Top 50
All-Time Domestic Box-Office Gross as of May 15, 2004 |
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Top 50 in Non-Adjusted US Dollars / Top 50 in Adjusted US Dollars
Note that these earnings have NOT been adjusted for inflation. If they had, many of the titles you see on this list wouldn't be there at all, and Gone With the Wind, which came out in 1939, would be in the no. 1 spot. It's just that our obsession (and, yes, I count myself in that "our") with the highest dollar amounts is prevalent over any common sense - and production companies are always competing for the "highest-grossing movie ever", so they tend to ignore that little fact. Just so you know... |
Rank |
Title |
Release Date |
Domestic Gross |
1 | Titanic | 1997 | $600,788,188 |
2 | Star Wars | 1977 | $460,998,007 |
3 | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | 1982 | $434,949,459 |
4 | The Phantom Menace | 1999 | $431,088,297 |
5 | Spider-Man | 2002 | $403,706,375 |
6 | Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The | 2003 | $376,556,583 |
7 | Passion of the Christ, The | 2004 | $367,556,583 |
8 | Jurassic Park | 1993 | $357,067,947 |
9 | Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The | 2002 | $340,478,898 |
10 | Finding Nemo | 2003 | $339,714,367 |
11 | Forrest Gump | 1994 | $329,693,974 |
12 | The Lion King | 1994 | $328,423,001 |
13 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | 2001 | $317,049,000 |
14 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings | 2001 | $313,837,577 |
15 | Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones | 2002 | $310,675,583 |
16 | Return of the Jedi | 1983 | $309,205,079 |
17 | Independence Day | 1996 | $306,169,255 |
18 | Pirates of the Caribbean | 2001 | $305,411,224 |
19 | The Sixth Sense | 1999 | $293,501,675 |
20 | The Empire Strikes Back | 1980 | $290,271,960 |
21 | Home Alone | 1990 | $285,761,243 |
22 | Matrix Reloaded, The | 2003 | $281,492,479 |
23 | Shrek | 2001 | $267,000,000 |
24 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | 2002 | $261,971,000 |
25 | How The Grinch Stole Christmas | 2000 | $260,100,000 |
26 | Jaws | 1975 | $260,000,000 |
27 | Monsters, Inc. | 2001 | $253,000,000 |
28 | Batman | 1989 | $251,188,924 |
29 | Men in Black | 1997 | $250,147,615 |
30 | Toy Story 2 | 1999 | $245,823,397 |
31 | Bruce Almighty | 2003 | $242,590,000 |
32 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | $242,374,454 |
33 | Twister | 1996 | $241,708,908 |
34 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding | 2002 | $241,437,000 |
35 | Ghostbusters | 1984 | $238,632,124 |
36 | Beverly Hills Cop | 1984 | $234,760,478 |
37 | Cast Away | 2000 | $233,600,000 |
38 | The Lost World | 1997 | $229,086,679 |
39 | Signs | 2002 | $227,966,000 |
40 | Rush Hour 2 | 2001 | $226,200,000 |
41 | Mrs. Doubtfire | 1993 | $219,195,051 |
42 | Ghost | 1990 | $217,631,306 |
43 | Aladdin | 1992 | $217,350,219 |
44 | Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | $216,335,085 |
45 | Mission: Impossible 2 | 2000 | $215,397,307 |
46 | X2: X-Men United | 2003 | $214,949,000 |
47 | Austin Powers in Goldmember | 1985 | $210,609,762 |
48 | Back to the Future | 1985 | $210,609,762 |
49 | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | 1999 | $205,957,794 |
50 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 1991 | $204,843,345 |
