Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Why isnt it even higherin the list? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, On an Apple device? If any film in the top 10 could be considered both a success and a disappointment it would be Joss Whedons Avengers sequel. [34] Which film is Gone with the Wind's nearest rival depends on the set of figures used: Guinness had Avatar in second place with $3billion, while other estimates saw Titanic in the runner-up spot with first-run worldwide earnings of almost $2.9billion at 2010 prices.[33]. The director ofThe Hangoverfilms wanted to make an origin story out of Batmans most infamous nemesis. The Transformers series was beginning to show its age in North America in 2014, but around the world it was more popular than ever. [30], Despite the inherent difficulties in accounting for inflation, several attempts have been made. This chart contains the top movies based on the cumulative worldwide box office. Thoughstill Fresh (67% on the Tomatometer), it was the lowest-scored Fast and Furiousmovieamong critics since the fourth film. SWThe "first run" Star Wars grosses do not include revenue from the 1997 special-edition releases; however, the figure does include revenue from the re-releases prior to the special editions. His adaptation of Michael Crichtons novel,Jurassic Park, was a return to the revered popcorn blockbusters he made his name on and it replaced the previous yearsBatman Returnsas the top opener ever with $47 million and went on to gross over $357 million that summer. is not the series biggest domestic or international earner. Cecil B. DeMille (1932, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1956) is in second place with five films and William Wyler (1942, 1946, 1959 and 1968) and James Cameron (1991, 1997, 2009 and 2022) are tied for third place with four films. Prior to 2000, only seven film series had grossed over $1billion at the box office: James Bond,[98] Star Wars,[99] Indiana Jones,[100] Rocky,[101][102][103] Batman,[104] Jurassic Park,[105] and Star Trek. Aladdinwasnt always a sure bet:A blue Will Smith was mocked in early reveals of his Genie character and Tim Burtons live-actionDumboproved to be a bust just two months before Aladdins release. Still, Johnsons film joined Episodes IV, V, and VII in the 90%+ realm on the Tomatometer and may end up being the ultimate bridge to the next generation of Star Wars fans. International | The project was met with skepticism, and then it began a run on the festival circuit. [35][38] This chart incorporates the gross of $343,550,770 from the reissue and adjusts it from the 2013 index. Highest-grossing films adjusted for inflation, Highest-grossing franchises and film series, (The films in each franchise can be viewed by selecting "show". [64] Exact figures are not known for The Birth of a Nation, but contemporary records put its worldwide earnings at $5.2million as of 1919. 2. The movie bestedToy Story 3 by over $71 million at home even if it came up a bit short of that film internationally and showed Pixars sequel business was really starting to thrive. Domestic audiences showed up for the revamped outing with Jack Sparrow, just not in the expected droves, and a mammoth international total ($804.6 million)kept Stranger Tidesin the record books. Estimates of its total earnings are as high as $100million. All rights reserved. Audiences were hungry forrepresentation on screenand looking for a thrilling re-introduction to the character, and in Ryan Cooglers action-packed, beautiful-looking epic, they got both. It hit with audiences the opening weekend haul of$147 million was almost $50 million more than any previous entry as well as with critics (its the highest-rated movie in the series at 81% on the Tomatameter). Depending on how accurate the estimates are, the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur may also have captured the record from Gone with the Wind: as of the end of 1961 it had earned $47million worldwide,[79] and by 1963 it was trailing Gone with the Wind by just $2million with international takings of $65million,[80] ultimately earning $66million from its initial release. To put that into context, the second-highest-grossing franchise is Star Wars at $10 billion. A series that has existed for 50-plus years is going to get a little help from inflation Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice would have been $300 million grossers today but were not doing inflation here. By the end of its run, the eight Harry Potterhad films grossed a combined $7.72 billion. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is also the highest-grossing franchise, amassing over $28billion at the box office. Falling foul of the Motion Picture Production Code, Mom and Dad was prevented from obtaining mainstream distribution and restricted to independent and drive-in theaters. The world had to wait some 12 years for James Cameron to follow up the biggest film of all time with what would become the new biggest film of all time. With a worldwide box-office gross of over $2.9billion, Avatar is proclaimed to be the "highest-grossing" film, but such claims usually refer to theatrical revenues only and do not take into account home video and television income, which can form a significant portion of a film's earnings. The culmination of the journey that began in 2001 also ushered in a new trend of splittingfinal chapters in halves. For example, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice belongs to not only the Batman and Superman franchises, but also to the DC Extended Universe, which is a shared universe. A franchise is typically defined to be at least two works derived from a common intellectual property. Besides the Star Wars and Superman franchises, James Bond and Godzilla films are still being released periodically; all four are among the highest-grossing franchises. [65] Its international release was delayed by World War I, and it was not released in many foreign territories until the 1920s; coupled with further re-releases in the United States, its $10million earnings as reported by Variety in 1932 are consistent with the earlier figure. The back half of the Potterfinaleset the new record for an opening weekend at the time with $169.1 million, and its $960 million international haul ranked only behind Avatar and Titanic. Minionshad thelargest opening for Illumination Entertainment ever, earning $115.7 million on its first weekend. How could the DCEU get to $1 billion? On an Apple device? The untimely passing of Heath Ledger in January 2008 was a gut punch, but it made anticipation for what would become his iconic, Oscar-winning portrayal of Batmans arch-nemesis, the Joker, even more feverish. Titanic earned $1.2billion from video and DVD sales and rentals,[1] in addition to the $2.2billion it grossed in theatres. When all was said and done, Nolans trilogy had grossed over $2.46 billion worldwide. The highest grossing film at the global box office adjusted for inflation is "Gone With the Wind," making a total gross of $3.44 billion, according to Guinness World Records. Joss Whedonsmovie became the first ever to make over $200 million in a single weekend and was Marvels first entry into theBillion Dollar Club, whichhad just 12 members at the time. The figures in the above chart take into account inflation that occurred in 2014, and in every available year since then, through 2022. With the advent of sound in 1927, the musicalthe genre best placed to showcase the new technologytook over as the most popular type of film with audiences, with 1928 and 1929 both being topped by musical films. F. Gary Grays film was a bit of a comedown from the highs of James WansFurious 7. The highest-grossing films of the last 10 years, ranked by critics. Though delayed from July until December,Titanic nevertheless became a global phenomenon the likes of which the box office had never seen at the time. Gone with the Windfirst released in 1939is generally considered to be the most successful film, with Guinness World Records in 2014 estimating its adjusted global gross at $3.4billion. Conditions of Use Well, some $300 million and an Oscar nomination for Johnny Depps portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow later, we were looking at a franchise with a modicum of respect. ), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, List of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada Adjusted for ticket-price inflation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, List of highest-grossing media franchises, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, "Over The Last 20 Years, Broadway's 'Lion King' Has Made More Money For Disney Than 'Star Wars', "Disney: 'Cars' Has Crossed $8Billion in Global Retail Sales", "Merchandise sales drive Pixar's 'Cars' franchise", "More Disney Fun and Games With 'Toy Story 4' in 2017", "The Fate of the Furious (2017) International Box Office Results: Argentina", "How Hollywood Box-Office Records Are Made", Proceedings of the Midwest Business Economics Association, "The rise of the international box office", "Why the Foreign Box Office Leads: 'Fast Five,' 'Thor' Open Overseas First", "Box-Office Records Are the Stuff of 'Legend', "Why 'Avatar' Is Not the Top-Grossing Film", "Oscars 2010: How James Cameron took on the world", "World Economic Outlook: Inflation rate, end of period consumer prices", "Titanic 3D (2012) International Box Office results", "Ridley Scott's latest 'Alien' announcement drives Hollywood's sequel problem", "All-Time Box-Office Hits By Decade and Year", "Top Films of All-Time: Part 1 Box-Office Blockbusters", "He Doth Surpass Himself: 'Avatar' Outperforms 'Titanic', "Avengers: Endgame Surpasses Avatar As #1 Global Release of All Time on Saturday", "Box Office History for James Bond Movies", "Box Office History for Star Wars Movies", "Bayonne Bleeder Throws a Punch at the Italian Stallion", "Batman Worldwide (Unadjusted) & Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", "Box Office History for Star Trek Movies", "How 'Spectre' May Stack Up With 'Thunderball' as a James Bond Blockbuster", "Star Wars: The Force Awakens second trailer sets YouTube world record", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)", "Get Ready for the Biggest 'Potter' Opening Yet", "Frozen (2013) International Box Office Results", "Frozen (2013) International Box Office Results: Japan", "Frozen (2013) International Box Office Results: Nigeria", "Frozen (2013) International Box Office Results: Spain", "Frozen (2013) International Box Office Results: United Kingdom", "Frozen (2013) International Box Office Results: Germany", "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker", "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)", "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", "Women First: Titanic, Action-Adventure Films, and Hollywood's Female Audience", "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999)", "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)", "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1987 Re-issue)", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1993 Re-issue)", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) Notes", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) Articles", "Disney Animated Features at the Worldwide Box Office", "2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Articles", "2001: A Space Odyssey (2013 re-release)", "2001: A Space Odyssey (2014 re-release)", "2001: A Space Odyssey (2018 re-release)", "The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition)", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)", "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)", "Warner Bros. Entertainment Wraps Record-Breaking Year", "Box Office: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' Lands Coveted China Release", "Jurassic Park (1993) Miscellaneous notes", "Breakeven for Feature Productions: 1966 Releases", "DC Extended Universe Worldwide (Unadjusted)", "The Fast and the Furious Worldwide (Unadjusted)", "J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World Worldwide (Unadjusted)", "Marvel Cinematic Universe Worldwide (Unadjusted)", "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2017 re-release)", "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2017 re-release)", "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2017 re-release)", "The Lord of the Rings Worldwide (Unadjusted) & The Lord of the Rings (1978)", "Mission: Impossible Worldwide (Unadjusted)", "Pirates of the Caribbean Worldwide (Unadjusted)", "Twilight/New Moon Combo (one-night-only)", All-Time Highest-Grossing Movies Worldwide, Highest-grossing musical theatre productions, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_highest-grossing_films&oldid=1152516507, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from November 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia extended-confirmed-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, As of 2019, Box Office Mojo correctly recorded that. Fourteen years later and deep into the superhero cinematic explosion, Birds sequel more than doubled the originals box office and became the highest-grossing animated film ever at the domestic box office. The Godfather was re-released in 1973 after its success at the 45th Academy Awards, and Jaws was released again in 1976, and their grosses here most likely include earnings from those releases. Spielberg became the first director to break his own record when Jurassic Park overtook E.T., and Cameron emulated the feat when Avatar broke the record set by Titanic. All rights reserved. Speaking of gathering Marvel characters for an epic showdown, 2021 provided an unexpected box office champion that would swing triumphantly into the top 10. Were they burnt out? The final chapter of the Skywalker saga may have broken the trend set by the other third entries in the franchises trilogies (each outgrossed the middle episodes), but it will become record that we may never see broken again. Lifetime grosses (outside U.S. & Canada): Original release (excluding 2009 IMAX reissue): This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 18:23. TFAThe gross for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is adjusted from the 2016 index. Privacy Policy Only 11 films have held the title of highest-grossing films of all time. [41][42] Historically, the rental price averaged at 3040% when the distributors owned the theater chains, equating to just over a third of the gross being paid to the distributor of the film. George Lucas directed two chart-toppers in 1977 and 1999, but also served in a strong creative capacity as a producer and writer in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1989 as well. List of highest-grossing Tamil films List of highest-grossing Telugu films List of highest-grossing Kannada films List of highest-grossing Iranian films List of highest-grossing Japanese