, this is the best performance for an MCU movie since 2021.
6. The Sound of Music
Box office receipts $2.984 billion
Release date: 1965
Genre: musical
Yes, once upon a time, in other times, musicals were the most popular movie genre and grossed a lot of money.
The Sound of Music, starring the unrivaled Julia Andrews (Academy Awards, BAFTA, two Primetime Emmys, six Golden Globes and three Grammys), is based on the memoir of Austrian singer and family choir leader Maria von Trapp, The Von Trapp Family Singers (1949). It takes place in Austria in the late 1930s and partially covers the Anschluss of 1938.
The musical's budget was $8.2 million, or about $83 million in 2024 prices. However, The Sound of Music earned $286.2 million in theaters alone, or $2.984 billion adjusted for inflation. At the same time, the movie's soundtrack hit number one on the Billboard 200 and stayed in the top for 238 weeks! The album became the most successful soundtrack in the history of cinema and sold over 20 million copies. In 2015, Billboard named The Sound of Music the second greatest album of all time.
By the way, 88-year-old Julia Andrews continues to work. She voiced Mother Gru and Dru in all the Despicable Me and Minions cartoons, as well as Lady Whisledown in the Bridgerton series on Netflix.
7. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Box office receipts $2.917 billion
Release date: 1982
Genre: sci-fi, family movie
Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is certainly a very touching movie, but you wouldn't expect to see a family story about an alien who gets lost on Earth and is helped by children in a list of the highest-grossing films of all time. But the fact is the fact.
The filming of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 cost $10.5 million ($35 million in 2024 prices). It took almost $700,000 to create three models of the alien alone. At the same time, dwarfs and a 12-year-old boy named Matthew DeMeritt, who was legless from birth, starred in 15% of the scenes as E.T., which was not very publicized in the 1980s.
The film, which made child actors Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas stars, grossed $792.9 million at the box office, including re-releases in 1985, 2002 and 2022 (IMAX). In 1983, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became the highest-grossing movie of all time (excluding inflation), surpassing Star Wars.
For a while, Steven Spielberg was thinking about a sequel in which an evil alien kidnaps children and E.T. rescues them. But in the end, the director abandoned the idea because: "It would add nothing but rob the original movie of its virginity. E.T. is not about returning to Earth."
8. The Ten Commandments
Box office receipts $2.758 billion
Release date: 1956
Genre: religious drama
The subgenre of peplum, also known as sword & sandal, which includes epic films about ancient history and biblical events, appeared in the silent era and was extremely popular in Italy, including during the Fascist era. For example, the script for Scipione l'Africano was written by Vittorio Mussolini, the dictator's son, and the party took over the financing. But peplum reached its true heyday in 1954-1965, when such films as Ulysses (1954), Helen of Troy (1955), The Robe (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), Goliath (1959), Spartacus (1960), and Cleopatra (1963) were released. Ben-Hur (1959) won 11 Oscars, while Spartacus (1960) and Cleopatra (1963) won 4 Oscars each.
The Ten Commandments is a sequel to the 1923 film of the same name, which tells the well-known story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The Ten Plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the unburnable bush, and the Ten Commandments of God are all in the mix. It is also the story of the epic confrontation between the Egyptian pharaoh (it is not known for certain who it was in reality, in the movie it is Ramses II) and the prophet Moses, played by the real stars of their time, Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston.
The Ten Commandments had an unheard-of budget of $13 million ($152 million in 2024 dollars). But during its first release, the film grossed $122.7 million, plus another $90 million by 1979 during repeat releases in different countries. According to Guinness World Records, The Ten Commandments box office totaled $2 billion in 2011 prices, or $2.758 billion in 2023 prices.
9. Doctor Zhivago
Box office receipts $2.615 billion
Release date: 1965
Genre: історична драма
Yes, this is a movie based on a novel by the "Russian" writer and poet Boris Pasternak. Pasternak was the son of Odesa Jews, and his works were banned in the USSR, he was disgraced and under pressure from the KGB and the CPSU he was forced to renounce the Nobel Prize for Literature, which he received for his novel Dr. Zhivago, secretly published in Italy in 1957.
The novel tells the story of the fate of the Russian intellectual, doctor, and poet Yuri Zhivago against the backdrop of the events of the twentieth century, from tsarist times to World War II, through revolution, repression, and everything in between. The novel was published in the Soviet Union only in 1988.
The film was adapted bythe master of epic cinema David Lean(The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962)). The film stars real stars - Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Alec "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Guinness and others.
Dr. Zhivago had a lot of epic scenes, so the film's budget was $11 million ($110 million in 2024 prices), but the box office was fantastic. The film grossed $248.2 million at the box office, or $2.615 billion adjusted for inflation. In addition, along with The Sound of Music, the film received 10 nominations at the 1965 Academy Awards. Both films eventually earned five statuettes each.
In 2002, the British miniseries Doctor Zhivago starring Hans Matheson and Keira Knightley was released.
10. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Box office receipts $2.577 billion
Release date: 2015
Genre: sci-fi
The second Star Wars movie in our top list and another movie that is in the "real" top grossing movies, ranking fifth.
At one time, old Star Wars fans criticized The Force Awakens, but not as much as the end of the new trilogy. They criticized it, but they went to the theaters with joy, some of them several times. As a result, the film grossed $2.068 billion in 2015, although this did not help it to soar to the top of the usual charts.
Taking into account inflation, $2 billion in 2015 will turn into $2.577 billion by the end of 2023. It seems like a lot, but the fact is that Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens has a whopping $533.2 million budget, according to Forbes, making it the most expensive movie in the history of cinema. Taking into account inflation, it will be more than $700 million in 2024 prices!
The most popular movies by number of tickets sold
Another method of determining the most popular films is to count the number of tickets sold. And here, all of the aforementioned Hollywood blockbusters lose out to Chinese films of the 1980s. It seems that either for lack of any other entertainment or on the orders of the Communist Party, the entire population of China went to see each movie twice!
The first place in terms of the number of tickets sold is held by The Legend of the White Snake (1980), another film adaptation of the ancient Chinese legend, which is one of the so-called Four Great Folk Works of China. The film was watched by 700 million people, and this is despite the fact that the population of China in 1980 was only 980 million. So don't be surprised by the stunning records of Black Myth: Wukong.
The next 12 films on the top are also Chinese films with 400-650 million tickets sold. The only one you might know is the Chinese-Hong Kong Shaolin Temple (1982) with 18-year-old Jet Li, which sold 500,994,065 tickets.
The first Hollywood movie on the list, Titanic, is only on the 14th place with 389,792,470 tickets. Avengers: Endgame - 16 out of 351,491,996 tickets. The original Star Wars (1977) - 17 out of 338,400,000 tickets. The first Avatar - 18 out of 331,298,685 tickets sold.
Which of the top 10 highest-grossing films adjusted for inflation have you already seen, and which are you hearing about for the first time? Let us know in the comments.