And now to be fair, here's a very unscientific, approximate look at what the actual Top 50 All-Time Box-Office list would look like if these total were adjusted to year 2000 US dollar values (assuming a 2.75% inflation rate):
Adjusted US$ Totals (Updated October 15, 2001)
Rank |
Title |
Release Date |
Original Gross |
Adjusted |
1 | Gone With the Wind | 1939 | $198,654,225 | $1,028,638,799 |
2 | Star Wars | 1977 | $460,987,469 | $919,923,451 |
3 | The Sound of Music | 1965 | $158,671,368 | $741,681,028 |
4 | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | 1982 | $399,804,539 | $708,207,757 |
5 | The Ten Commandments | 1956 | $65,500,000 | $682,231,213 |
6 | Jaws | 1975 | $260,000,000 | $667,018,069 |
7 | Titanic | 1997 | $600,788,188 | $664,924,618 |
8 | Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | $111,721,910 | $630,608,114 |
9 | The Jungle Book | 1967 | $135,475,556 | $564,111,332 |
10 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | 1937 | $184,925,486 | $553,720,000 |
11 | Ben-Hur | 1959 | $70,000,000 | $547,076,924 |
12 | 101 Dalmatians | 1961 | $152,551,111 | $534,454,927 |
13 | The Empire Strikes Back | 1980 | $290,158,751 | $498,089,402 |
14 | The Exorcist | 1973 | $165,000,000 | $478,971,428 |
15 | Return of the Jedi | 1983 | $309,125,409 | $478,479,852 |
16 | The Sting | 1973 | $159,616,327 | $463,343,395 |
17 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | $242,374,454 | $442,900,081 |
18 | Jurassic Park | 1993 | $356,839,725 | $437,861,305 |
19 | The Graduate | 1967 | $104,397,100 | $434,702,678 |
20 | The Phantom Menace | 1999 | $431,088,297 | $431,088,297 |
21 | Fantasia | 1940 | $76,400,000 | $421,860,870 |
22 | The Godfather | 1972 | $134,821,952 | $403,572,052 |
23 | Forrest Gump | 1994 | $329,690,974 | $400,677,068 |
24 | Mary Poppins | 1964 | $86,000,000 | $397,163,636 |
25 | Grease | 1978 | $181,518,204 | $390,762,504 |
26 | The Lion King | 1994 | $312,855,561 | $380,216,806 |
27 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | 1977 | $166,000,000 | $378,152,466 |
28 | Sleeping Beauty | 1959 | $51,600,000 | $369,194,365 |
29 | Ghostbusters | 1984 | $238,632,124 | $359,350,822 |
30 | Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid | 1969 | $102,308,889 | $358,433,901 |
31 | Bambi | 1942 | $102,797,150 | $357,677,755 |
32 | Independence Day | 1996 | $306,052,958 | $355,777,809 |
33 | Love Story | 1970 | $106,397,180 | $355,590,576 |
34 | Beverly Hills Cop | 1984 | $234,760,478 | $354,935,485 |
35 | Pinocchio | 1940 | $84,254,167 | $342,408,934 |
36 | Home Alone | 1990 | $285,016,000 | $342,288,719 |
37 | Cleopatra | 1963 | $57,777,778 | $341,291,989 |
38 | Airport | 1970 | $100,489,151 | $335,845,320 |
39 | American Graffiti | 1973 | $115,000,000 | $333,828,572 |
40 | The Robe | 1953 | $36,000,000 | $332,509,091 |
41 | Around the World in 80 Days | 1956 | $42,000,000 | $328,246,154 |
42 | Blazing Saddles | 1974 | $119,500,000 | $321,195,767 |
43 | Batman | 1989 | $251,188,924 | $319,809,458 |
44 | The Bells of St. Mary's | 1945 | $21,333,333 | $318,745,098 |
45 | The Towering Inferno | 1974 | $116,000,000 | $311,788,360 |
46 | National Lampoon's Animal House | 1978 | $141,600,000 | $307,405,129 |
47 | The Greatest Show on Earth | 1952 | $36,000,000 | $304,800,000 |
48 | My Fair Lady | 1964 | $72,000,000 | $304,800,000 |
49 | Let's Make Love | 1960 | $44,840,000 | $303,716,171 |
50 | Back to the Future | 1985 | $210,609,762 | $301,379,603 |
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