films List of highest-grossing Mexican films List of highest-grossing Nepali films List of highest-grossing Nigerian films List of highest-grossing Pakistani films The four Avengers films, the two Frozen films, and the two Avatar films are the only franchises where each installment has grossed over $1billion, although the Jurassic Park and Black Panther series have averaged over $1billion per film. While not quite as well-received as the first film critically (77% vs. 90% on the Tomatometer),Frozen IIvirtually demanded that parents bring their children for a second adventure. In 1997, Cameronblew out the budget again and this time there was worry he may have gone too far. The film became not only the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie ever made, but also the most successful movie ever released by Sony Pictures en route to dominating 2021 and settling into the top 10 here. The movie featuredone of the gutsiest cliffhangers in any franchises history, leaving audiences to wait in shock for an entire year to discover how Phase 3 of the epic series would end. The movie went on to outgross the third film by over $12 million domestically. CIThe Cinerama figures represent gross amounts. But then Marvel and Disney re-released the film on June 28 with new goodies over its end credits. D. W. Griffith (1915, 1916 and 1920), George Roy Hill (1966, 1969 and 1973) and the Russo brothers (2016, 2018 and 2019) all feature heavily with three films apiece. Television broadcast rights will also substantially add to a film's earnings, with a film often earning as much as 2025% of its theatrical box office for a couple of television runs on top of pay-per-view revenues;[4] Titanic earned a further $55million from the NBC and HBO broadcast rights,[1] equating to about 9% of its North American gross. Trade journals would collate the data by either obtaining it from the distributors themselves, who were keen to promote a successful film, or by surveying theaters and constructing an estimate. Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News. the box office gross less the exhibitor's cut). Critics went from disdain for the concept before the first film was released to disdain for its epic-length and earnestness in the space of just two films,with the original movies score of 79% dropping to 53% on the Tomatometer for the sequel. (Sometimes I get busy but Monday is what I'm committing) Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc 98 titles 1. The methodology is based on the concept that films associated with things audiences are already familiar with can be more effectively marketed to them, and as such are known as "pre-sold" films within the industry.[108]. The genre continued to perform strongly in the 1930s, but the outbreak of World War II saw war-themed films dominate again during this period, starting with Gone with the Wind (American Civil War) in 1939, and finishing with The Best Years of Our Lives (World War II) in 1946. Disney also enjoyed later success with films such as Frozen and Frozen II, Zootopia, and The Lion King (with its computer-animated remake as the highest-grossing animated film), as well as its Pixar brand, of which Incredibles 2, Toy Story 3 and 4, and Finding Dory have been the best performers. The journey that began in 2008 with Iron Manwas coming to an end at least for some of the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to the five aforementioned which Lucas directed, the franchise has also had The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi (2015-2017, respectively), top a year. 7 on the domestic charts, and enter the top 20 earners worldwide at No. Rian JohnsonsThe Last Jeditook the standard dip that had afflicted other middle films in the franchise. Still, it was just the 16th film ever to cross the $400 million line domestically in its initial run. 13 with over $1.3 billion in receipts. Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Help. List of best-selling films in the United States Lists of highest-grossing films List of highest-grossing American films by year Notes ^ Spider-Man grossed approximately $4 million from September 6-15, 2002, as a double feature with Men in Black II. [39] Titanic grossed a further $762,994 during limited re-releases in 2017 and 2020, but this sum is not represented in the adjusted total.