List of highest - grossing films - wikipedia List of highest - grossing films Gone with the Wind held the record of highest - grossing film for twenty - five years and, adjusted for inflation, has earned more than any other film. Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights and merchandising. However, theatrical box office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. Included on the list are charts of the top box office earners ( ranked by both the nominal and real value of their revenue ), a chart of high - grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest - grossing film record, and a chart of the highest - grossing film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights and merchandise. Traditionally, war films, musicals and historical dramas have been the most popular genres, but franchise films have been among the best performers in the 21st century. Six Harry Potter films and five films from Peter Jackson 's Middle - earth series are included in the nominal earnings chart, while the Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises feature prominently. There is also continued interest in the superhero genre : Batman and Superman from DC Comics and films based on the Marvel Comics brand, such as Spider - Man, X-Men and films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have generally done well. The only films in the top ten that are not adapted from a pre-existing property or a sequel are the top two, Avatar and Titanic, both directed by James Cameron. Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney films enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home - video era. Disney also enjoyed later success with films such as Frozen ( the highest - grossing animated film ), Zootopia and The Lion King, as well as with its Pixar brand, of which the Toy Story and Finding Nemo films have been the best performers. Beyond Disney and Pixar animation, the Shrek, Ice Age and Despicable Me series have met with the most success. While inflation has eroded away the achievements of most films from the 1960s and 1970s, there are franchises originating from that period that are still active. Besides the Star Wars and Superman franchises, James Bond and Star Trek films are still being released periodically ; all four are among the highest - grossing franchises. Some of the older films that held the record of highest - grossing film still have respectable grosses by today 's standards, but no longer compete numerically against today 's top - earners in an era of much higher individual ticket prices. When properly adjusted for inflation, however, on that comparative scale Gone with the Wind -- which was the highest - grossing film outright for twenty - five years -- is still the highest - grossing film of all time. All grosses on the list are expressed in U.S. dollars at their nominal value, except where stated otherwise. Contents 1 Highest - grossing films 2 Highest - grossing films adjusted for inflation 3 High - grossing films by year 4 Timeline of highest - grossing films 5 Highest - grossing franchises and film series 6 See also 7 References 7.1 Box office sources 7.2 Franchise and series sources 7.3 Bibliography 8 External links Highest - grossing films The two highest - grossing films have both been directed and written by James Cameron. With a worldwide box - office gross of over $2.7 billion, Avatar is often 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. Once revenue from home entertainment is factored in it is not immediately clear which film is the most successful. Titanic earned $1.2 billion from video and DVD sales and rentals, in addition to the $2.2 billion it grossed in theaters. While complete sales data are not available for Avatar, it earned $345 million from the sale of sixteen million DVD and Blu - ray units in North America, and ultimately sold a total of thirty million DVD and Blu - ray units worldwide. After home video income is accounted for, both films have earned over $3 billion. Television broadcast rights will also substantially add to a film 's earnings, with a film often earning as much as 20 -- 25 % of its theatrical box - office for a couple of television runs on top of pay - per - view revenues ; Titanic earned a further $55 million from the NBC and HBO broadcast rights, equating to about 9 % of its North American gross. When a film is highly exploitable as a commercial property, its ancillary revenues can dwarf its income from direct film sales. The Lion King earned over $2 billion in box - office and home video sales, but this pales in comparison to the $6 billion earned at box offices around the world by the stage adaptation. Merchandising can be extremely lucrative too : The Lion King also sold $3 billion of merchandise, while Pixar 's Cars -- which earned $462 million in theatrical revenues and was only a modest hit by comparison to other Pixar films -- generated global merchandise sales of over $8 billion in the five years after its 2006 release. Pixar also had another huge hit with Toy Story 3, which generated almost $10 billion in merchandise retail sales in addition to the $1 billion it earned at the box office. On this chart, films are ranked by the revenues from theatrical exhibition at their nominal value, along with the highest positions they attained. Thirty - two films in total have grossed in excess of $1 billion worldwide, of which three have grossed over $2 billion, with Avatar ranked in the top position. All of the films have had a theatrical run ( including re-releases ) in the 21st century, and films that have not played during this period do not appear on the chart because of ticket - price inflation, population size and ticket purchasing trends not being considered. Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 16 February 2018 in theaters around the world. Highest - grossing films Rank Peak Title Worldwide gross Year Reference ( s ) Avatar $2,787,965,087 2009 Titanic $2,187,463,944 1997 Star Wars : The Force Awakens $2,068,223,624 2015 Jurassic World $1,671,713,208 2015 5 The Avengers $1,518,812,988 2012 6 Furious 7 $1,516,045,911 2015 7 5 Avengers : Age of Ultron $1,405,403,694 2015 8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 $1,341,511,219 2011 9 9 Star Wars : The Last Jedi $1,327,050,319 2017 10 5 Frozen $1,290,000,000 2013 11 10 Beauty and the Beast $1,263,521,126 2017 12 11 The Fate of the Furious $1,238,764,765 2017 13 5 Iron Man 3 $1,214,811,252 2013 14 10 Minions $1,159,398,397 2015 15 12 Captain America : Civil War $1,153,304,495 2016 16 Transformers : Dark of the Moon $1,123,794,079 2011 17 The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King $1,120,237,002 2003 18 7 Skyfall $1,108,561,013 2012 19 10 Transformers : Age of Extinction $1,104,054,072 2014 20 7 The Dark Knight Rises $1,084,939,099 2012 21 Toy Story 3 $1,066,969,703 22 Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man 's Chest $1,066,179,725 2006 23 20 Rogue One : A Star Wars Story $1,056,057,273 2016 24 6 Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides $1,045,713,802 2011 25 24 Despicable Me 3 $1,034,799,409 2017 26 Jurassic Park $1,029,939,903 1993 27 22 Finding Dory $1,028,570,889 2016 28 Star Wars : Episode I -- The Phantom Menace $1,027,044,677 1999 29 5 Alice in Wonderland $1,025,467,110 30 24 Zootopia $1,023,784,195 2016 31 14 The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey $1,021,103,568 2012 32 The Dark Knight $1,004,558,444 2008 33 Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone $974,755,371 2001 34 19 Despicable Me 2 $970,761,885 2013 35 The Lion King $968,483,777 1994 36 30 The Jungle Book $966,550,600 2016 37 5 Pirates of the Caribbean : At World 's End $963,420,425 2007 38 10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 $960,283,305 39 24 The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug $958,366,855 2013 40 26 The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies $956,019,788 2014 41 8 Finding Nemo $940,335,536 2003 42 6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $939,885,929 2007 43 8 Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince $934,416,487 2009 44 The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers $926,349,708 2002 45 6 Shrek 2 $919,838,758 46 46 Jumanji : Welcome to the Jungle $906,678,565 2017 47 8 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $896,911,078 2005 48 10 Spider - Man 3 $890,871,626 2007 49 15 Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs $886,686,817 2009 50 40 Spectre $880,674,609 2015 Box Office Mojo stopped updating its main total for Frozen in August 2014, while it was still in release. The total listed here incorporates subsequent earnings in Japan, Nigeria, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany up to the end of 2015 but omits earnings in Turkey, Iceland, Brazil, and Australia ( 2016 ) which amount to a few hundred thousand dollars. It was re-released in the United Kingdom in December 2017 with Olaf 's Frozen Adventure earning an additional $1,655,398. The total is rounded to $1 million to compensate for the numerical inaccuracy. In the case of The Fate of the Furious the gross is sourced from BoxOffice rather than the chart 's regular source, Box Office Mojo, after irregularities were discovered in the latter 's figure. Ongoing weekly drops in the totals for several countries -- Argentina being the worst affected -- led to a drop in the overall worldwide total. In view of what appears to be an aberration in the source an alternative figure is provided. The gross for Toy Story 3 has been corrected to $1,066,969,703, meaning that it finished one place higher at the end of its release. Disney issued an erratum to the gross for The Lion King, correcting its gross from $987.5 million to $968.5 million. This means that Despicable Me 2 finished its run ahead of it and would have ranked one place higher at the end of its release. Finding Nemo finished one place higher at the end of its original release, after taking corrections into account. Its total now stands at $940.3 million, which would put the first run at $871.0 million after deducting the 3D reissue gross of $69.3 million. Meanwhile, the total gross for The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring has been corrected to $871.5 million, which would rank below Finding Nemo 's first run once its 2011 reissue gross is deducted. Highest - grossing films adjusted for inflation Inflation rates around the world vary, complicating inflation adjustment. Because of the long - term effects of inflation, notably the significant increase of movie theater ticket prices, the list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to later films. The unadjusted list, while commonly found in the press, is therefore largely meaningless for comparing films widely separated in time, as many films from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases. To compensate for the devaluation of the currency, some charts make adjustments for inflation, but not even this practice fully addresses the issue since ticket prices and inflation do not necessarily parallel one another. For example, in 1970, tickets cost $1.55 or about $6.68 in inflation - adjusted 2004 dollars ; by 1980, prices had risen to about $2.69, a drop to $5.50 in inflation - adjusted 2004 dollars. Ticket prices have also risen at different rates of inflation around the world, further complicating the process of adjusting worldwide grosses. Another complication is release in multiple formats for which different ticket prices are charged. One notable example of this phenomenon is Avatar, which was also released in 3D and IMAX : almost two - thirds of tickets for that film were for 3D showings with an average price of $10, and about one - sixth were for IMAX showings with an average price over $14.50, compared to a 2010 average price of $7.61 for 2D films. Social and economic factors such as population change and the growth of international markets also impact on the number of people purchasing theater tickets, along with audience demographics where some films sell a much higher proportion of discounted children 's tickets, or perform better in big cities where tickets cost more. The measuring system for gauging a film 's success is based on unadjusted grosses, mainly because historically this is the way it has always been done because of the practices of the film industry : the box office receipts are compiled by theaters and relayed to the distributor, which in turn releases them to the media. Converting to a more representative system that counts ticket sales rather than gross is also fraught with problems because the only data available for older films are the sale totals. As the motion picture industry is highly oriented towards marketing currently released films, unadjusted figures are always used in marketing campaigns so that new blockbuster films can much more easily achieve a high sales ranking, and thus be promoted as a `` top film of all time '', so there is little incentive to switch to a more robust analysis from a marketing or even newsworthy point of view. Despite the inherent difficulties in accounting for inflation, several attempts have been made. Estimates depend on the price index used to adjust the grosses, and the exchange rates used to convert between currencies can also impact upon the calculations, both of which can have an effect on the ultimate rankings of an inflation adjusted list. Gone with the Wind -- first released in 1939 -- is generally considered to be the most successful film, with Guinness World Records in 2014 estimating its adjusted global gross at $3.4 billion. Estimates for Gone with the Wind 's adjusted gross have varied substantially : its owner, Turner Entertainment, estimated its adjusted earnings at $3.3 billion in 2007, a few years earlier than the Guinness estimate ; other estimates fall either side of this amount, with one putting its gross just under $3 billion in 2010, while another provided an alternative figure of $3.8 billion in 2006. Which film is Gone with the Wind 's nearest rival depends on the set of figures used : Guinness had Avatar in second place with $3 billion, while other estimates saw Titanic in the runner - up spot with first - run worldwide earnings of almost $2.9 billion at 2010 prices. The only other film that all sources agreed grossed in excess of $2 billion at recent prices is Star Wars ; according to Guinness it has earned $2.8 billion at 2014 price levels, while other sources from 2010 / 2011 put its adjusted earnings at $2.2 -- 2.6 billion. Highest - grossing films adjusted for inflation as of 2014 Rank Title Worldwide gross ( 2014 $ ) Year Gone with the Wind $3,440,000,000 1939 Avatar $3,020,000,000 2009 Star Wars $2,825,000,000 1977 Titanic $2,516,000,000 $2,516,000,000 1997 5 The Sound of Music $2,366,000,000 1965 6 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $2,310,000,000 1982 7 The Ten Commandments $2,187,000,000 1956 8 Doctor Zhivago $2,073,000,000 1965 9 Jaws $2,027,000,000 10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs $1,819,000,000 $1,819,000,000 1937 Even though the nominal gross for Star Wars : The Force Awakens surpasses the inflation - adjusted gross for both Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Jaws, inflation has occurred in the interim so it is not possible to rank it until Guinness World Records provide an updated chart of adjusted grosses. The figure for Titanic is most likely based on the gross from its 1997 theatrical release, and does not incorporate earnings from the 2012 reissue. According to the 2012 edition of Guinness World Records, the adjusted total for Titanic as of 2011 stood at $2,413,800,000, and a re-release in 2012 added a further $343,550,770 to the total. However, the 2015 edition put the adjusted total at $2,516,000,000 -- an increase of just $102,000,000 ; this is a rise of 4.2 % since 2011, an increase shared by the other adjusted totals in the chart. The 2015 edition of Guinness World Records does not provide an explicit figure for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, it does state that it is one of only two pre-1955 films -- the other being Gone with the Wind -- that are among the adjusted top ten. It placed tenth in the 2012 edition, and the eleventh highest - grossing film according to the 2015 edition is The Exorcist, which has grossed $1.794 billion adjusted to 2014 prices. The adjusted grosses for the other films on the chart increased by 4.2 percent between 2011 and 2014 according to Guinness, and using this apparent rate of inflation would take the adjusted gross for Snow White from $1.746 billion at 2011 prices to $1.819 billion at 2014 prices. High - grossing films by year Glossary : Distributor rentals Box - office figures are reported in the form of gross or distributor rentals, the latter being especially true of older films. Commonly mistaken for home video revenue, the rentals are the distributor 's share of the film 's theatrical revenue i.e. the box office gross less the exhibitor 's cut. Historically, the rental price averaged at 30 -- 40 % when the distributors owned the theater chains, equating to just over a third of the gross being paid to the distributor of the film. In the modern marketplace, rental fees can vary greatly -- depending on a number of factors -- although the films from the major studios average out at 43 %. Audience tastes were fairly eclectic during the 20th century, but several trends did emerge. During the silent era, films with war themes were popular with audiences, with The Birth of a Nation ( American Civil War ), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Big Parade and Wings ( all World War I ) becoming the most successful films in their respective years of release, with the trend coming to an end with All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930. With the advent of sound in 1927, the musical -- the genre best placed to showcase the new technology -- took over as the most popular type of film with audiences, with 1928 and 1929 both being topped by musical films. 