Highest-grossing movies of all time list

rank - - earnings - - year

1 Titanic $1,842,879,955 1997

2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $1,119,110,941 2003

3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $1,066,179,725 2006

4 The Dark Knight $1,001,921,825 2008

5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone $974,733,550 2001

6 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $960,996,492 2007

7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $938,212,738 2007

8 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $932,242,366 2009

9 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $925,282,504 2002

10 star Wars Episode i : The Phantom Menace $924,317,558 1999

11 Shrek 2 $919,838,758 2004

12 Jurassic Park $914,691,118 1993

13 Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire $895,921,036 2005

14 Spider-Man 3 $890,871,626 2007

15 Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets $878,643,482 2002

16 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The ring $870,761,744 2001

17 Ice Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs $869,128,768 2009

18 Finding Nemo $864,625,978 2003

19 star Wars Episode ii : Revenge of The Sith $848,754,768 2005

20 Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen $831,771,875 2009

21 Spider-Man $821,708,551 2002

22 Independence Day $817,400,891 1996

23 Shrek the Third $798,958,162 2007

24 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban $795,634,069 2004

25 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $792,910,554 1982

26 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $786,636,033 2008

27 The Lion King $783,841,776 1994

28 Spider-Man 2 $783,766,341 2004

29 star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope $775,398,007 1977

30 The Da Vinci Code $758,239,851 2006

31 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Walden $745,011,272 2005

32 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe $742,128,461 2003

33 Transformers $709,709,780 2007

34 Forrest Gump $677,387,716 1994

35 The Sixth Sense $672,806,292 1999

36 Ice Age: The Meltdown $655,388,158 2006

37 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl $654,264,015 2003

38 star Wars: Episode ii : Attack of The Clones $649,398,328 2002

39 The Sixth Sense $631,736,484 2008

40 The Incredibles $631,442,092 2004

41 Hancock $624,386,746 2008

42 Ratatouille $623,707,397 2007

43 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $618,638,999 1997

44 The Passion of the Christ $611,899,420 2004

45 Mamma Mia! $609,827,661 2008

46 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $603,900,309 2008

47 Casino Royale $594,239,066 2006

48 War of the Worlds $591,745,540 2005

49 Men in Black $589,390,539 1997

50 Quantum of Solace $586,090,727 2008

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What’s your take on this list?
What do you guys think about these movies—overall, or just specific ones, whatever works best for you?
Do you feel like the money these films pulled in is actually justified—I mean, does the quality really match those massive numbers?

Honestly, the funniest part is seeing Titanic sitting at number one—when I actually look at the box office numbers, I just can't wrap my head around it. The movie is nothing but pure, sugary nonsense with zero substance. 👎

It’s the exact same story with Shrek and Men in Black. Sure, maybe kids padded those numbers, but personally? None of those three wouldn't even crack my top 500, let alone the top 150, and don't even get me started on a real top 50 list.

War of the Worlds deserves way more than it made, and so does Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings—and yeah, I'm talking about the whole franchise here. There are so many movies out there that actually hold value, but I'd have to spend all day listing them if I wanted to go through them now.

Most of these are relatively recent releases. Let’s be honest—with what movie tickets cost in the US today, smashing box office records is a lot easier than it used to be. If you actually factor in inflation, the real all-time heavyweights are still the classics—think Gone with the Wind, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or My Fair Lady...

Lisa Ross65 said:Most of these are relatively recent releases. Let’s be honest—with what movie tickets cost in the US today, smashing box office records is a lot easier than it used to be. If you actually factor in inflation, the real all-time heavyweights are still the classics—think Gone with the Wind, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or My Fair Lady...

But you're forgetting there wasn't nearly this much competition back then. Between all the different media outlets now and how easy it is to just stream everything online, things have changed.

Here's the rundown of movies that cleared the 200m mark
http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltim...ion=world-wide

Oldest one on there is 'Gone with the Wind' from '39. Looks like we've got 6 flicks in the top 100 that predated 1990.

Kate Harris4 said:

TOP 50

rank - - earnings - - year

1 Titanic $1,842,879,955 1997

2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $1,119,110,941 2003

3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $1,066,179,725 2006

4 The Dark Knight $1,001,921,825 2008

5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone $974,733,550 2001

6 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $960,996,492 2007

7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $938,212,738 2007

8 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $932,242,366 2009

9 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $925,282,504 2002

10 star Wars Episode i : The Phantom Menace $924,317,558 1999

11 Shrek 2 $919,838,758 2004

12 Jurassic Park $914,691,118 1993

13 Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire $895,921,036 2005

14 Spider-Man 3 $890,871,626 2007

15 Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets $878,643,482 2002

16 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The ring $870,761,744 2001