[40]. There is strong interest in the superhero genre, with ten films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring among the nominal top-earners. [56] In keeping with this new approach, the North American rental for Gone with the Wind was revised to $21million in 1947 ($11million lower than the previous figure),[58] and as of 1953following the 1947 re-releaseVariety was reporting earnings of $26million. At least, for a little while. Peter Jacksons (first) epic trilogy unfolded over three straight holiday seasons and its finale was rewarded in every fashion:Return of the Kinghistorically won all 11 Oscars that it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director;it was one of the best-reviewed films of the year (Certified Fresh at 93%);anditbecame the fourth-highest domestic grosser of all time behind justTitanic,The Phantom Menace,and Sam Raimis firstSpider-Manfilm. [1] Number-one films [ edit] Highest-grossing films [ edit] Calendar gross [ edit] Highest-grossing films of 2021 by Calendar Gross [56] Other Marvel Comics adaptations have also had success with the Spider-Man and X-Men properties, while films based on Batman and Superman from DC Comics have generally performed well. [62] All five Cinerama features collectively generated $120million in worldwide box office receipts.[63]. MDMom and Dad does not generally feature in 'high-gross' lists such as those published by Variety due to its independent distribution. The Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., and Avatar all increased their record grosses with re-releases. Once revenue from home entertainment is factored in it is not immediately clear which film is the most successful. Itwould takeAquaman to crack the$1 billion mark for the DC Extended Universe. $2.048 Billion Avengers: Infinity War (2018) 85% Domestic: $678.8 million Release date: April 27, 2018 Just shy of 10. Movies. When a film is highly exploitable as a commercial property, its ancillary revenues can dwarf its income from direct film sales. Having found success withitslive-action re-imaginings ofThe Jungle BookandBeauty and the Beast, Disney tripled down in 2019 with three new remakes. The 1970s saw a shift in audience tastes to high concept films, with six such films made by either George Lucas or Steven Spielberg topping the chart during the 1980s. The historical . The film is based on the Transformers toy line and was directed by Micheal Bay. It's only recently that the Spider-Man franchise took Harry Potter 's third place as the highest-grossing movie franchise. Commonly mistaken for home video revenue, distributor rentals are the distributor's share of the film's theatrical revenue (i.e. While inflation has eroded the achievements of most films from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, there are franchises originating from that period that are still active. incorporates its gross from the 1985 reissue but not from 2002. Part of that was likely thanks to Tom Cruise reprising his role as Pete Maverick Mitchell, but director Joesph Kosinski also utilized some strategically deployed fan service and specially developed, state-of-the-art IMAX cameras for stunning action sequences to deliver the biggest crowd-pleaser of Summer 2022. company. But it was the full embrace of the series now-signature bombast, as well as the untimely death of Paul Walker, that brought the combo of curiosity and tribute that helped make James WansFurious 7the franchises most successful entry. The opening is still 17th all-time and the movies domestic total haul is the 12th-highest ever. After just six weeks of release,Endgamewasabout$73 million away from dethroningAvatar substantial ground to make up. Since Variety at the time ranked films by their U.S. and Canadian rental, they constructed a hypothetical rental figure for the Cinerama films to provide a basis for comparison to other films in their chart: in the case of This Is Cinerama, the $50million worldwide gross was reconfigured as a $12.5million U.S. rental gross; this is exactly 25% of the amount reported by Cinerama, so Variety's formula seemingly halved the gross to obtain an estimate for the U.S. share, and halved it again to simulate a rental fee. That was just a couple million dollars shyof his 1982 classic,E.T., but re-releases in 2-D and 3-D over the years have put the film over $400 million domestic and $1 billion worldwide. Four years after the publication of J.K. Rowlings first Harry Potter book, Chris Columbus brought it to the big screen and its legions of fans turned up in record numbers. A year after J.J. Abrams launched the record-breaking continuation of George Lucas Skywalker saga, audiences were given a go-between tale to help fill in the gaps that led to the destruction of the first Death Star. [70] Although received wisdom holds that it is unlikely The Birth of a Nation was ever overtaken by a silent-era film,[71] the record would fall to 1925's Ben-Hur ($9,386,000) if The Birth of a Nation earned significantly less than its estimated gross. Vin Diesels return in the series fourth film is what really got theFast and Furiousfranchise engines revving, and Dwayne Johnsons addition in the fifth film added some humor and helped get the critics on board. All rights reserved. So keep your eyes here, and check in with our weekly weekend box office wrap-ups. The table below lists the top-grossing movie released in each calendar year (based on worldwide box office). Speaking of Disney soundtracks, it was the 2017 live-action redo and not the Best Picture-nominated animatedBeauty and the Beastfrom 1991 that really broke the bank andremains inthe record books.