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. Samson and Delilah ( 1949 ) saw the beginning of a trend of increasingly expensive historical dramas set during Ancient Rome / biblical times throughout the 1950s as cinema competed with television for audiences, with Quo Vadis, The Robe, The Ten Commandments, Ben - Hur and Spartacus all becoming the highest - grossing film of the year during initial release, before the genre started to wane after several high - profile failures. The success of White Christmas and South Pacific in the 1950s foreshadowed the comeback of the musical in the 1960s with West Side Story, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Funny Girl all among the top films of the decade. 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 21st century has seen an increasing dependence on franchises and adaptations, with the box office dominance of films based on pre-existing intellectual property at record levels. Films directed by Steven Spielberg have been the highest - grossing film of the year on six occasions, and on three occasions have been the highest - grossing film of all time. Steven Spielberg is the most represented director on the chart with six films to his credit, occupying the top spot in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1989 and 1993. Cecil B. DeMille ( 1932, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1956 ) and William Wyler ( 1942, 1946, 1959 and 1968 ) are in second and third place with five and four films respectively, while D.W. Griffith ( 1915, 1916 and 1920 ), George Roy Hill ( 1966, 1969 and 1973 ) and James Cameron ( 1991, 1997 and 2009 ) all feature heavily with three films apiece. 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. The following directors have also all directed two films on the chart : Frank Lloyd, King Vidor, Frank Capra, Michael Curtiz, Leo McCarey, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Stanley Kubrick, Guy Hamilton, Mike Nichols, William Friedkin, Peter Jackson, Gore Verbinski and Michael Bay ; Mervyn LeRoy, Ken Annakin and Robert Wise are each represented by one solo credit and one shared credit, and John Ford co-directed two films. Disney films are usually co-directed and some directors have served on several winning teams : Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand, Ben Sharpsteen, Wolfgang Reitherman and Bill Roberts have all co-directed at least two films on the list. Only five directors have topped the chart in consecutive years : McCarey ( 1944 and 1945 ), Nichols ( 1966 and 1967 ), Spielberg ( 1981 and 1982 ), Jackson ( 2002 and 2003 ) and Verbinski ( 2006 and 2007 ). Because of release schedules -- especially in the case of films released towards the end of the year -- and different release patterns across the world, many films can do business in two or more calendar years ; therefore the grosses documented here are not confined to just the year of release. Grosses are not limited to original theatrical runs either, with many older films often being re-released periodically so the figures represent all the business a film has done since its original release ; a film 's first - run gross is included in brackets after the total if known. Because of incomplete data it can not be known for sure how much money some films have made and when they made it, but generally the chart chronicles the films from each year that went on to earn the most. In the cases where estimates conflict both films are recorded, and in cases where a film has moved into first place because of being re-released the previous record - holder is also retained. At least one film every year has generated $100 million in gross revenue at the box office since 1967, and from 2008 each year has succeeded in producing a billion dollar grossing film. indicates films still playing in theaters around the world in the week commencing 16 February 2018. High - grossing films by year of release Year Title Worldwide gross Budget Reference ( s ) 1915 The Birth of a Nation 7007500000000000000 ♠ $50,000,000 -- 7008100000000000000 ♠ 100,000,000 7007200000000000000 ♠ $20,000,000 + ( 7006520000000000000 ♠ $5,200,000 ) 7005110000000000000 ♠ $110,000 1916 Intolerance 7006100000000000000 ♠ $1,000,000 7005489653000000000 ♠ $489,653 1917 Cleopatra 7005500000000000000 ♠ $500,000 7005300000000000000 ♠ $300,000 1918 Mickey 7006800000000000000 ♠ $8,000,000 7005250000000000000 ♠ $250,000 1919 The Miracle Man 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 7005120000000000000 ♠ $120,000 1920 Way Down East 7006500000000000000 ♠ $5,000,000 ( 7006400000000000000 ♠ $4,000,000 ) 7005800000000000000 ♠ $800,000 1921 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 7006500000000000000 ♠ $5,000,000 ( 7006400000000000000 ♠ $4,000,000 ) 7005600000000000000 ♠ $600,000 -- 7005800000000000000 ♠ 800,000 1922 Robin Hood 7006250000000000000 ♠ $2,500,000 7005930042780000000 ♠ $930,042.78 1923 The Covered Wagon 7006500000000000000 ♠ $5,000,000 7005800000000000000 ♠ $800,000 1924 The Sea Hawk 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 7005700000000000000 ♠ $700,000 1925 The Big Parade 7007180000000000000 ♠ $18,000,000 -- 7007220000000000000 ♠ 22,000,000 ( 7006613100000000000 ♠ $6,131,000 ) 7005382000000000000 ♠ $382,000 Ben - Hur 7007107380000000000 ♠ $10,738,000 ( 7006938600000000000 ♠ $9,386,000 ) 7006396700000000000 ♠ $3,967,000 1926 For Heaven 's Sake 7006260000000000000 ♠ $2,600,000 7005150000000000000 ♠ $150,000 1927 Wings 7006360000000000000 ♠ $3,600,000 7006200000000000000 ♠ $2,000,000 1928 The Singing Fool 7006590000000000000 ♠ $5,900,000 7005388000000000000 ♠ $388,000 1929 The Broadway Melody 7006440000000000000 ♠ $4,400,000 -- 7006480000000000000 ♠ 4,800,000 7005379000000000000 ♠ $379,000 Sunny Side Up 7006350000000000000 ♠ $3,500,000 7005600000000000000 ♠ $600,000 1930 All Quiet on the Western Front 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 7006125000000000000 ♠ $1,250,000 1931 Frankenstein 7007120000000000000 ♠ $12,000,000 ( 7006140000000000000 ♠ $1,400,000 ) 7005250000000000000 ♠ $250,000 City Lights 7006500000000000000 ♠ $5,000,000 7006160735100000000 ♠ $1,607,351 1932 The Sign of the Cross 7006273899300000000 ♠ $2,738,993 7005694065000000000 ♠ $694,065 1933 King Kong 7006534700000000000 ♠ $5,347,000 ( 7006185600000000000 ♠ $1,856,000 ) 7005672255750000000 ♠ $672,255.75 I 'm No Angel 7006325000000000000 ♠ $3,250,000 + 7005200000000000000 ♠ $200,000 Cavalcade 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 -- 7006400000000000000 ♠ 4,000,000 7006111600000000000 ♠ $1,116,000 She Done Him Wrong 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 + 7005274076000000000 ♠ $274,076 1934 The Merry Widow 7006260800000000000 ♠ $2,608,000 7006160500000000000 ♠ $1,605,000 It Happened One Night 7006100000000000000 ♠ $1,000,000 7005325000000000000 ♠ $325,000 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty 7006446000000000000 ♠ $4,460,000 7006190500000000000 ♠ $1,905,000 1936 San Francisco 7006604400000000000 ♠ $6,044,000 + ( 7006527300000000000 ♠ $5,273,000 ) 7006130000000000000 ♠ $1,300,000 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 7008418000000000000 ♠ $418,000,000 + ( 7006850000000000000 ♠ $8,500,000 ) 7006148842300000000 ♠ $1,488,423 1938 You Ca n't Take It With You 7006500000000000000 ♠ $5,000,000 7006120000000000000 ♠ $1,200,000 1939 Gone with the Wind 7008390525192000000 ♠ $390,525,192 -- 7008401776459000000 ♠ 401,776,459 ( 7007320000000000000 ♠ $32,000,000 ) 7006390000000000000 ♠ $3,900,000 -- 7006425000000000000 ♠ 4,250,000 1940 Pinocchio 7007870008620000000 ♠ $87,000,862 ( 7006350000000000000 ♠ $3,500,000 ) 7006260000000000000 ♠ $2,600,000 Boom Town 7006460000000000000 ♠ $4,600,000 7006210000000000000 ♠ $2,100,000 1941 Sergeant York 7006780000000000000 ♠ $7,800,000 7006160000000000000 ♠ $1,600,000 1942 Bambi 7008267997843000000 ♠ $267,997,843 ( 7006344935300000000 ♠ $3,449,353 ) 7006170000000000000 ♠ $1,700,000 -- 7006200000000000000 ♠ 2,000,000 Mrs. Miniver 7006887800000000000 ♠ $8,878,000 7006134400000000000 ♠ $1,344,000 1943 For Whom the Bell Tolls 7007110000000000000 ♠ $11,000,000 7006268129800000000 ♠ $2,681,298 This Is the Army 7006955558644000000 ♠ $9,555,586.44 7006140000000000000 ♠ $1,400,000 1944 Going My Way 7006650000000000000 ♠ $6,500,000 7006100000000000000 ♠ $1,000,000 1945 Mom and Dad 7007800000000000000 ♠ $80,000,000 / 7007220000000000000 ♠ $22,000,000 7004650000000000000 ♠ $65,000 The Bells of St. Mary 's 7007112000000000000 ♠ $11,200,000 7006160000000000000 ♠ $1,600,000 1946 Song of the South 7007650000000000000 ♠ $65,000,000 ( 7006330000000000000 ♠ $3,300,000 ) 7006212500000000000 ♠ $2,125,000 The Best Years of Our Lives 7007147500000000000 ♠ $14,750,000 7006210000000000000 ♠ $2,100,000 Duel in the Sun 7007100000000000000 ♠ $10,000,000 7006525500000000000 ♠ $5,255,000 1947 Forever Amber 7006800000000000000 ♠ $8,000,000 7006637500000000000 ♠ $6,375,000 Unconquered 7006750000000000000 ♠ $7,500,000 7006420000000000000 ♠ $4,200,000 1948 Easter Parade 7006591813400000000 ♠ $5,918,134 7006250000000000000 ♠ $2,500,000 The Red Shoes 7006500000000000000 ♠ $5,000,000 7006200000000000000 ♠ 7005505581000000000 ♠ £ 505,581 ( 7006200000000000000 ♠ ~ $2,000,000 ) The Snake Pit 7006410000000000000 ♠ $4,100,000 7006380000000000000 ♠ $3,800,000 1949 Samson and Delilah 7007142092500000000 ♠ $14,209,250 7006309756300000000 ♠ $3,097,563 1950 Cinderella 7008263591415000000 ♠ $263,591,415 ( 7007200000000000000 ♠ $20,000,000 / 7006780000000000000 ♠ $7,800,000 ) 7006220000000000000 ♠ $2,200,000 King Solomon 's Mines 7007100500000000000 ♠ $10,050,000 7006225800000000000 ♠ $2,258,000 1951 Quo Vadis 7007210370000000000 ♠ $21,037,000 -- 7007267000000000000 ♠ 26,700,000 7006762300000000000 ♠ $7,623,000 1952 This Is Cinerama 7007500000000000000 ♠ $50,000,000 7006100000000000000 ♠ $1,000,000 The Greatest Show on Earth 7007183500000000000 ♠ $18,350,000 7006387394600000000 ♠ $3,873,946 1953 Peter Pan 7008145000000000000 ♠ $145,000,000 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 -- 7006400000000000000 ♠ 4,000,000 The Robe 7007250000000000000 ♠ $25,000,000 -- 7007261000000000000 ♠ 26,100,000 7006410000000000000 ♠ $4,100,000 1954 Rear Window 7007245000000000000 ♠ $24,500,000 ( 7006530000000000000 ♠ $5,300,000 ) 7006100000000000000 ♠ $1,000,000 White Christmas 7007260000500000000 ♠ $26,000,050 ( 7007120000000000000 ♠ $12,000,000 ) 7006380000000000000 ♠ $3,800,000 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 7007250001340000000 ♠ $25,000,134 ( 7006680000000000000 ♠ $6,800,000 -- 7006800000000000000 ♠ 8,000,000 ) 7006450000000000000 ♠ $4,500,000 -- 7006900000000000000 ♠ 9,000,000 1955 Lady and the Tramp 7007883002000000000 ♠ $88,300,200 ( 7006650000000000000 ♠ $6,500,000 ) 7006400000000000000 ♠ $4,000,000 Cinerama Holiday 7007210000000000000 ♠ $21,000,000 7006200000000000000 ♠ $2,000,000 Mister Roberts 7006990000000000000 ♠ $9,900,000 7006240000000000000 ♠ $2,400,000 1956 The Ten Commandments 7007900662300000000 ♠ $90,066,230 ( 7008122700000000000 ♠ $122,700,000 / 7007552000000000000 ♠ $55,200,000 ) 7007132700000000000 ♠ $13,270,000 1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai 7007306000000000000 ♠ $30,600,000 7006284000000000000 ♠ $2,840,000 1958 South Pacific 7007300000000000000 ♠ $30,000,000 7006561000000000000 ♠ $5,610,000 1959 Ben - Hur 7007900000000000000 ♠ $90,000,000 ( 7008146900000000000 ♠ $146,900,000 / 7007661000000000000 ♠ $66,100,000 ) 7007159000000000000 ♠ $15,900,000 1960 Swiss Family Robinson 7007300000000000000 ♠ $30,000,000 7006400000000000000 ♠ $4,000,000 Spartacus 7007600000000000000 ♠ $60,000,000 ( 7007221052250000000 ♠ $22,105,225 ) 7007102840140000000 ♠ $10,284,014 Psycho 7007500000000000000 ♠ $50,000,000 + ( 7007140000000000000 ♠ $14,000,000 ) 7005800000000000000 ♠ $800,000 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians 7008215880212000000 ♠ $215,880,212 7006360000000000000 ♠ $3,600,000 -- 7006400000000000000 ♠ 4,000,000 West Side Story 7008105000000000000 ♠ $105,000,000 ( 7007318000000000000 ♠ $31,800,000 ) 7006700000000000000 ♠ $7,000,000 1962 Lawrence of Arabia 7007773248520000000 ♠ $77,324,852 ( 7007699953850000000 ♠ $69,995,385 ) 7007138000000000000 ♠ $13,800,000 How the West Was Won 7007350000000000000 ♠ $35,000,000 7007144830000000000 ♠ $14,483,000 The Longest Day 7007332000000000000 ♠ $33,200,000 7006860000000000000 ♠ $8,600,000 1963 Cleopatra 7007403000000000000 ♠ $40,300,000 7007311150000000000 ♠ $31,115,000 From Russia with Love 7007789000000000000 ♠ $78,900,000 / 7007294000000000000 ♠ $29,400,000 ( 7007125000000000000 ♠ $12,500,000 ) 7006200000000000000 ♠ $2,000,000 1964 My Fair Lady 7007550000000000000 ♠ $55,000,000 7007170000000000000 ♠ $17,000,000 Goldfinger 7008124900000000000 ♠ $124,900,000 ( 7007460000000000000 ♠ $46,000,000 ) 7006300000000000000 ♠ $3,000,000 Mary Poppins 7007440000000000000 ♠ $44,000,000 -- 7007500000000000000 ♠ $50,000,000 7006520000000000000 ♠ $5,200,000 1965 The Sound of Music 7008286214076000000 ♠ $286,214,076 ( 7008114600000000000 ♠ $114,600,000 ) 7006800000000000000 ♠ $8,000,000 1966 The Bible : In the Beginning 7007253000000000000 ♠ $25,300,000 7007180000000000000 ♠ $18,000,000 Hawaii 7007345622220000000 ♠ $34,562,222 ( 7007156000000000000 ♠ $15,600,000 ) 7007150000000000000 ♠ $15,000,000 Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? 7007300000000000000 ♠ $30,000,000 ( 7007145000000000000 ♠ $14,500,000 ) 7006761300000000000 ♠ $7,613,000 1967 The Jungle Book 7008170800000000000 ♠ $170,800,000 -- 7008199475744000000 ♠ 199,475,744 7006390000000000000 ♠ $3,900,000 -- 7006400000000000000 ♠ 4,000,000 The Graduate 7007850000000000000 ♠ $85,000,000 7006310000000000000 ♠ $3,100,000 1968 2001 : A Space Odyssey 7008138000000000000 ♠ $138,000,000 -- 7008190000000000000 ♠ 190,000,000 ( 7007219000000000000 ♠ $21,900,000 ) 7007103000000000000 ♠ $10,300,000 Funny Girl 7007800000000000000 ♠ $80,000,000 -- 7008100000000000000 ♠ 100,000,000 7006880000000000000 ♠ $8,800,000 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 7008152308525000000 ♠ $152,308,525 ( 7007371000000000000 ♠ $37,100,000 ) 7006660000000000000 ♠ $6,600,000 1970 Love Story 7007800000000000000 ♠ $80,000,000 7006226000000000000 ♠ $2,260,000 Airport 7007750000000000000 ♠ $75,000,000 7007100000000000000 ♠ $10,000,000 1971 The French Connection 7007750000000000000 ♠ $75,000,000 7006330000000000000 ♠ $3,300,000 Fiddler on the Roof 7007494000000000000 ♠ $49,400,000 ( 7008100000000000000 ♠ $100,000,000 / 7007451000000000000 ♠ $45,100,000 ) 7006900000000000000 ♠ $9,000,000 Diamonds Are Forever 7008116000000000000 ♠ $116,000,000 ( 7007457000000000000 ♠ $45,700,000 ) 7006720000000000000 ♠ $7,200,000 1972 The Godfather 7008245066044000000 ♠ $245,066,044 -- 7008286000000000000 ♠ 286,000,000 ( 7008127600000000000 ♠ $127,600,000 -- 7008142000000000000 ♠ 142,000,000 ) 7006620000000000000 ♠ $6,200,000 1973 The Exorcist 7008413071948000000 ♠ $413,071,948 ( 7008110000000000000 ♠ $110,000,000 ) 7007100000000000000 ♠ $10,000,000 The Sting 7008115000000000000 ♠ $115,000,000 7006550000000000000 ♠ $5,500,000 The Towering Inferno 7008139700000000000 ♠ $139,700,000 / 7007886500000000000 ♠ $88,650,000 7007140000000000000 ♠ $14,000,000 -- 7007150000000000000 ♠ 15,000,000 Blazing Saddles 7007800000000000000 ♠ $80,000,000 + 7006260000000000000 ♠ $2,600,000 Jaws 7008470653591000000 ♠ $470,653,591 ( 7008193700000000000 ♠ $193,700,000 ) 7006900000000000000 ♠ $9,000,000 1976 Rocky 7008225000000000000 ♠ $225,000,000 ( 7007771000000000000 ♠ $77,100,000 ) 7006107500000000000 ♠ $1,075,000 1977 Star Wars 7008775398007000000 ♠ $775,398,007 ( 7008530000000000000 ♠ $530,000,000 / 7008268500000000000 ♠ $268,500,000 ) 7007112931510000000 ♠ $11,293,151 1978 Grease 7008394954752000000 ♠ $394,954,752 ( 7008341000000000000 ♠ $341,000,000 ) 7006600000000000000 ♠ $6,000,000 1979 Moonraker 7008210300000000000 ♠ $210,300,000 7007310000000000000 ♠ $31,000,000 Rocky II 7008200182289000000 ♠ $200,182,289 7006700000000000000 ♠ $7,000,000 1980 The Empire Strikes Back 7008547969004000000 ♠ $547,969,004 ( 7008413562607000000 ♠ $413,562,607 ) 7007230000000000000 ♠ $23,000,000 -- 7007320000000000000 ♠ 32,000,000 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark 7008389925971000000 ♠ $389,925,971 ( 7008321866000000000 ♠ $321,866,000 -- 7008353988025000000 ♠ 353,988,025 ) 7007180000000000000 ♠ $18,000,000 -- 7007228000000000000 ♠ 22,800,000 1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 7008792910554000000 ♠ $792,910,554 ( 7008619000000000000 ♠ $619,000,000 -- 7008664000000000000 ♠ 664,000,000 ) 7007105000000000000 ♠ $10,500,000 -- 7007122000000000000 ♠ 12,200,000 Return of the Jedi 7008475106177000000 ♠ $475,106,177 ( 7008385845197000000 ♠ $385,845,197 ) 7007325000000000000 ♠ $32,500,000 -- 7007427000000000000 ♠ 42,700,000 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 7008333107271000000 ♠ $333,107,271 7007270000000000000 ♠ $27,000,000 -- 7007282000000000000 ♠ 28,200,000 1985 Back to the Future 7008389053797000000 ♠ $389,053,797 ( 7008381109762000000 ♠ $381,109,762 ) 7007190000000000000 ♠ $19,000,000 -- 7007220000000000000 ♠ 22,000,000 1986 Top Gun 7008356830601000000 ♠ $356,830,601 ( 7008345000000000000 ♠ $345,000,000 ) 7007140000000000000 ♠ $14,000,000 -- 7007190000000000000 ♠ 19,000,000 Fatal Attraction 7008320145905000000 ♠ $320,145,905 7007140000000000000 ♠ $14,000,000 1988 Rain Man 7008354825476000000 ♠ $354,825,476 7007300000000000000 ♠ $30,000,000 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 7008474171806000000 ♠ $474,171,806 -- 7008494000000000000 ♠ 494,000,000 7007360000000000000 ♠ $36,000,000 -- 7007554000000000000 ♠ 55,400,000 1990 Ghost 7008505702423000000 ♠ $505,702,423 7007220000000000000 ♠ $22,000,000 1991 Terminator 2 : Judgment Day 7008523774456000000 ♠ $523,774,456 ( $519,843,345 ) 7007940000000000000 ♠ $94,000,000 1992 Aladdin 7008504050045000000 ♠ $504,050,045 7007280000000000000 ♠ $28,000,000 1993 Jurassic Park 7009102993990300000 ♠ $1,029,939,903 ( 7008914691118000000 ♠ $914,691,118 ) 7007630000000000000 ♠ $63,000,000 -- 7007700000000000000 ♠ 70,000,000 1994 The Lion King 7008968483777000000 ♠ $968,483,777 ( 7008763455561000000 ♠ $763,455,561 ) 7007450000000000000 ♠ $45,000,000 -- 7007793000000000000 ♠ 79,300,000 1995 Toy Story 7008373554033000000 ♠ $373,554,033 ( 7008364873776000000 ♠ $364,873,776 ) 7007300000000000000 ♠ $30,000,000 Die Hard with a Vengeance 7008366101666000000 ♠ $366,101,666 7007700000000000000 ♠ $70,000,000 Independence Day 7008817400891000000 ♠ $817,400,891 7007750000000000000 ♠ $75,000,000 1997 Titanic 7009218746394400000 ♠ $2,187,463,944 ( 7009184320126800000 ♠ $1,843,201,268 ) 7008200000000000000 ♠ $200,000,000 1998 Armageddon 7008553709626000000 ♠ $553,709,626 7008140000000000000 ♠ $140,000,000 1999 Star Wars : Episode I -- The Phantom Menace 7009102704467700000 ♠ $1,027,044,677 ( 7008924317558000000 ♠ $924,317,558 ) 7008115000000000000 ♠ $115,000,000 -- 7008127500000000000 ♠ 127,500,000 2000 Mission : Impossible 2 7008546388105000000 ♠ $546,388,105 7008100000000000000 ♠ $100,000,000 -- 7008125000000000000 ♠ 125,000,000 2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone 7008974755371000000 ♠ $974,755,371 7008125000000000000 ♠ $125,000,000 2002 The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers 7008926349708000000 ♠ $926,349,708 ( 7008921780457000000 ♠ $921,780,457 ) 7007940000000000000 ♠ $94,000,000 2003 The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King 7009112023700200000 ♠ $1,120,237,002 ( 7009111911094100000 ♠ $1,119,110,941 ) 7007940000000000000 ♠ $94,000,000 Shrek 2 7008919838758000000 ♠ $919,838,758 7008150000000000000 ♠ $150,000,000 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7008896911078000000 ♠ $896,911,078 7008150000000000000 ♠ $150,000,000 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man 's Chest 7009106617972500000 ♠ $1,066,179,725 7008225000000000000 ♠ $225,000,000 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean : At World 's End 7008963420425000000 ♠ $963,420,425 7008300000000000000 ♠ $300,000,000 2008 The Dark Knight 7009100455844400000 ♠ $1,004,558,444 ( 7008997039412000000 ♠ $997,039,412 ) 7008185000000000000 ♠ $185,000,000 2009 Avatar 7009278796508700000 ♠ $2,787,965,087 ( 7009274906432800000 ♠ $2,749,064,328 ) 7008237000000000000 ♠ $237,000,000 Toy Story 3 7009106696970300000 ♠ $1,066,969,703 7008200000000000000 ♠ $200,000,000 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 7009134151121900000 ♠ $1,341,511,219 7008250000000000000 ♠ $250,000,000 2012 The Avengers 7009151881298800000 ♠ $1,518,812,988 7008220000000000000 ♠ $220,000,000 2013 Frozen 7009129000000000000 ♠ $1,290,000,000 ( 7009128700000000000 ♠ $1,287,000,000 ) 7008150000000000000 ♠ $150,000,000 2014 Transformers : Age of Extinction 7009110403907600000 ♠ $1,104,039,076 7008210000000000000 ♠ $210,000,000 2015 Star Wars : The Force Awakens 7009206822362400000 ♠ $2,068,223,624 7008245000000000000 ♠ $245,000,000 2016 Captain America : Civil War 7009115330449500000 ♠ $1,153,304,495 7008250000000000000 ♠ $250,000,000 2017 Star Wars : The Last Jedi 7009132705031900000 ♠ $1,327,050,319 7008200000000000000 ♠ $200,000,000 2018 Black Panther 7008419600000000000 ♠ $419,600,000 7008200000000000000 ♠ $200,000,000 (... ) Since grosses are not limited to original theatrical runs, a film 's first - run gross is included in brackets after the total if known. Canada and U.S. gross only. Distributor rental. To be ascertained. No contemporary sources provide figures for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, although The Numbers provides a figure of $8,000,000 for the North American box office gross. However, it is possible this figure has been mistaken for the gross of the 1954 remake which also earned $8,000,000 in North American rentals. Some sources such as The Numbers state that Aloma of the South Seas is the highest grossing film of the year, earning $3 million. However, no contemporary sources provide figures for Aloma of the South Seas, so it is unclear what the $3 million figure relates to. If it were the rental gross then that would have made it not only the highest - grossing film of the year, but one of the highest - grossing films of the silent era, and if that is the case it would be unusual for both International Motion Picture Almanac and Variety to omit it from their lists. It is not clear if the figure for Sunny Side Up is for North America or worldwide. Other sources put its earnings at $2 million, which may suggest the higher figure is the worldwide rental, given the confusion over international figures during this period. The figure for It Happened One Night is not truly representative of its success : it was distributed as a package deal along with more than two dozen other Columbia films, and the total earnings were averaged out ; the true gross would have been much higher. Snow White 's $418 million global cume omits earnings outside of North America from 1987 onwards. It is not absolutely clear how much Gone with the Wind earned from its initial release. Contemporary accounts often list it as earning $32 million in North American rentals and retrospective charts have often duplicated this claim ; however, it is likely this was the worldwide rental figure. 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. Distributors would often report the worldwide rental since the higher figure made the film appear more successful, while estimates were limited to performance in North America ; therefore it was not unusual for worldwide and North American rentals to be mixed up. Following the outbreak of World War II, many of the foreign markets were unavailable to Hollywood so it became standard practice to just report on North American box - office performance. In keeping with this new approach, the North American rental for Gone with the Wind was revised to $21 million in 1947 ( $11 million lower than the previous figure ), and as of 1953 -- following the 1947 re-release -- Variety was reporting earnings of $26 million. Through 1956, MGM reported cumulative North American earnings of $30,015,000 and foreign earnings of $18,964,000, from three releases. Worldwide rentals of $32 million from the initial release is consistent with the revised figures and later reported worldwide figures : they indicate that the film earned $21 million in North America and $11 million overseas from the initial release, and added a further $9 million in North America and $8 million overseas from subsequent re-releases up to 1956. Mom and Dad does not generally feature in ' high - gross ' lists such as those published by Variety due to its independent distribution. Essentially belonging to the exploitation genre, it was marketed as an educational sex hygiene film in an effort to circumvent censorship laws. 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. It was the biggest hit of its kind, and remained in continual distribution until the 1970s when hardcore pornography eventually took over. At the end of 1947 it had earned $2 million, and by 1949, $8 million ; by 1956 it had earned $22 million in rentals, representing a gross of $80 million, and would have easily placed in the top ten films in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Estimates of its total earnings are as high as $100 million. Chopra - Gant stipulates that the figure given for Unconquered is for North American box - office, but as was common at the time, the chart confuses worldwide and North American grosses. Other sources state that the takings for Forever Amber ( $8 million ) and Life with Father ( $6.5 million ) were in fact worldwide rental grosses, so it is possible this is also true of Unconquered. The Cinerama figures represent gross amounts. Since the Cinerama corporation owned the theaters there were no rental fees for the films, meaning the studio received 100 % of the box - office gross, unlike the case with most other films where the distributor typically receives less than half the gross. Since Variety at the time ranked films by their US 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 $50 million worldwide gross was reconfigured as a $12.5 million US 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 US share, and halved it again to simulate a rental fee. Variety 's ' rental ' amounts are often repeated, but have no basis in the reality of what the films actually earned -- they are hypothetical figures conceived for comparative analysis. All five Cinerama features collectively generated $120 million in worldwide box office receipts. Variety put the worldwide rental for The Greatest Show on Earth at around $18.35 million ( with $12.8 million coming from the United States ) a year after its release ; however, Birchard puts its earnings at just over $15 million up to 1962. It is likely that Birchard 's figure is just the North American gross rental, and includes revenue from the 1954 and 1960 reissues. The `` 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. Production costs were shared with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1. Timeline of highest - grossing films The Birth of a Nation pioneered many of the techniques used in filmmaking today, becoming the most successful film ever made at the time of its release. At least ten films have held the record of ' highest - grossing film ' since The Birth of a Nation assumed the top spot in 1915. Both The Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind spent twenty - five consecutive years apiece as the highest - grosser, with films directed by Steven Spielberg holding the record on three occasions and James Cameron -- the current holder -- twice. 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. Some sources claim that The Big Parade superseded The Birth of a Nation as highest - grossing film, eventually being replaced by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which in turn was quickly usurped by Gone with the Wind. Exact figures are not known for The Birth of a Nation, but contemporary records put its worldwide earnings at $5.2 million as of 1919. 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 $10 million earnings as reported by Variety in 1932 are consistent with the earlier figure. At this time, Variety still had The Birth of a Nation ahead of The Big Parade ( $6,400,000 ) on distributor rentals and -- if its estimate is correct -- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( $8,500,000 ) would not have earned enough on its first theatrical run to take the record ; although it would have been the highest - grossing ' talkie ', displacing The Singing Fool ( $5,900,000 ). Although received wisdom holds that it is unlikely The Birth of a Nation was ever overtaken by a silent - era film, 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. In addition to its gross rental earnings through public exhibition, The Birth of a Nation played at a large number of private, club and organizational engagements which figures are unavailable for. It was hugely popular with the Ku Klux Klan who used it to drive recruitment, and at one point Variety estimated its total earnings to stand at around $50 million. Despite later retracting the claim, the sum has been widely reported even though it has never been substantiated. While it is generally accepted that Gone with the Wind took over the record of highest - grossing film on its initial release -- which is true in terms of public exhibition -- it is likely it did not overtake The Birth of a Nation in total revenue until a much later date, with it still being reported as the highest earner up until the 1960s. Gone with the Wind itself may have been briefly overtaken by The Ten Commandments ( 1956 ), which closed at the end of 1960 with worldwide rentals of $58 -- 60 million compared to Gone with the Wind 's $59 million ; if it did claim the top spot its tenure there was short - lived, since Gone with the Wind was re-released the following year and increased its earnings to $67 million. 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 $47 million worldwide, and by 1963 it was trailing Gone with the Wind by just $2 million with international takings of $65 million, ultimately earning $66 million from its initial release. The 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat reportedly earned as much as $600 million, a figure that may have been inflated by gangsters in money laundering schemes. Another film purported to have been the highest - grosser is the 1972 pornographic film, Deep Throat. In 1984, Linda Lovelace testified to a United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on juvenile justice that the film had earned $600 million ; this figure has been the subject of much speculation, since if it is accurate then the film would have made more money than Star Wars, and finished the 1970s as the highest - grossing film. The main argument against this figure is that it simply did not have a wide enough release to sustain the sort of sums that would be required for it to ultimately gross this amount. Exact figures are not known, but testimony in a federal trial in 1976 -- about four years into the film 's release -- showed the film had grossed over $25 million. Roger Ebert has reasoned it possibly did earn as much as $600 million on paper, since mobsters owned most of the adult movie theaters during this period and would launder income from drugs and prostitution through them, so probably inflated the box office receipts for the film. 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. The grosses from their original theatrical runs are included here along with totals from re-releases up to the point that they lost the record ; therefore the total for The Birth of a Nation includes income from its reissues up to 1940 ; the total for Star Wars includes revenue from the late 1970s and early 1980s reissues but not from the 1997 Special Edition ; the total for E.T. incorporates its gross from the 1985 reissue but not from 2002 ; the total for Avatar -- as the current record - holder -- includes all its earnings at the present time. Gone with the Wind is represented twice on the chart : the 1940 entry includes earnings from its staggered 1939 -- 1942 release ( roadshow / general release / second - run ) along with all of its revenue up to the 1961 reissue prior to losing the record to The Sound of Music in 1966 ; its 1971 entry -- after it took back the record -- includes income from the 1967 and 1971 reissues but omitting later releases. 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. The Sound of Music, The Godfather, Jaws, Jurassic Park and Titanic increased their earnings with further releases in 1973, 1997, 1979, 2013 and 2012 respectively, but they are not included in the totals here since they had already conceded the record prior to being re-released. Timeline of the highest - grossing film record Established Title Record setting gross Reference ( s ) 1915 The Birth of a Nation $5,200,000 1940 $15,000,000 1940 Gone with the Wind $32,000,000 1963 $67,000,000 1966 The Sound of Music $114,600,000 1971 Gone with the Wind $116,000,000 1972 The Godfather $127,600,000 -- 142,000,000 1976 Jaws $193,700,000 1978 Star Wars $410,000,000 / $268,500,000 1982 $530,000,000 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $619,000,000 -- 664,000,000 1993 $701,000,000 1993 Jurassic Park $914,691,118 1998 Titanic $1,843,201,268 Avatar $2,749,064,328 $2,787,965,087 Distributor rental. Includes revenue from re-releases. If a film increased its gross through re-releases while holding the record, the year in which it recorded its highest gross is also noted in italics. Highest - grossing franchises and film series See also : List of the highest - grossing media franchises The James Bond series was the first to gross over $1 billion. Prior to 2000, only seven film series had grossed over $1 billion at the box office : James Bond, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Rocky, Batman, Jurassic Park and Star Trek. Since the turn of the century that number has increased to over fifty ( not including one - off hits such as Avatar, Titanic and Frozen ). This is partly due to inflation and market growth, but also to Hollywood 's adoption of the franchise model : films that have built - in brand recognition, such as being based on a well known literary source or an established character. 