17 Ice Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs $869,128,768 2009

18 Finding Nemo $864,625,978 2003

19 star Wars Episode ii : Revenge of The Sith $848,754,768 2005

20 Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen $831,771,875 2009

21 Spider-Man $821,708,551 2002

22 Independence Day $817,400,891 1996

23 Shrek the Third $798,958,162 2007

24 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban $795,634,069 2004

25 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $792,910,554 1982

26 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $786,636,033 2008

27 The Lion King $783,841,776 1994

28 Spider-Man 2 $783,766,341 2004

29 star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope $775,398,007 1977

30 The Da Vinci Code $758,239,851 2006

31 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Walden $745,011,272 2005

32 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe $742,128,461 2003

33 Transformers $709,709,780 2007

34 Forrest Gump $677,387,716 1994

35 The Sixth Sense $672,806,292 1999

36 Ice Age: The Meltdown $655,388,158 2006

37 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl $654,264,015 2003

38 star Wars: Episode ii : Attack of The Clones $649,398,328 2002

39 The Sixth Sense $631,736,484 2008

40 The Incredibles $631,442,092 2004

41 Hancock $624,386,746 2008

42 Ratatouille $623,707,397 2007

43 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $618,638,999 1997

44 The Passion of the Christ $611,899,420 2004

45 Mamma Mia! $609,827,661 2008

46 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $603,900,309 2008

47 Casino Royale $594,239,066 2006

48 War of the Worlds $591,745,540 2005

49 Men in Black $589,390,539 1997

50 Quantum of Solace $586,090,727 2008

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What’s your take on this list?
What do you guys think about these movies—overall, or just specific ones, whatever works best for you?
Do you feel like the money these films pulled in is actually justified—I mean, does the quality really match those massive numbers?

Not necessarily. Revenue and quality don't have to be proportional. Their earnings are perfectly realistic when you consider their commercial potential, and frankly, that’s the only metric that truly matters in this business.

I had no idea The Dark Knight actually broke the billion mark. Honestly, looking at this list, all those Harry Potter movies and the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels are a massive surprise to me. I guess I just don't see how they managed to rake in that much cash. And when you consider there was once a debate about whether Star Wars would eventually overtake Titanic, it’s wild how these films just bypassed Star Wars without much fanfare at all.

Honestly, the sheer number of animated movies on this list catches me off guard. It never really crossed my mind that something like Ice Age could pull in that kind of cash, even if it is a top-tier film... I guess I just underestimated the box office power of animation.

So, I'm looking at this IMDb list right now, and honestly, it’s kind of useless. Since they haven't adjusted the numbers for inflation, it doesn't really mean much for anything released before 1990. I guess if you want an accurate picture, you have to do the math yourself.

David Price5 said:http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

Something feels off here again. It seems like they just adjust everything based on today's ticket prices, which is honestly pretty stupid if you ask me. Based on those numbers, it looks like Gone with the Wind sold about 200 million tickets in the USA back in 1939. I mean, the US only had about 130 million people living there at the time.
Then again, if someone actually tried to calculate the real numbers, I guess even that wouldn't be easy.

It’s actually a bit tougher than it looks. You just don't know which factors to weigh anymore. I mean, just look at how much the way we consume movies has changed over the last decade—moving mostly to streaming—compared to thirty years ago when it was all about video rentals. Anyway, that list was strictly focused on the USA..

David Price5 said:It’s actually a bit tougher than it looks. You just don't know which factors to weigh anymore. I mean, just look at how much the way we consume movies has changed over the last decade—moving mostly to streaming—compared to thirty years ago when it was all about video rentals. Anyway, that list was strictly focused on the USA..

I mean, there’s a ton of stuff to consider. For starters, you’ve got the ratio of average wages to the cost of a movie ticket back then versus now, actual inflation, and so on... basically, it's complicated. And once you really dig into it, you realize the whole thing doesn't make that much sense—like, saying a movie from 2009 made this much and calling it a day. It’s just not that simple. 😁

Where on earth can one find "Gone with the Wind"?

You've also gotta take 90s movies with a grain of salt, honestly. It was a period where the USA was riding such a massive economic high for twenty years straight, and the dollar was incredibly strong.

Jerry Cooper3 said:Where on earth can one find "Gone with the Wind"?

Well, they're both on the lists..

David Price5 said:But you're forgetting there wasn't nearly this much competition back then. Between all the different media outlets now and how easy it is to just stream everything online, things have changed.

I'm with you on that—the pressure on movie theaters is massive right now between streaming, gaming, and cable TV. Still, it's much easier for a hit like Ice Age 3D to pull in $200 million across the USA when tickets in a place like New York City are priced at, say, $15.