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. The films in the cross-franchise Marvel Cinematic Universe have collectively grossed the most, amassing over $13 billion at the box office, although the Eon James Bond films have earned over $14 billion in total when adjusted to current prices. The Harry Potter films are the highest - grossing series based on a single property, earning nearly $8 billion at the box office ; Harry Potter has also generated at least $3.5 billion in home video revenue, taking total consumer spending on the films to over $11 billion. If ancillary income from merchandise is included, then Star Wars is the most lucrative property ; it holds the Guinness world record for the `` most successful film merchandising franchise '' and was valued at £ 19.51 billion in 2012 ( approximately $30 billion ). With four billion - dollar grossers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars are the only series where more than two films have grossed in excess of $1 billion, and the two Avengers films comprise the only franchise where each installment has grossed over $1 billion. Avengers is also the only franchise to have a series average of over $1 billion per film, although the Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park and Finding Nemo franchises, Harry Potter films, and Peter Jackson 's Middle - earth adaptation also average over $1 billion adjusted for inflation. indicates that at least one film in the series is playing in the week commencing 16 February 2018. Highest - grossing franchises and film series ( The films in each franchise can be viewed by selecting `` show ''. ) Rank Series Total worldwide gross No. of films Average of films Highest - grossing film Marvel Cinematic Universe $13,938,090,329 18 $774,338,352 The Avengers ( $1,518,812,988 ) Phase Two $5,271,691,209 6 $878,615,202 Avengers : Age of Ultron ( $1,405,403,694 ) Avengers : Age of Ultron ( 2015 ) $1,405,403,694 Iron Man 3 ( 2013 ) $1,214,811,252 Guardians of the Galaxy ( 2014 ) $773,328,629 Captain America : The Winter Soldier ( 2014 ) $714,264,267 5 Thor : The Dark World ( 2013 ) $644,571,402 6 Ant - Man ( 2015 ) $519,311,965 Phase Three $4,855,154,636 6 $809,192,439 Captain America : Civil War ( $1,153,304,495 ) Captain America : Civil War ( 2016 ) $1,153,304,495 Spider - Man : Homecoming ( 2017 ) $880,166,924 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ( 2017 ) $863,756,051 Thor : Ragnarok ( 2017 ) $853,456,806 5 Doctor Strange ( 2016 ) $677,718,395 6 Black Panther ( 2018 ) $426,751,965 Phase One $3,811,244,484 6 $635,207,414 The Avengers ( $1,518,812,988 ) The Avengers ( 2012 ) $1,518,812,988 Iron Man 2 ( 2010 ) $623,933,331 Iron Man ( 2008 ) $585,174,222 Thor ( 2011 ) $449,326,618 5 Captain America : The First Avenger ( 2011 ) $370,569,774 6 The Incredible Hulk ( 2008 ) $263,427,551 Star Wars $8,843,285,021 10 $884,328,502 The Force Awakens ( $2,068,223,624 ) Sequel trilogy $3,395,273,943 $1,697,636,972 The Force Awakens ( $2,068,223,624 ) VII -- The Force Awakens ( 2015 ) $2,068,223,624 VIII -- The Last Jedi ( 2017 ) $1,327,050,319 Prequel trilogy $2,525,197,773 $841,732,591 The Phantom Menace ( $1,027,044,677 ) I -- The Phantom Menace ( 1999 ) $1,027,044,677 III -- Revenge of the Sith ( 2005 ) $848,754,768 II -- Attack of the Clones ( 2002 ) $649,398,328 Original trilogy $1,798,473,188 $599,491,063 A New Hope ( $775,398,007 ) IV -- A New Hope ( 1977 ) $775,398,007 V -- The Empire Strikes Back ( 1980 ) $547,969,004 VI -- Return of the Jedi ( 1983 ) $475,106,177 Anthology films $1,056,057,273 $1,056,057,273 Rogue One ( $1,056,057,273 ) Rogue One ( 2016 ) $1,056,057,273 The Clone Wars ( 2008 ) $68,282,844 J.K. Rowling 's Wizarding World $8,539,253,704 9 $948,805,967 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 ( $1,341,511,219 ) Harry Potter series $7,725,216,129 8 $965,652,016 Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 ( $1,341,511,219 ) Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 ( 2011 ) $1,341,511,219 Philosopher 's Stone ( 2001 ) $974,755,371 Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 ( 2010 ) $960,283,305 Order of the Phoenix ( 2007 ) $939,885,929 5 Half - Blood Prince ( 2009 ) $934,416,487 6 Goblet of Fire ( 2005 ) $896,911,078 7 Chamber of Secrets ( 2002 ) $878,979,634 8 Prisoner of Azkaban ( 2004 ) $796,688,549 9 IMAX Marathon ( 2016 ) $1,784,557 Fantastic Beasts series $814,037,575 $814,037,575 Where to Find Them ( $814,037,575 ) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ( 2016 ) $814,037,575 James Bond $7,040,275,645 26 $270,779,833 Skyfall ( $1,108,561,013 ) Eon series $6,838,530,927 24 $284,938,789 Skyfall ( $1,108,561,013 ) Daniel Craig 's Bond $3,174,372,309 $793,593,077 Skyfall ( $1,108,561,013 ) Skyfall ( 2012 ) $1,108,561,013 Spectre ( 2015 ) $880,674,609 Casino Royale ( 2006 ) $599,045,960 Quantum of Solace ( 2008 ) $586,090,727 Pierce Brosnan 's Bond $1,479,008,618 $369,752,155 Die Another Day ( $431,971,116 ) Die Another Day ( 2002 ) $431,971,116 The World Is Not Enough ( 1999 ) $361,832,400 GoldenEye ( 1995 ) $352,194,034 Tomorrow Never Dies ( 1997 ) $333,011,068 Roger Moore 's Bond $1,151,600,000 7 $164,514,286 Moonraker ( $210,300,000 ) Moonraker ( 1979 ) $210,300,000 For Your Eyes Only ( 1981 ) $194,900,000 The Spy Who Loved Me ( 1977 ) $185,400,000 Octopussy ( 1983 ) $183,700,000 5 A View to a Kill ( 1985 ) $152,400,000 6 Live and Let Die ( 1973 ) $126,400,000 7 The Man with the Golden Gun ( 1974 ) $98,500,000 Sean Connery 's Bond $621,500,000 6 $103,583,333 Thunderball ( $141,200,000 ) Thunderball ( 1965 ) $141,200,000 Goldfinger ( 1964 ) $124,900,000 Diamonds Are Forever ( 1971 ) $116,000,000 You Only Live Twice ( 1967 ) $101,000,000 5 From Russia with Love ( 1963 ) $78,900,000 6 Dr. No ( 1962 ) $59,500,000 Timothy Dalton 's Bond $347,400,000 $173,700,000 The Living Daylights ( $191,200,000 ) The Living Daylights ( 1987 ) $191,200,000 Licence to Kill ( 1989 ) $156,200,000 George Lazenby 's Bond $64,600,000 $64,600,000 On Her Majesty 's Secret Service ( $64,600,000 ) On Her Majesty 's Secret Service ( 1969 ) $64,600,000 Never Say Never Again ( 1983 ) $160,000,000 Casino Royale ( 1967 ) $41,744,718 5 J.R.R. Tolkien 's Middle - earth $5,884,488,087 7 $840,641,155 The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( $1,120,237,002 ) Jackson series $5,853,780,255 6 $975,630,043 The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( $1,120,237,002 ) The Hobbit $2,935,490,211 $978,496,737 An Unexpected Journey ( $1,021,103,568 ) An Unexpected Journey ( 2012 ) $1,021,103,568 The Desolation of Smaug ( 2013 ) $958,366,855 The Battle of the Five Armies ( 2014 ) $956,019,788 The Lord of the Rings $2,918,526,456 $972,842,152 The Return of the King ( $1,120,237,002 ) The Return of the King ( 2003 ) $1,120,237,002 The Two Towers ( 2002 ) $926,349,708 The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001 ) $871,939,746 The Lord of the Rings ( 1978 ) $30,471,420 6 The Fast and the Furious $5,134,895,344 8 $641,861,918 Furious 7 ( $1,516,045,911 ) Furious 7 ( 2015 ) $1,516,045,911 The Fate of the Furious ( 2017 ) $1,238,764,765 Fast & Furious 6 ( 2013 ) $788,679,850 Fast Five ( 2011 ) $626,137,675 5 Fast & Furious ( 2009 ) $363,164,265 6 2 Fast 2 Furious ( 2003 ) $236,350,661 7 The Fast and the Furious ( 2001 ) $207,283,925 8 Tokyo Drift ( 2006 ) $158,468,292 7 X-Men $4,996,632,006 10 $499,663,201 Deadpool ( $783,112,979 ) Main series $2,808,832,317 6 $468,138,720 Days of Future Past ( $747,862,775 ) Days of Future Past ( 2014 ) $747,862,775 Apocalypse ( 2016 ) $543,934,787 The Last Stand ( 2006 ) $459,359,555 X2 ( 2003 ) $407,711,549 5 First Class ( 2011 ) $353,624,124 6 X-Men ( 2000 ) $296,339,527 Wolverine series $1,404,686,710 $468,228,903 Logan ( $616,795,600 ) Logan ( 2017 ) $616,795,600 The Wolverine ( 2013 ) $414,828,246 Origins : Wolverine ( 2009 ) $373,062,864 Deadpool series $783,112,979 $783,112,979 Deadpool ( $783,112,979 ) Deadpool ( 2016 ) $783,112,979 8 Batman $4,995,812,576 15 $333,054,172 The Dark Knight Rises ( $1,084,939,099 ) Nolan series $2,463,716,216 $821,238,739 The Dark Knight Rises ( $1,084,939,099 ) The Dark Knight Rises ( 2012 ) $1,084,939,099 The Dark Knight ( 2008 ) $1,004,558,444 Batman Begins ( 2005 ) $374,218,673 Burton / Schumacher series $1,335,009,923 5 $267,001,985 Batman ( $411,348,924 ) Main series $1,252,907,544 $313,226,886 Batman ( $411,348,924 ) Batman ( 1989 ) $411,348,924 Batman Forever ( 1995 ) $336,529,144 Batman Returns ( 1992 ) $266,822,354 Batman & Robin ( 1997 ) $238,207,122 Catwoman ( 2004 ) $82,102,379 DC Extended Universe $873,634,919 $873,634,919 Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( $873,634,919 ) Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( 2016 ) $873,634,919 The Lego Batman Movie ( 2017 ) $311,950,384 Mask of the Phantasm ( 1993 ) $5,617,391 DC Universe Animated Original Movies $4,501,125 $2,250,563 The Killing Joke ( $4,462,034 ) The Killing Joke ( 2016 ) $4,462,034 Batman and Harley Quinn ( 2017 ) $39,091 1960s TV series $1,757,343 $878,672 Batman : The Movie ( $1,700,000 ) Batman : The Movie ( 1966 ) $1,700,000 Return of the Caped Crusaders ( 2016 ) $57,343 9 Spider - Man $4,843,426,428 6 $807,237,738 Spider - Man 3 ( $890,871,626 ) Raimi series $2,496,346,518 $832,115,506 Spider - Man 3 ( $890,871,626 ) Spider - Man 3 ( 2007 ) $890,871,626 Spider - Man ( 2002 ) $821,708,551 Spider - Man 2 ( 2004 ) $783,766,341 Webb series $1,466,912,986 $733,456,493 The Amazing Spider - Man ( $757,930,663 ) The Amazing Spider - Man ( 2012 ) $757,930,663 The Amazing Spider - Man 2 ( 2014 ) $708,982,323 Marvel Cinematic Universe $880,166,924 $880,166,924 Homecoming ( $880,166,924 ) Homecoming ( 2017 ) $880,166,924 10 Pirates of the Caribbean $4,524,439,761 5 $904,887,952 Dead Man 's Chest ( $1,066,179,725 ) Dead Man 's Chest ( 2006 ) $1,066,179,725 On Stranger Tides ( 2011 ) $1,045,713,802 At World 's End ( 2007 ) $963,420,425 Dead Men Tell No Tales ( 2017 ) $794,861,794 5 The Curse of the Black Pearl ( 2003 ) $654,264,015 11 Transformers $4,385,136,428 6 $730,856,071 Dark of the Moon ( $1,123,794,079 ) Bay series $4,379,286,781 5 $875,857,356 Dark of the Moon ( $1,123,794,079 ) Dark of the Moon ( 2011 ) $1,123,794,079 Age of Extinction ( 2014 ) $1,104,054,072 Revenge of the Fallen ( 2009 ) $836,303,693 Transformers ( 2007 ) $709,709,780 5 The Last Knight ( 2017 ) $605,425,157 The Transformers : The Movie ( 1986 ) $5,849,647 12 DC Extended Universe $3,767,790,815 5 $753,558,163 Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( $873,634,919 ) Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( 2016 ) $873,634,919 Wonder Woman ( 2017 ) $821,847,012 Suicide Squad ( 2016 ) $746,846,894 Man of Steel ( 2013 ) $668,045,518 5 Justice League ( 2017 ) $657,416,472 13 Despicable Me $3,708,073,676 $927,018,419 Minions ( $1,159,398,397 ) Main series $2,548,675,279 $849,558,426 Despicable Me 3 ( $1,034,799,409 ) Despicable Me 3 ( 2017 ) $1,034,799,409 Despicable Me 2 ( 2013 ) $970,761,885 Despicable Me ( 2010 ) $543,113,985 Minions ( 2015 ) $1,159,398,397 14 Jurassic Park $3,689,072,919 $922,268,230 Jurassic World ( $1,671,713,208 ) Jurassic World ( 2015 ) $1,671,713,208 Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) $1,029,939,903 The Lost World ( 1997 ) $618,638,999 Jurassic Park III ( 2001 ) $368,780,809 15 Shrek $3,510,794,482 5 $702,158,896 Shrek 2 ( $919,838,758 ) Main series $2,955,807,005 $738,951,751 Shrek 2 ( $919,838,758 ) Shrek 2 ( 2004 ) $919,838,758 Shrek the Third ( 2007 ) $798,958,162 Shrek Forever After ( 2010 ) $752,600,867 Shrek ( 2001 ) $484,409,218 Puss in Boots ( 2011 ) $554,987,477 16 The Twilight Saga $3,346,157,056 5 $669,231,411 Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 ( $829,746,820 ) Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 ( 2012 ) $829,746,820 Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 ( 2011 ) $712,205,856 New Moon ( 2009 ) $709,711,008 Eclipse ( 2010 ) $698,491,347 5 Twilight ( 2008 ) $393,616,788 6 Twilight / New Moon ( Combo ) $2,385,237 17 Ice Age $3,217,251,681 5 $643,450,336 Dawn of the Dinosaurs ( $886,686,817 ) Dawn of the Dinosaurs ( 2009 ) $886,686,817 Continental Drift ( 2012 ) $877,244,782 The Meltdown ( 2006 ) $661,483,908 Collision Course ( 2016 ) $408,579,038 5 Ice Age ( 2002 ) $383,257,136 18 The Hunger Games $2,968,191,442 $742,047,861 Catching Fire ( $865,011,746 ) Catching Fire ( 2013 ) $865,011,746 Mockingjay -- Part 1 ( 2014 ) $755,356,711 The Hunger Games ( 2012 ) $694,394,724 Mockingjay -- Part 2 ( 2015 ) $653,428,261 19 Avengers $2,924,216,682 $1,462,108,341 The Avengers ( $1,518,812,988 ) The Avengers ( 2012 ) $1,518,812,988 Age of Ultron ( 2015 ) $1,405,403,694 20 Mission : Impossible $2,778,977,995 5 $555,795,599 Ghost Protocol ( $694,713,380 ) Ghost Protocol ( 2011 ) $694,713,380 Rogue Nation ( 2015 ) $682,330,139 Mission : Impossible II ( 2000 ) $546,388,105 Mission : Impossible ( 1996 ) $457,696,359 5 Mission : Impossible III ( 2006 ) $397,850,012 21 Superman $2,554,201,360 8 $319,275,170 Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( $873,260,194 ) DC Extended Universe $1,541,305,712 $770,652,856 Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( $873,260,194 ) Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice ( 2016 ) $873,260,194 Man of Steel ( 2013 ) $668,045,518 Original series $621,814,456 5 $124,362,891 Superman ( $300,218,018 ) Christopher Reeve films $607,518,018 $151,879,505 Superman ( $300,218,018 ) Superman ( 1978 ) $300,218,018 Superman II ( 1980 ) $190,400,000 Superman III ( 1983 ) $80,200,000 Superman IV : The Quest for Peace ( 1987 ) $36,700,000 Supergirl ( 1984 ) $14,296,438 Superman Returns ( 2006 ) $391,081,192 22 Iron Man $2,423,918,805 $807,972,935 Iron Man 3 ( $1,214,811,252 ) Iron Man 3 ( 2013 ) $1,214,811,252 Iron Man 2 ( 2010 ) $623,933,331 Iron Man ( 2008 ) $585,174,222 23 Star Trek $2,266,723,196 13 $174,363,323 Into Darkness ( $467,381,584 ) Kelvin Timeline $1,189,710,370 $396,570,123 Into Darkness ( $467,381,584 ) Into Darkness ( 2013 ) $467,381,584 Star Trek ( 2009 ) $385,680,446 Beyond ( 2016 ) $336,648,340 The Original Series $621,900,000 6 $103,650,000 The Motion Picture ( $139,000,000 ) The Motion Picture ( 1979 ) $139,000,000 IV : The Voyage Home ( 1986 ) $133,000,000 VI : The Undiscovered Country ( 1991 ) $96,900,000 II : The Wrath of Khan ( 1982 ) $95,800,000 5 III : The Search for Spock ( 1984 ) $87,000,000 6 V : The Final Frontier ( 1989 ) $70,200,000 The Next Generation $455,112,826 $113,778,207 First Contact ( $150,000,000 ) First Contact ( 1996 ) $150,000,000 Generations ( 1994 ) $120,000,000 Insurrection ( 1998 ) $117,800,000 Nemesis ( 2002 ) $67,312,826 24 Madagascar $2,256,517,920 $564,129,480 Europe 's Most Wanted ( $746,921,274 ) Main series $1,883,502,299 $627,834,100 Europe 's Most Wanted ( $746,921,274 ) 3 : Europe 's Most Wanted ( 2012 ) $746,921,274 Escape 2 Africa ( 2008 ) $603,900,354 Madagascar ( 2005 ) $532,680,671 Penguins of Madagascar ( 2014 ) $373,015,621 25 Captain America $2,238,138,536 $746,046,179 Civil War ( $1,153,304,495 ) Civil War ( 2016 ) $1,153,304,495 The Winter Soldier ( 2014 ) $714,264,267 The First Avenger ( 2011 ) $370,569,774 Canada and U.S. gross only. Distributor rental. See also Lists of highest - grossing films References ^ Jump up to : Pincus - Roth, Zachary ( January 8, 2006 ). `` Producers claim prod'n has grossed over $3.2 bil at the B.O. worldwide ''. Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Avatar -- Video Sales ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Unkind unwind ''. The Economist. March 17, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Jump up ^ Vogel, Harold L. ( 2010 ). Entertainment Industry Economics : A Guide for Financial Analysis. Cambridge University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978 - 1 - 107 - 00309 - 5. Most pictures would likely receive 20 % to 25 % of theatrical box office gross for two prime - time network runs. Jump up ^ Clark, Emma ( November 12, 2001 ). `` How films make money ''. BBC News. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Jump up ^ Pincus - Roth, Zachary ( January 8, 2006 ). `` Movies are n't the only B.O. monsters ''. Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ Kennedy, Mark ( September 22, 2014 ). `` ' The Lion King ' Earns Record Box Office ''. Associated Press. Retrieved September 29, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Entertainment Glut ''. Bloomberg Businessweek. February 15, 1998. Retrieved September 25, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Pixar -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Jump up ^ Szalai, Georg ( February 14, 2011 ). `` Disney : ' Cars ' Has Crossed $8 Billion in Global Retail Sales ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 19, 2011. Jump up ^ Chmielewski, Dawn C. ; Keegan, Rebecca ( June 21, 2011 ). `` Merchandise sales drive Pixar 's ' Cars ' franchise ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Jump up ^ Palmeri, Christopher ; Sakoui, Anousha ( November 7, 2014 ). `` More Disney Fun and Games With ' Toy Story 4 ' in 2017 ''. Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 30, 2015. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Fate of the Furious ( 2017 ) -- International Box Office Results : Argentina ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 11, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Bialik, Carl ( January 29, 2010 ). `` How Hollywood Box - Office Records Are Made ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 9, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Pincus - Roth, Zachary ( July 6, 2009 ). `` Best Weekend Never ''. Slate. Retrieved August 10, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Anderson, S. Eric ; Albertson, Stewart ; Shavlick, David ( March 2004 ). How the motion picture industry miscalculates box office receipts. Proceedings of the Midwest Business Economics Association. Loma Linda University. Archived from the original ( DOC ) on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2013. Jump up ^ Gray, Brandon. `` ' Avatar ' Claims Highest Gross of All Time ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 3, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Bialik, Carl ( January 30, 2010 ). `` What It Takes for a Movie to Be No. 1 ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 9, 2011. Jump up ^ Kolesnikov - Jessop, Sonia ( May 22, 2011 ). `` Hollywood Presses Its Global Agenda ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Hoad, Phil ( August 11, 2011 ). `` The rise of the international box office ''. The Guardian. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Frankel, Daniel ( May 1, 2011 ). `` Why the Foreign Box Office Leads : ' Fast Five, ' ' Thor ' Open Overseas First ''. The Wrap. Retrieved January 4, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Bialik, Carl ( December 17, 2007 ). `` Box - Office Records Are the Stuff of ' Legend ' ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 10, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Leonhardt, David ( March 1, 2010 ). `` Why ' Avatar ' Is Not the Top - Grossing Film ''. The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Miller, Frank ; Stafford, Jeff ( January 5, 2007 ). `` Gone With the Wind ( 1939 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Shone, Tom ( February 3, 2010 ). `` Oscars 2010 : How James Cameron took on the world ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 22, 2012. Jump up ^ Hill, George F. ( June 25, 2006 ). `` Gone With The Wind, Indeed ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 13, 2013. ^ Jump up to : The Economist online ( July 11, 2011 ). `` Pottering on, and on ''. The Economist. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Guinness World Records. 60 ( 2015 ed. ). 2014. pp. 160 -- 161. ISBN 9781908843708. Jump up ^ Glenday, Craig, ed. ( 2011 ). Гиннесс. Мировые рекорды ( Guinness World Records ) ( in Russian ). Translated by Andrianov, P.I. ; Palova, I.V. ( 2012 ed. ). Moscow : Astrel. p. 211. ISBN 978 - 5 - 271 - 36423 - 5. Jump up ^ `` Titanic 3D ( 2012 ) -- International Box Office results ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 25, 2012. North America : $57,884,114 ; Overseas : $285,666,656 ^ Jump up to : Cones, John W. ( 1997 ). The feature film distribution deal : a critical analysis of the single most important film industry agreement. Southern Illinois University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8093 - 2082 - 0. Distributor rentals : It is also important to know and recognize the difference between the distributor 's gross receipts and the gross rentals. The term `` rentals '' refers to the aggregate amount of the film distributor 's share of monies paid at theatre box offices computed on the basis of negotiated agreements between the distributor and the exhibitor. Note that gross receipts refers to amounts actually received and from all markets and media, whereas gross rentals refers to amounts earned from theatrical exhibition only, regardless of whether received by the distributor. Thus, gross receipts is the much broader term and includes distributor rentals. The issue of film rentals ( i.e., what percentage of a film 's box office gross comes back to the distributor ) is of key importance... More current numbers suggest that distributor rentals for the major studio / distributor released films average in the neighborhood of 43 % of box office gross. Again, however, such an average is based on widely divergent distributor rental ratios on individual films. Jump up ^ Marich, Robert ( 2009 ) ( 1st. pub. Focal Press : 2005 ). Marketing to moviegoers : a handbook of strategies used by major studios and independents ( 2 ed. ). Southern Illinois University Press. p. 252. ISBN 9780809328840. Rentals are the distributors ' share of the box office gross and typically set by a complex, two - part contract. Jump up ^ Balio, Tino ( 2005 ). The American film industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 296. ISBN 978 - 0 - 299 - 09874 - 2. Film Rentals as Percent of Volume of Business ( 1939 ) : 36.4 Jump up ^ Balio, Tino ( 1987 ). United Artists : the Company that Changed the Film Industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 124 -- 125. ISBN 978 - 0 - 299 - 11440 - 4. To rekindle interest in the movies, Hollywood not only had to compete with television but also with other leisure - time activities... Movies made a comeback by 1955, but audiences had changed. Moviegoing became a special event for most people, creating the phenomenon of the big picture. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 179. `` Later epics proved far more disastrous for the backers. Samuel Bronston 's The Fall of the Roman Empire, filmed in Spain, cost $17,816,876 and grossed only $1.9 million in America. George Stevens 's long - gestating life of Christ, The Greatest Story Ever Told ( 1965 ), which had been in planning since 1954 and in production since 1962, earned domestic rentals of $6,962,715 on a $21,481,745 negative cost, the largest amount yet spent on a production made entirely within the United States. The Bible -- in the Beginning... ( 1966 ) was financed by the Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis from private investors and Swiss banks. He then sold distribution rights outside Italy jointly to Fox and Seven Arts for $15 million ( 70 percent of which came from Fox ), thereby recouping the bulk of his $18 million investment. Although The Bible returned a respectable world rental of $25.3 million, Fox was still left with a net loss of just over $1.5 million. It was the last biblical epic to be released by any major Hollywood studio for nearly twenty years. '' Jump up ^ Williams, Trey ( September 25, 2015 ). `` Ridley Scott 's latest ' Alien ' announcement drives Hollywood 's sequel problem ''. MarketWatch. Retrieved May 12, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Yearly Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Movie Index By Year ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jump up ^ Dirks, Tim. `` All - Time Box - Office Hits By Decade and Year ''. Filmsite.org. American Movie Classics. Retrieved January 5, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Towering Inferno ( 1974 ) ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Finler 2003, p. 358 Jump up ^ Milwaukee Magazine. 32. 2007. The year 's top -- grossing movie, Aloma made $3 million in the first three months and brought Gray back to Milwaukee for its opening at the Wisconsin Theatre. ( Online copy at Google Books ) Jump up ^ Parkinson, David ( 2007 ). The Rough Guide to Film Musicals. Dorling Kindersley. p. 28. ISBN 9781843536505. But they had previously succeeded in showing how musicals could centre on ordinary people with Sunny Side Up ( 1929 ), which had grossed $2 million at the box office and demonstrated a new maturity and ingenuity in the staging of story and dance. ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, pp. 6 -- 7. `` For similar reasons of accountability, Variety has typically used figures for domestic ( U.S. and Canadian ) rather than worldwide revenue. This became its standard policy in 1940, when the advent of war in Europe persuaded the American film industry ( temporarily, as it turned out ) that it should be wholly reliant on the home market for profitability. Where specific rentals data are reported in Variety before this ( which tended to be only sporadically ) they were often for worldwide rather domestic performance. This was also the case with other trade sources, such as Quigley 's annual Motion Picture Almanac, which published its own all - time hits lists from the early 1930s onward. The subsequent confusion of domestic and worldwide figures, and of rental and box - office figures, has plagued many published accounts of Hollywood history ( sometimes including those in Variety itself ), and we have attempted to be diligant in clarifying the differences between them. '' Jump up ^ Shearer, Lloyd ( October 26, 1947 ). `` GWTW : Supercolossal Saga of an Epic ''. The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Cinema : The Big Grossers ''. Time. February 2, 1953. Retrieved September 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 129. `` Domestic Rentals : $30,015,000 ( 61 % ) ; Foreign Rentals : $18,964,000 ( 39 % )... Gone with the Wind includes initial release plus four rereleases ( 1941, 1942, 1947 and 1954 ) since foreign rental revenues were available only cumulative through 1956. '' Jump up ^ McDermott, Christine ( 2010 ), Life with Father, p. 307, No matter what the billing, the movie became a worldwide hit with $6.5 million in worldwide rentals, from Pappa och vi in Sweden to Vita col padre in Italy, although it booked a net loss of $350,000. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Mulligan, Hugh A. ( September 23, 1956 ). `` Cinerama Pushing Ahead As Biggest Money - Maker ''. The Register - Guard. Eugene, Oregon. p. 7B. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 145. `` The commercial success of the five Cinerama travelogues, which earned an aggregate worldwide box - office gross of $120 million by 1962 ( including $82 million in the United States and Canada ), nevertheless demonstrated to the mainstream industry the market value of special screen formats. '' ^ Jump up to : Dirks, Tim. `` Top Films of All - Time : Part 1 -- Box - Office Blockbusters ''. Filmsite.org. Retrieved August 11, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Wasko, Janet ( 1986 ). `` D.W. Griffiths and the banks : a case study in film financing ''. In Kerr, Paul. The Hollywood Film Industry : A Reader. Routledge. p. 34. ISBN 9780710097309. Various accounts have cited $15 to $18 million profits during the first few years of release, while in a letter to a potential investor in the proposed sound version, Aitken noted that a $15 to $18 million box - office gross was a ' conservative estimate '. For years Variety has listed The Birth of a Nation 's total rental at $50 million. ( This reflects the total amount paid to the distributor, not box - office gross. ) This ' trade legend ' has finally been acknowledged by Variety as a ' whopper myth ', and the amount has been revised to $5 million. That figure seems far more feasible, as reports of earnings in the Griffith collection list gross receipts for 1915 -- 1919 at slightly more than $5.2 million ( including foreign distribution ) and total earnings after deducting general office expenses, but not royalties, at about $2 million. Jump up ^ `` Biggest Money Pictures ''. Variety. June 21, 1932. p. 1. Cited in `` Biggest Money Pictures ''. Cinemaweb. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2015. Jump up ^ `` ' Peter Pan ' flies again ''. Daily Record. Ellensburg, Washington. United Press International. July 21, 1989. p. 16. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 237. `` By the end of 1938, it had grossed more than $8 million in worldwide rentals and was ranked at the time as the second - highest - grossing film after the 1925 epic Ben - Hur ''. Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 47. `` Walt Disney took a big risk when he decided to invest $1.5 million in his first feature - length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It became the biggest hit of the sound era and the largest - grossing movie since The Birth of a Nation -- until the release of independent producer David O. Selznick 's Gone with the Wind just two years later. '' Jump up ^ Barrios, Richard ( 1995 ). A Song in the Dark : The Birth of the Musical Film. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780195088113. Since it 's rarely seen today, The Singing Fool is frequently confused with The Jazz Singer ; although besides Jolson and a pervasively maudlin air the two have little in common. In the earlier film Jolson was inordinately attached to his mother and sang `` Mammy '' ; here the fixation was on his young son, and `` Sonny Boy '' became an enormous hit. So did the film, which amassed a stunning world - wide gross of $5.9 million... Some sources give it as the highest gross of any film in its initial release prior to Gone with the Wind. This is probably overstating it -- MGM 's records show that Ben - Hur and The Big Parade grossed more, and no one knows just how much The Birth of a Nation brought in. Still, by the standards of the time it 's an amazing amount. Jump up ^ Everson, William K. ( 1998 ) ( First published 1978 ). American silent film. Da Capo Press. p. 374. ISBN 978 - 0 - 306 - 80876 - 0. Putting The Birth of a Nation in fifth place is open to question, since it is generally conceded to be the top - grossing film of all time. However, it has always been difficult to obtain reliable box - office figures for this film, and it may have been even more difficult in the mid-1930's. After listing it until the mid-1970's as the top - grosser, though finding it impossible to quote exact figures, Variety, the trade journal, suddenly repudiated the claim but without giving specific details or reasons. On the basis of the number of paid admissions, and continuous exhibition, its number one position seems justified. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 163. `` MGM 's silent Ben - Hur, which opened at the end of 1925, had out - grossed all the other pictures released by the company in 1926 combined. With worldwide rentals of $9,386,000 on first release it was, with the sole possible exception of The Birth of a Nation, the highest - earning film of the entire silent era. '' ^ Jump up to : du Brow, Rick ( September 22, 1965 ). `` Documentary On The Klan Made Quite An Impact On Du Brow ''. The Columbus Dispatch. p. 12. Jump up ^ Hodgkinson, Will ( April 12, 2004 ). `` Culture quake : The Birth of a Nation ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 31, 2012. Jump up ^ Thomas, Bob ( January 18, 1963 ). `` ' West Side Story ' Earned $19 Million Last Year ''. Reading Eagle. Associated Press. p. 20. Jump up ^ Klopsch, Louis ; Sandison, George Henry ; Talmage, Thomas De Witt ( 1965 ). `` Christian Herald ''. 88 : 68. Yet `` The Ten Commandments '' has earned 58 million dollars in film rentals and is expected to bring in 10 to 15 million each year it is reissued. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, pp. 160 -- 161. `` General release began at normal prices in 1959 and continued until the end of the following year, when the film was temporarily withdrawn ( the first of several reissues came in 1966 ). The worldwide rental by this time was around $60 million. In the domestic market it dislodged Gone with the Wind from the number one position on Variety 's list of All - Time Rentals Champs. GWTW had hitherto maintained its lead through several reissues ( and was soon to regain it through another in 1961 ). '' Jump up ^ Oviatt, Ray ( April 16, 1961 ). `` The Memory Is n't Gone With The Wind ''. Toledo Blade. p. 67 -- 68. Jump up ^ `` Ben - Hur ( 1959 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 17, 2012. Jump up ^ Thomas, Bob ( August 1, 1963 ). `` Movie Finances Are No Longer Hidden From Scrutiny ''. The Robesonian. Associated Press. p. 10. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 324. `` Worldwide rentals : $66.1 million ( initial release ) '' Jump up ^ Washington ( AP ) ( September 13, 1984 ). `` ' Deep Throat ' star against pornography ''. The Free Lance -- Star. p. 12. Jump up ^ Hiltzik, Michael ( February 24, 2005 ). `` ' Deep Throat ' Numbers Just Do n't Add Up ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 2, 2012. Jump up ^ Memphis ( UPI ) ( May 1, 1976 ). `` ' Deep Throat ' Defendant Found Guilty of Conspiring ''. The Palm Beach Post. p. A2. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( February 11, 2005 ). `` Inside Deep Throat ''. rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun - Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2012. Jump up ^ Bartel, Pauline ( 1989 ). The Complete Gone with the Wind Trivia Book : The Movie and More. Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 978 - 0 - 87833 - 619 - 7. At the end of the 1941 general release, MGM decided to withdraw GWTW again. The prints were battered, but the studio believed one final fling for GWTW was possible. The film returned to movie theaters for the third time in the spring of 1942 and stayed in release until late 1943... When MGM finally pulled the film from exhibition, all worn - out prints were destroyed, and GWTW was at last declared out of circulation. MGM, which by then had sole ownership of the film, announced that GWTW had grossed over $32 million. Jump up ^ Dick, Bernard F. ( 1997 ). City of Dreams : The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. p. 168. ISBN 9780813120164. Jaws ( 1975 ) saved the day, grossing $104 million domestically and $132 million worldwide by January 1976. Jump up ^ Kilday, Gregg ( July 5, 1977 ). `` Director of ' Jaws II ' Abandons His ' Ship ' ''. The Victoria Advocate. p. 6B. Jump up ^ New York ( AP ) ( May 26, 1978 ). `` Scariness of Jaws 2 unknown quantity ''. The StarPhoenix. p. 21. Jump up ^ Fenner, Pat C. ( January 16, 1978 ). `` Independent Action ''. Evening Independent. p. 11 - A. Jump up ^ Cook, David A. ( 2002 ). Lost Illusions : American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970 -- 1979. Volume 9 of History of the American Cinema, Charles Harpole. University of California Press. p. 50. ISBN 9780520232655. The industry was stunned when Star Wars earned nearly $3 million in its first week and by the end of August had grossed $100 million ; it played continuously throughout 1977 -- 1978, and was officially re-released in 1978 and 1979, by the end of which it had earned $262 million in rentals worldwide to become the top - grossing film of all time -- a position it would maintain until surpassed by Universal 's E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial in January 1983. Jump up ^ `` Titanic sinks competitors without a trace ''. BBC News. BBC. February 25, 1998. Retrieved August 13, 2010. Jump up ^ Cieply, Michael ( January 26, 2010 ). `` He Doth Surpass Himself : ' Avatar ' Outperforms ' Titanic ' ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2010. Jump up ^ Segers, Frank ( January 25, 2010 ). `` ' Avatar ' breaks ' Titanic ' worldwide record ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Box Office History for James Bond Movies ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Box Office History for Star Wars Movies ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Indiana Jones -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jump up ^ Anderson, Dave ( November 16, 2003 ). `` Bayonne Bleeder Throws a Punch at the Italian Stallion ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Schneiderman, R.M. ( August 10, 2006 ). `` Stallone Settles With The ' Real ' Rocky ''. Forbes. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Poller, Kenneth G. ( November 12, 2003 ). `` Charles Wepner v. Sylvester Stallone '' ( PDF ). Mango & Iacoviello. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Batman -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) & Batman : Mask of the Phantasm ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Jurassic Park -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Box Office History for Star Trek Movies ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Movie Franchises ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2017. Jump up ^ Prior to the release of Skyfall in 2012, the James Bond series had grossed approximately $12.5 billion at 2011 prices ; after factoring in earnings of almost $2 billion from Skyfall and Spectre, the series has earned at least $14 billion adjusted for inflation. Jump up ^ Nash, Bruce ( July 21, 2011 ). `` Analysis : Harry Potter and the Big Pile of Money ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 7, 2013. Jump up ^ Harrod, Horatia ( May 17, 2011 ). `` Pixar 's $6 billion playthings ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Jump up ^ Swatman, Rachel ( June 16, 2015 ). `` Star Wars : The Force Awakens second trailer sets YouTube world record ''. Guinness World Records. Retrieved June 17, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Field Listings -- Exchange Rates ''. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved June 17, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Finding Dory vs. Finding Nemo '' ( North American `` domestic '' grosses adjusted to 2016 prices ). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 21, 2016. Box Office sources ^ Jump up to : Avatar Total : `` Avatar ( 2009 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. $2,787,965,087 Total as of 2013 : `` Avatar ( 2009 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. $2,782,275,172 Special edition : `` Avatar ( Special Edition ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. North America : $10,741,486 ; Overseas : $22,469,358 Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Titanic Total : `` Titanic ( 1997 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 10, 2017. $2,187,425,379 Original release : `` Titanic ( 1997 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. $1,843,201,268 ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 16, 2001. ^ Jump up to : `` Star Wars : The Force Awakens ( 2015 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 15, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Jurassic World ( 2015 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 24, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` The Avengers ( 2012 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 28, 2017. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Furious 7 ( 2015 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 23, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Avengers : Age of Ultron ( 2015 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ( 2011 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 7, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Star Wars : The Last Jedi ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 19, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Frozen `` Frozen ( 2013 ) -- International Box Office Results ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Worldwide -- $1,274,219,009 ( total as of August 8, 2014 ; including Japanese gross up to August 3, Spanish gross up to July 27, UK gross up to June 8, German gross up to March 30, and omitting Nigerian gross ) `` Frozen ( 2013 ) -- International Box Office Results : Japan ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 3, 2014. Total as of August 3, 2014 : $247,650,477 Total as of August 31, 2014 : $249,036,646 `` Frozen ( 2013 ) -- International Box Office Results : Nigeria ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 3, 2014. Total as of August 17, 2014 : $167,333 `` Frozen ( 2013 ) -- International Box Office Results : Spain ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 6, 2014. Total as of July 27, 2014 : $21,668,593 Total as of November 2, 2014 : $22,492,845 `` Frozen ( 2013 ) -- International Box Office Results : United Kingdom ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 30, 2016. Total as of June 8, 2014 : £ 39,090,985 Total as of November 30, 2014 : £ 40,960,083 ( $1 = £ 0.63866 ) Total as of December 7, 2014 : £ 41,087,765 ( $1 = £ 0.64136 ) Total as of December 14, 2014 : £ 41,170,608 ( $1 = £ 0.636 ) Total as of November 26, 2017 : £ 42,840,559 ( $1 = £ 0.7497 ) Total as of December 3, 2017 : £ 42,976,318 ( $1 = £ 0.742 ) `` Frozen ( 2013 ) -- International Box Office Results : Germany ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 30, 2016. Total as of March 30, 2014 : € 35,098,170 Total as of October 18, 2015 : € 42,526,744 nb. the exact euro to dollar conversion rate is unknown for earnings since April 2014, but the euro never fell below parity with the dollar during 2014 and 2015 ( as can be verified by comparing the exchange rate on the individual date entries at the provided reference ) so an approximate conversion rate of € 1 : $1 is used here to give a lower - bound. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Beauty and the Beast ( 2017 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Fate of the Furious ( 2017 - 04 - 14 ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved January 11, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Iron Man 3 ( 2013 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 28, 2013. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Minions ( 2015 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 2, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Captain America : Civil War ( 2016 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 24, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Transformers : Dark of the Moon ( 2011 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 18, 2014. ^ Jump up to : The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King Total : `` The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 4, 2012. $1,119,929,521 Re-release ( 2011 ) : `` The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2011 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 4, 2012. North America : $818,580 Re-release ( 2017 ) : `` The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2017 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 6, 2017. South Korea : $307,481 ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 5, 2004. Jump up ^ `` Skyfall ( 2012 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2013. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Transformers : Age of Extinction ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 17, 2015. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Dark Knight Rises ( 2012 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 14, 2012. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Toy Story 3 ( 2010 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 17, 2010. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man 's Chest ( 2006 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 1, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Rogue One : A Star Wars Story ( 2016 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 11, 2017. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 22, 2011. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Despicable Me 3 ( 2017 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 13, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Jurassic Park Total : `` Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 15, 2013. Worldwide : $1,029,153,882 ; Production Budget : $63 million Original release : `` Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013. $914,691,118 2011 re-release : `` Jurassic Park ( 2011 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 17, 2015. United Kingdom : $786,021 As of 2010 : Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 756 -- 757. `` Production Cost : $70.0 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s )... Jurassic Park was a smash at the box office, bringing in $920 million in worldwide box office and spawning two sequels. '' ^ Jump up to : Krämer, Peter ( 1999 ). `` Women First : Titanic, Action - Aventure Films, and Hollywood 's Female Audience ''. In Sandler, Kevin S. ; Studlar, Gaylyn. Titanic : Anatomy of a Blockbuster. Rutgers University Press. pp. 108 -- 131. ISBN 9780813526690. p. 130 : The list has Jurassic Park at number one with $913 million, followed by The Lion King... Jump up ^ `` Finding Dory ( 2016 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 24, 2017. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 25, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace Total : `` Star Wars : Episode I -- The Phantom Menace ( 1999 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 2, 2012. $1,027,044,677 Original release : `` Star Wars : Episode I -- The Phantom Menace ( 1999 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2012. $924,317,558 Jump up ^ `` Alice in Wonderland ( 2010 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 17, 2011. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Zootopia ( 2016 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 7, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey ( 2012 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. ^ Jump up to : The Dark Knight Total : `` The Dark Knight ( 2008 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 28, 2012. Total : $1,004,558,444 Original release ( excluding 2009 IMAX reissue ) : `` The Dark Knight ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2012. North America : $531,039,412 ( as of January 22, 2009 ) ; Overseas : $466,000,000 ; IMAX re-release : January 23, 2009 2009 IMAX re-release : `` Warner Bros. Entertainment Wraps Record - Breaking Year ''. Warner Bros. January 8, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2016. With worldwide receipts of $997 million, `` The Dark Knight '' is currently fourth on the all - time box office gross list, and the film is being re-released theatrically on January 23. First - run gross and IMAX reissue : Gray, Brandon ( February 20, 2009 ). `` Billion Dollar Batman ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 7, 2014. The Dark Knight had been hovering just shy of $1 billion for several months and reportedly sat at $997 million when Warner Bros. modestly relaunched it on Jan. 23, timed to take advantage of the announcement of the Academy Awards nominations on Jan. 22. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone ( 2001 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Bloomberg News ( February 19, 2002 ). `` ' Harry Potter ' Moves Into No. 2 Position ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 20, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Despicable Me 2 ( 2013 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 24, 2013. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. ^ Jump up to : The Lion King Total : `` The Lion King ( 1994 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Worldwide : $968,483,777 ; Production Budget : $45 million Lifetime grosses ( US & Canada ) : `` The Lion King ( 1994 ) -- Release Summary ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Initial : $312,855,561 ; IMAX : $15,686,215 ; 3D : $94,242,001 Lifetime grosses ( outside US & Canada ) : Brevert, Brad ( May 29, 2016 ). `` ' X-Men ' & ' Alice ' Lead Soft Memorial Day Weekend ; Disney Tops $4 Billion Worldwide ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 29, 2016... the original release of The Lion King made $450.6 million internationally, an additional $3.8 million with the 2002 IMAX reissue, and another $91.3 million from 2011 's 3D reissue for an international total of $545.7 million. As of 2010 : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 764. `` Production Cost : $79.3 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ `` The Jungle Book ( 2016 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 12, 2016. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Pirates of the Caribbean : At World 's End ( 2007 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 15, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ( 2010 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 17, 2011. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug ( 2013 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2014. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies ( 2014 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 23, 2015. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Finding Nemo ( 2003 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 20, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ( 2007 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 5, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince ( 2009 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 5, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 4, 2009. ^ Jump up to : The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers Total : `` The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 4, 2012. $926,047,111 Re-release ( 2003 ) : `` The Two Towers ( Re-issue ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 4, 2012. North America : $1,996,877 ; Overseas : $1,505,170 Re-release ( 2011 ) : `` The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers ( 2011 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 4, 2012. North America : $764,607 Re-release ( 2017 ) : `` The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers ( 2017 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 6, 2017. South Korea : $302,597 Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 7, 2003. ^ Jump up to : `` Shrek 2 ( 2002 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 5, 2009. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Jump up ^ `` Jumanji : Welcome to the Jungle ( 2017 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 18, 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ( 2005 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2010. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 4, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Spider - Man 3 ( 2007 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2010. Jump up ^ `` All Time Worldwide Box Office ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs ( 2009 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Spectre ( 2015 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 21, 2016. Jump up ^ Monaco, James ( 2009 ). How to Read a Film : Movies, Media, and Beyond. Oxford University Press. p. 262. ISBN 9780199755790. The Birth of a Nation, costing an unprecedented and, many believed, thoroughly foolhardy $110,000, eventually returned $20 million and more. The actual figure is hard to calculate because the film was distributed on a `` states ' rights '' basis in which licenses to show the film were sold outright. The actual cash generated by The Birth of a Nation may have been as much as $50 million to $100 million, an almost inconceivable amount for such an early film. ^ Jump up to : Wasko, Janet ( 1986 ). `` D.W. Griffiths and the banks : a case study in film financing ''. In Kerr, Paul. The Hollywood Film Industry : A Reader. Routledge. p. 34. ISBN 9780710097309. Various accounts have cited $15 to $18 million profits during the first few years of release, while in a letter to a potential investor in the proposed sound version, Aitken noted that a $15 to $18 million box - office gross was a ' conservative estimate '. For years Variety has listed The Birth of a Nation 's total rental at $50 million. ( This reflects the total amount paid to the distributor, not box - office gross. ) This ' trade legend ' has finally been acknowledged by Variety as a ' whopper myth ', and the amount has been revised to $5 million. That figure seems far more feasible, as reports of earnings in the Griffith collection list gross receipts for 1915 -- 1919 at slightly more than $5.2 million ( including foreign distribution ) and total earnings after deducting general office expenses, but not royalties, at about $2 million. Jump up ^ Lang, Robert, ed. ( 1994 ). The Birth of a nation : D.W. Griffith, director. Rutgers University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8135 - 2027 - 8. The film eventually cost $110,000 and was twelve reels long. ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 26. Intolerance : `` Domestic Rentals : $1.0 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Cleopatra : `` Domestic Rentals : $0.5 ; Production Cost : $0.3 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Birchard, Robert S. ( 2010 ), Intolerance, p. 45, Intolerance was the most expensive American film made up until that point, costing a total of $489,653, and its performance at the box... but it did recoup its cost and end with respectable overall numbers. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Coons, Robin ( June 30, 1939 ). `` Hollywood Chatter ''. The Daytona Beach News - Journal. p. 6. Jump up ^ Shipman, David ( 1970 ). The great movie stars : the golden years. Crown Publishing Group. p. 98. It was a low budgeter -- $120,000 -- but it grossed world - wide over $3 million and made stars of Chaney and his fellow - players, Betty Compson and Thomas Meighan. ^ Jump up to : `` Biggest Money Pictures ''. Variety. June 21, 1932. p. 1. Cited in `` Biggest Money Pictures ''. Cinemaweb. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Solomon, Aubrey ( 2011 ). The Fox Film Corporation, 1915 -- 1935 : A History and Filmography. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786462865. Way Down East : p. 52. `` D.W. Griffith 's Way Down East ( 1920 ) was projected to return rentals of $4,000,000 on an $800,000 negative. This figure was based on the amounts earned from its roadshow run, coupled with its playoff in the rest of the country 's theaters. Griffith had originally placed the potential film rental at $3,000,000 but, because of the success of the various roadshows that were running the $4,000,000 total was expected. The film showed a profit of $615,736 after just 23 weeks of release on a gross of $2,179,613. '' What Price Glory ? : p. 112. `` What Price Glory hit the jackpot with massive world rentals of $2,429,000, the highest figure in the history of the company. Since it was also the most expensive production of the year at $817,000 the profit was still a healthy $796,000... '' Cavalcade : p. 170. `` The actual cost of Cavalcade was $1,116,000 and it was most definitely not guaranteed a success. In fact, if its foreign grosses followed the usual 40 percent of domestic returns, the film would have lost money. In a turnaround, the foreign gross was almost double the $1,000,000 domestic take to reach total world rentals of $3,000,000 and Fox 's largest profit of the year at $664,000. '' State Fair : p. 170. `` State Fair did turn out to be a substantial hit with the help of Janet Gaynor boosting Will Rogers back to the level of money - making star. Its prestige engagements helped raked in a total $1,208,000 in domestic rentals. Surprisingly, in foreign countries unfamiliar with state fairs, it still earned a respectable $429,000. With its total rentals, the film ended up showing a $398,000 profit. '' Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 53. `` The Four Forsemen of the Apocalypse was to become Metro 's most expensive production and one of the decade 's biggest box - office hits. Its production costs have been estimated at `` something between $600,000 and $800,000. '' Variety estimated its worldwide gross at $4 million in 1925 and at $5 million in 1944 ; in 1991, it estimated its cumulative domestic rentals at $3,800,000. '' Jump up ^ Brownlow, Kevin ( 1968 ). The parade 's gone by... University of California Press. p. 255. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 03068 - 8. The negative cost was about $986,000, which did not include Fairbanks ' own salary. Once the exploitation and release prints were taken into account, Robin Hood cost about $1,400,000 -- exceeding both Intolerance ( $700,000 ) and the celebrated `` million dollar movie '' Foolish Wives. But it earned $2,500,000. Jump up ^ Vance, Jeffrey ( 2008 ). Douglas Fairbanks. University of California Press. p. 146. ISBN 9780520256675. The film had a production cost of $930,042.78 -- more than the cost of D.W. Griffith 's Intolerance and nearly as much as Erich von Stroheim 's Foolish Wives ( 1922 ). ^ Jump up to : `` Business : Film Exports ''. Time. July 6, 1925. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2011. ( Subscription required ( help ) ). ^ Jump up to : Birchard, Robert S. ( 2009 ). Cecil B. DeMille 's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813138299. ch. 45. The Ten Commandments ( 1923 ). `` Cost : $1,475,836.93 ; Gross : $4,169,798.38 '' ch. 56. The Sign of the Cross. `` Cost : $694,064.67 ; Gross : $2,738,993.35 ( to 1937 ) '' ch. 68. Samson and Delilah. `` Cost : $3,097,563.05 '' ch. 69. The Greatest Show on Earth. `` Cost : $3,873,946.50 ; Gross receipts : $15,797,396.36 ( to December 29, 1962 ) '' ch. 70. The Ten Commandments ( 1956 ). `` Cost : $13,272,381.87 ; Gross receipts : $90,066,230.00 ( to June 23, 1979 ) '' Jump up ^ May, Richard P. ( Fall 2005 ), `` Restoring The Big Parade '', The Moving Image, 5 ( 2 ) : 140 -- 146, doi : 10.1353 / mov. 2005.0033, ISSN 1532 - 3978,... earning somewhere between $18 and $22 million, depending on the figures consulted Jump up ^ Robertson, Patrick ( 1991 ). Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats ( 4 ed. ). Abbeville Publishing Group. p. 30. ISBN 9781558592360. The top grossing silent film was King Vidor 's The Big Parade ( US 25 ), with worldwide rentals of $22 million. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, pp. 58 -- 59. `` Even then, at a time when the budget for a feature averaged at around $300,000, no more than $382,000 was spent on production... According to the Eddie Mannix Ledger at MGM, it grossed $4,990,000 domestically and $1,141,000 abroad. '' Jump up ^ `` Ben - Hur ( 1925 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 19, 2017. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 163. `` MGM 's silent Ben - Hur, which opened at the end of 1925, had out - grossed all the other pictures released by the company in 1926 combined. With worldwide rentals of $9,386,000 on first release it was, with the sole possible exception of The Birth of a Nation, the highest - earning film of the entire silent era. ( At a negative cost of $3,967,000, it was also the most expensive. ) '' Jump up ^ Miller, Frank. `` For Heaven 's Sake ( 1926 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 188. `` At a cost of $2 million Wings was the studio 's most expensive movie of the decade, and though it did well it was not good enough to earn a profit. '' ^ Jump up to : The Jazz Singer and The Singing Fool Block, Hayley Taylor ( 2010 ), The Jazz Singer, p. 113, The film brought in $2.6 million in worldwide rentals and made a net profit of $1,196,750. Jolson 's follow - up Warner Bros. film, The Singing Fool ( 1928 ), brought in over two times as much, with $5.9 in worldwide rentals and a profit of $3,649,000, making them two of the most profitable films in the 1920s. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Crafton, Donald ( 1999 ). The Talkies : American Cinema 's Transition to Sound, 1926 -- 1931. University of California Press. pp. 549 -- 552. ISBN 9780520221284. The Singing Fool : Negative Cost ( $1000 s ) : 388 Jump up ^ Birchard, Robert S. ( 2010 ), The Broadway Melody, p. 121, It earned $4.4 million in worldwide rentals and was the first movie to spawn sequels ( there were several until 1940 ). In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Bradley, Edwin M. ( 2004 ) ( 1st. pub. 1996 ). The First Hollywood Musicals : A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786420292. The Singing Fool : p. 12. `` Ego aside, Jolson was at the top of his powers in The Singing Fool. The $150,000 Warner Bros. paid him to make it, and the $388,000 it took to produce the film, were drops in the hat next to the film 's world gross of $5.9 million. Its $3.8 - million gross in this country set a box - office record that would not be surpassed until Walt Disney 's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( 1937 ). '' The Broadway Melody : p. 24. `` The Broadway Melody with a negative cost of $379,000, grossed $2.8 million in the United States, $4.8 million worldwide, and made a recorded profit of $1.6 million for MGM. '' Gold Diggers of Broadway : p. 58. `` It grossed an impressive $2.5 million domestically and nearly $4 million worldwide. '' ^ Jump up to : Solomon, Aubrey ( 2002 ) ( First published 1988 ). Twentieth Century - Fox : a corporate and financial history. Filmmakers series. 20. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810842441. Sunny Side Up : p. 10. `` Sunny Side Up, a musical starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, showed domestic rentals of $3.5 million, a record for the company. '' Forever Amber : p. 66. `` On the surface, with world rentals of $8 million, Forever Amber was considered a hit at distribution level. '' The French Connection p. 167. `` The Planet of the Apes motion pictures were all moneymakers and Zanuck 's record would have immediately improved had he stayed through the release of The French Connection, which took in rentals of approximately $75 million worldwide. '' p. 256. `` $3,300, 00 ''. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 46. `` Production Cost : $0.6 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Cormack, Mike ( 1993 ). Ideology and Cinematography in Hollywood, 1930 -- 1939. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 28. ISBN 9780312100674. Although costing $1250000 -- a huge sum for any studio in 1929 -- the film was a financial success. Karl Thiede gives the domestic box - office at $1500000, and the same figure for the foreign gross. ^ Jump up to : Balio, Tino ( 1996 ). Grand Design : Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise, 1930 -- 1939. Volume 5 of History of the American Cinema. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520203341. Cavalcade : p. 182. `` Produced by Winfield Sheehan at a cost of $1.25 million, Cavalcade won Academy Awards for best picture, director, art direction and grossed close to $4 million during its first release, much of which came from Great Britain and the Empire. '' Whoopee : p. 212. `` Produced by Sam Goldwyn at a cost of $1 million, the picture was an adaptation of a smash musical comedy built around Eddie Cantor... A personality - centered musical, Whoopee ! made little attempt to integrate the comedy routines, songs, and story. Nonetheless, Cantor 's feature - film debut grossed over $2.6 million worldwide and started a popular series that included Palmy Days ( 1931 ), The Kid from Spain ( 1932 ), and Roman Scandals ( 1933 ). '' Jump up ^ Hell 's Angels Balio, Tino ( 1976 ). United Artists : The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 110. Hughes did not have the `` Midas touch '' the trade press so often attributed to him. Variety, for example, reported that Hell 's Angels cost $3.2 million to make, and by July, 1931, eight months after its release, the production cost had nearly been paid off. Keats claimed the picture cost $4 million to make and that it earned twice that much within twenty years. The production cost estimate is probably correct. Hughes worked on the picture for over two years, shooting it first as a silent and then as a talkie. Lewis Milestone said that in between Hughes experimented with shooting it in color as well. But Variety 's earnings report must be the fabrication of a delirious publicity agent, and Keats ' the working of a myth maker. During the seven years it was in United Artists distribution, Hell 's Angels grossed $1.6 million in the domestic market, of which Hughes ' share was $1.2 million. Whatever the foreign gross was, it seems unlikely that it was great enough to earn a profit for the picture. Jump up ^ Feaster, Felicia. `` Frankenstein ( 1931 ) ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 4, 2011. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 163. `` It drew $1.4 million in worldwide rentals in its first run versus $1.2 million for Dracula, which had opened in February 1931. '' Jump up ^ Vance, Jeffrey ( 2003 ). Chaplin : genius of the cinema. Abrams Books. p. 208. Chaplin 's negative cost for City Lights was $1,607,351. The film eventually earned him a worldwide profit of $5 million ( $2 million domestically and $3 million in foreign distribution ), an enormous sum of money for the time. Jump up ^ Ramsaye, Terry, ed. ( 1937 ). `` The All - Time Best Sellers -- Motion Pictures ''. International Motion Picture Almanac 1937 -- 38. New York : The Quigley Publishing Company : 942 -- 943. Kid from Spain : $2,621,000 ( data supplied by Eddie Cantor ) ^ Jump up to : Sedgwick, John ( 2000 ). Popular Filmgoing In 1930s Britain : A Choice of Pleasures. University of Exeter Press. pp. 146 -- 148. ISBN 9780859896603. Sources : Eddie Mannix Ledger, made available to the author by Mark Glancy... Grand Hotel : Production Cost $000 s : 700 ; Distribution Cost $000 s : 947 ; US box - office $000 s : 1,235 ; Foreign box - office $000 s : 1,359 ; Total box - office $000 s : 2,594 ; Profit $000 s : 947. The Merry Widow : Production Cost $000 s : 1,605 ; Distribution Cost $000 s : 1,116 ; US box - office $000 s : 861 ; Foreign box - office $000 s : 1,747 ; Total box - office $000 s : 2,608 ; Profit $000 s : - 113. Viva Villa : Production Cost $000 s : 1,022 ; Distribution Cost $000 s : 766 ; US box - office $000 s : 941 ; Foreign box - office $000 s : 934 ; Total box - office $000 s : 1,875 ; Profit $000 s : 87. Mutiny on the Bounty : Production Cost $000 s : 1,905 ; Distribution Cost $000 s : 1,646 ; US box - office $000 s : 2,250 ; Foreign box - office $000 s : 2,210 ; Total box - office $000 s : 4,460 ; Profit $000 s : 909. San Francisco : Production Cost $000 s : 1,300 ; Distribution Cost $000 s : 1,736 ; US box - office $000 s : 2,868 ; Foreign box - office $000 s : 2,405 ; Total box - office $000 s : 5,273 ; Profit $000 s : 2,237. Jump up ^ Shanghai Express Block & Wilson 2010, p. 165. `` Shanghai Express was Dietrich 's biggest hit in America, bringing in $1.5 million in worldwide rentals. '' Jump up ^ King Kong Jewel, Richard ( 1994 ). `` RKO Film Grosses : 1931 -- 1951 ''. Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television. 14 ( 1 ) : 39. 1933 release : $1,856,000 ; 1938 release : $306,000 ; 1944 release : $685,000 `` King Kong ( 1933 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 7, 2012. 1952 release : $2,500,000 ; budget : $672,254.75 Jump up ^ `` I 'm No Angel ( 1933 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 7, 2012. According to a modern source, it had a gross earning of $2,250,000 on the North American continent, with over a million more earned internationally. Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 188. `` The studio released its most profitable pictures of the decade in 1933, She Done Him Wrong and I 'm No Angel, written by and starring Mae West. Produced at a rock - bottom cost of $200,000 each, they undoubtedly helped Paramount through the worst patch in its history... '' Jump up ^ Block, Alex Ben ( 2010 ), She Done Him Wrong, p. 173, The worldwide rentals of over $3 million keep the lights on at Paramount, which did not shy away from selling the movie 's sex appeal. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Phillips, Kendall R. ( 2008 ). Controversial Cinema : The Films That Outraged America. ABC - CLIO. p. 26. ISBN 9781567207248. The reaction to West 's first major film, however, was not exclusively negative. Made for a mere $200,000, the film would rake in a healthy $2 million in the United States and an additional million in overseas markets. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 135. `` Total production cost : $274,076 ( Unadjusted $ s ). '' ^ Jump up to : Turk, Edward Baron ( 2000 ) ( 1st. pub. 1998 ). Hollywood Diva : A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520222533. The Merry Widow : p. 361 Cost : $1,605,000. Earnings : domestic $861,000 ; foreign $1,747,000 ; total $2,608,000. Loss : $113,000. San Francisco : p. 364 Cost : $1,300,000. Earnings : domestic $2,868,000 ; foreign $2,405,000 ; total $5,273,000. Profit : $2,237,000. ( Reissues in 1938 -- 39 and 1948 -- 49 brought profits of $124,000 and $647,000 respectively. ) Jump up ^ McBride, Joseph ( 2011 ). Frank Capra : The Catastrophe of Success. University Press of Mississippi. p. 309. ISBN 9781604738384. According to the studio 's books It Happened One Night brought in $1 million in film rentals during its initial release, but as Joe Walker pointed out, the figure would have been much larger if the film had not been sold to theaters on a block - booking basis in a package with more than two dozen lesser Columbia films, and the total rentals of the package spread among them all, as was customary in that era, since it minimized the risk and allowed the major studios to dominate the marketplace. Jump up ^ Dick, Bernard F. ( 2008 ). Claudette Colbert : She Walked in Beauty. University Press of Mississippi. p. 79. ISBN 9781604730876. Although Columbia 's president, Harry Cohn, had strong reservations about It Happened One Night, he also knew that it would not bankrupt the studio ; the rights were only $5,000, and the budget was set at $325,000, including the performers ' salaries. Jump up ^ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Monaco, Paul ( 2010 ). A History of American Movies : A Film - By - Film Look at the Art, Craft, and Business of Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780810874343. Considered a highly risky gamble when the movie was in production in the mid-1930s, by the fiftieth anniversary of its 1937 premiere Snow White 's earnings exceeded $330 million. Wilhelm, Henry Gilmer ; Brower, Carol ( 1993 ). The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs : Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures. Preservation Pub. p. 359. ISBN 978 - 0911515008. In only 2 months after the 1987 re-release, the film grossed another $45 million -- giving it a total gross to date of about $375 million ! `` Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( 1987 Re-issue ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. North American box - office : $46,594,719 `` Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( 1993 Re-issue ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. North American box - office : $41,634,791 ^ Jump up to : Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio Block & Wilson 2010 p. 207. `` When the budget rose from $250,000 to $1,488,423 he even mortgaged his own home and automobile. Disney had bet more than his company on the success of Snow White. '' p. 237. `` By the end of 1938, it had grossed more than $8 million in worldwide rentals and was ranked at the time as the second - highest - grossing film after the 1925 epic Ben - Hur ''. p. 255. `` On its initial release Pinocchio brought in only $1.6 million in domestic rentals ( compared with Snow White 's $4.2 million ) and $1.9 million in foreign rentals ( compared with Snow White 's $4.3 million ). '' Jump up ^ 1938 You Ca n't Take It With You : `` You Ca n't Take It With You Premieres ''. Focus Features. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. You Ca n't Take It With You received excellent reviews, won Best Picture and Best Director at the 1938 Academy Awards, and earned over $5 million worldwide. Boys Town : Block, Alex Ben ( 2010 ), Boys Town, p. 215, The film quickly became a smash nationwide, making a profit of over $2 million on worldwide rentals of $4 million. In : Block & Wilson 2010. The Adventures of Robin Hood : Glancy, H. Mark ( 1995 ). `` Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921 -- 51 : the William Schaefer ledger ''. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 1 ( 15 ) : 55 -- 60. doi : 10.1080 / 01439689500260031. $3.981 million. Alexander 's Ragtime Band : Block, Hayley Taylor ( 2010 ), Alexander 's Ragtime Band, p. 213, Once the confusion cleared, however, the film blossomed into a commercial success, with a profit of $978,000 on worldwide rentals of $3.6 million. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Chartier, Roy ( September 6, 1938 ). `` You Ca n't Take It With You ''. Variety. Retrieved September 13, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Gone with the Wind ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Retrieved February 8, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Gone with the Wind ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Miller, Frank ; Stafford, Jeff ( January 5, 2007 ). `` Gone With the Wind ( 1939 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 283. `` The final negative cost of Gone with the Wind ( GWTW ) has been variously reported between $3.9 million and $4.25 million. '' Jump up ^ `` Pinocchio ( 1940 ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Barrier, Michael ( 2003 ). Hollywood Cartoons : American Animation in Its Golden Age. New York : Oxford University Press. p. 266. ISBN 9780199839223. The film 's negative cost was $2.6 million, more than $1 million higher than Snow White 's. Jump up ^ Schatz, Thomas ( 1999 ) ( 1st. pub. 1997 ). Boom and Bust : American Cinema in the 1940s. Volume 6 of History of the American Cinema. University of California Press. p. 466. ISBN 9780520221307. Boom Town ( $4.6 million ). Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 258 -- 259. `` Production Cost : $2.1 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s )... Boom Town was the biggest moneymaker of 1940 and one of the top films of the decade. '' Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 267. `` With worldwide rentals of $7.8 million in its initial release, the movie made a net profit of over $3 million. '' Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 301. `` The studio did particularly well with its war - related pictures, such as Sergeant York ( 1941 ), which cost $1.6 million but was the studio 's biggest hit of the decade aside from This is the Army ( 1943 ), the Irving Berlin musical for which the profits were donated to the Army Emergency Relief fund. '' Jump up ^ `` Bambi ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 281. `` Worldwide rentals of $3,449,353 barely recouped the film 's nearly $2 million production cost. '' ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 712 -- 713. Bambi : `` Worldwide Box Office : $266.8 ; Production Cost : $1.7 ( Millions of $ s ) '' 101 Dalmatians : `` Worldwide Box Office : $215.0 ; Production Cost : $3.6 ( Millions of $ s ) '' The Jungle Book : `` Worldwide Box Office : $170.8 '' ; Production Cost : $3.9 ( Millions of $ s ) '' Aladdin : `` Worldwide Box Office : $505.1 '' ; Production Cost : $28.0 ( Millions of $ s ) '' Jump up ^ Glancy, Mark ( 1999 ). When Hollywood Loved Britain : The Hollywood ' British ' Film 1939 -- 1945. Manchester University Press. pp. 94 -- 95. ISBN 9780719048531. Mrs Miniver was a phenomenon. It was the most popular film of the year ( from any studio ) in both North America and Britain, and its foreign earnings were three times higher than those of any other MGM film released in the 1941 -- 42 season. The production cost ( $1,344,000 ) was one of the highest of the season, indicating the studio never thought of the film as a potential loss - maker. When the film earned a worldwide gross of $8,878,000, MGM had the highest profit ( $4,831,000 ) in its history. Random Harvest nearly matched the success of Mrs Miniver with worldwide earnings of $8,147,000 yielding the second - highest profit in MGM 's history ( $4,384,000 ). Random Harvest was also the most popular film of the year in Britain, where it proved to be even more popular than Britain 's most acclaimed war film, In Which We Serve. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010 Mrs. Miniver : Burns, Douglas ( 2010 ), Mrs. Miniver, p. 279, Mrs. Miniver 's galvanizing effect on Americans spawned a record - breaking ten - week run at Radio City Music Hall and garnered a $5.4 million take in domestic rentals ( making Mrs. Miniver 1942 's top grosser ), with a $4.8 million profit on worldwide rentals of $8.9 million. Yankee Doodle Dandy : p. 275. `` It became the second biggest box - office hit of 1942 ( after Mrs. Miniver ) and was praised by critics, making a profit of $3.4 million on worldwide rentals of $6.5 million. '' Jump up ^ McAdams, Frank ( 2010 ), For Whom the Bell Tolls, p. 287, Despite the early furor over the novel being `` pro-red and immoral, '' the film opened to strong and favorable reviews and brought in $11 million in worldwide rentals in its initial release. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ `` For Whom the Bell Tolls ( 1943 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 24, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` A Guy Named Joe ( 1944 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 29, 2012. According to M-G-M studio records at the AMPAS Library, the film had a negative cost of $2,627,000 and took in $5,363,000 at the box office. When the picture was re-issued for the 1955 -- 56 season, it took in an additional $150,000. Jump up ^ Bergreen, Laurence ( Summer 1996 ). `` Irving Berlin : This Is the Army ''. Prologue. 28 ( 2 ). Part 3. Retrieved August 22, 2012. Jump up ^ `` This Is the Army ( 1943 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 9, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Finler 2003, pp. 356 -- 363 Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 420. `` ( Unadjusted $ s ) in Millions of $ s -- Production Cost : $1.0 '' ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 232. Mrs. Miniver : `` Domestic Rentals : $5,358,000 ; Foreign Rentals : $3,520,000 ( Unadjusted $ s ) '' Meet Me in St. Louis : `` Domestic Rentals : $5,016,000 ; Foreign Rentals : $1,623,630 ( Unadjusted $ s ) '' Easter Parade : `` Domestic Rentals : $4,144,000 ; Foreign Rentals : $1,774,134 ( Unadjusted $ s ) '' Jump up ^ Schaefer, Eric ( 1999 ). `` Bold ! Daring ! Shocking ! True ! '' : A History of Exploitation Films, 1919 -- 1959. Duke University Press. pp. 197 -- 199. ISBN 9780822323747. Leading the pack of postwar sex hygiene films was Mom and Dad ( 1944 ), which would become not only the most successful sex hygiene film in history but the biggest pre-1960 exploitation film of any kind. At the end of 1947, the Los Angeles Times reported that Mom and Dad had grossed $2 million. By 1949 Time had estimated that Mom and Dad had taken in $8 million from twenty million moviegoers. And publicity issuing from Mom and Dad 's production company indicated that by the end of 1956 it had grossed over $80 million worldwide. Net rentals of around $22 million by 1956 would easily place it in the top ten films of the late 1940s and early 1950s had it appeared on conventional lists. Some estimates have placed its total gross over the years at up to $100 million, and it was still playing drive - in dates into 1975... The film was made for around $65,000 with a crew of Hollywood veterans including director William `` One Shot '' Beaudine, cinematographer Marcel LePicard, and a cast that sported old stalwarts Hardie Albright, Francis Ford, and John Hamilton. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010 p. 296. `` Production Cost : $1.6 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ) '' Wasson, Sam ( 2010 ), The Bells of St. Mary 's, p. 297, This was that rare sequel that did even better at the box office than the original, bringing in a $3.7 million profit on $11.2 million in worldwide rentals. Jump up ^ `` Song of the South ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2011. Jump up ^ Gabler, Neal ( 2007 ). Walt Disney : the biography. Aurum Press. pp. 438. Still, the film wound up grossing $3.3 million... Jump up ^ `` Song of the South ( 1946 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 25, 2012. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010 p. 132. `` Best Years was considerably cheaper, costing only $2.1 million, and therefore vastly more profitable. '' p. 286 ( note 6.70 ). `` Worldwide rentals for The Best Years of Our Lives amounted to $14,750,000. '' Jump up ^ Burns, Douglas ( 2010 ), The Best years of Our Lives, p. 301, The film made a $5 million profit on worldwide rentals of $14.8 million. In : Block & Wilson 2010. ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, p. 285 ( note 6.56 ). `` The cost of Duel in the Sun has been reported as both $5,255,000 ( Haver, David O'Selznick's Hollywood, 361 ) and $6,480,000 ( Thomson, Showman : The Life of David O'Selznick, 472 ) ; the latter figure may include distribution expenses. Forever Amber cost $6,375,000 ( Solomon, Twentieth Century - Fox : A Corporate and Financial History, 243 ). '' Jump up ^ Chopra - Gant, Mike ( 2006 ). Hollywood Genres and Post-war America : Masculinity, Family and Nation in Popular Movies and Film Noir. I.B. Tauris. p. 18. ISBN 9781850438151. Forever Amber : $8 million ; Unconquered : $7.5 million ; Life with Father : $6.25 million Jump up ^ `` Unconquered ( 1947 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 10, 2012. Jump up ^ Miller, Frank. `` Easter Parade ( 1948 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 19, 2012. Jump up ^ Street, Sarah ( 2002 ). Transatlantic Crossings : British Feature Films in the United States. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 110. ISBN 9780826413956. Although both films had higher than average budgets ( The Red Shoes cost £ 505,581 and Hamlet cost £ 572,530, while the average cost of the other thirty films for which Rank supplied information was £ 233,000 ), they resulted in high takings at home and abroad. Jump up ^ Officer, Lawrence H. ( 2011 ). `` Dollar - Pound Exchange Rate From 1791 ''. MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 18, 2012. 1947 -- 1948 : $4.03 ( per British pound ) Jump up ^ `` The Snake Pit ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Jump up ^ `` ' Snake Pit ' Seen No Problem After All ''. Variety. January 19, 1949. p. 7. ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, p. 136 -- 139 Samson and Delilah : ``... the film became the highest grosser in the studio 's history to date, with domestic rentals of $7,976,730 by 1955 and a further $6,232,520 overseas... For all their spectacle, Samson and David were quite economically produced, costing $3,097,563 and $2,170,000 respectively. '' Quo Vadis : `` Production costs totaled a record $7,623,000... Worldwide rentals totaled $21,037,000, almost half of which came from the foreign market. '' Jump up ^ `` Cinderella ( 1950 ) ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved January 2, 2017. Jump up ^ Eisner, Michael D. ; Schwartz, Tony ( 2009 ). Work in Progress. Pennsylvania State University. p. 178. ISBN 9780786885077. Cinderella revived its fortunes. Re-released in February 1950, it cost nearly $3 million to make but earned more than $20 million worldwide. Jump up ^ Barrier, Michael ( 2003 ). Hollywood Cartoons : American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford University Press. p. 401. ISBN 9780195167290. It cost around $2.2 million, little more than each of the two package features, Melody Time and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad ( as Tluo Fabulous Characters had ultimately been named ), that just preceded it, but its gross rentals -- an amount shared by Disney and RKO -- were $7.8 million, almost twice as much as the two package features combined. Jump up ^ The E.J. Mannix ledger. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences : Howard Strickling Collection. 1962. ^ Jump up to : Lev, Peter ( 2006 ). Transforming the Screen, 1950 -- 1959. Volume 7 of History of the American Cinema. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520249660. Quo Vadis : p. 15. `` MGM 's most expensive film of the period, Quo Vadis ( 1951 ) also did extremely well. The cost was $7,623,000, earnings were an estimated $21.2 million ( with foreign earnings almost 50 percent of this total ), and profit was estimated at $5,562,000. '' Rear Window : pp. 203 -- 204. `` Rear Window ( 1954 ) was an excellent commercial success, with a cost of $1 million and North American rentals of $5.3 million. '' ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 335. The Robe : `` Domestic Rentals : $16.7 ; Foreign Rentals : $9.4 ; Production Cost : $4.1 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Quo Vadis : `` Domestic Rentals : $11.1 ; Foreign Rentals : $15.6 ; Production Cost : $7.5 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Mulligan, Hugh A. ( September 23, 1956 ). `` Cinerama Pushing Ahead As Biggest Money - Maker ''. The Register - Guard. Eugene, Oregon. p. 7B. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Zone, Ray ( 2012 ). 3 - D Revolution : The History of Modern Stereoscopic Cinema. University Press of Kentucky. p. 71. ISBN 9780813136110. Produced at a cost of $1 million, This is Cinerama ran 122 weeks, earning $4.7 million in its initial New York run alone and eventually grossed over $32 million. It was obvious to Hollywood that the public was ready for a new form of motion picture entertainment. The first five Cinerama feature - length travelogues, though they only played in twenty - two theaters, pulled in a combined gross of $82 million. Jump up ^ Burns, Douglas ( 2010 ), The Greatest Show on Earth, pp. 354 -- 355, By May 1953, Variety was reporting that the Best Picture winner had amassed $18.35 million in worldwide rentals. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Greatest Show on Earth ( 1952 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 8, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Peter Pan ( 1953 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 24, 2011. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 147 -- 148. `` To take full advantage of CinemaScope 's panoramic possibilities, shooting was delayed for the sets to be redesigned and rebuilt, adding $500,000 to the eventual $4.1 million budget... It ultimately returned domestic rentals of $17.5 million and $25 million worldwide, placing it second only to Gone with the Wind in Variety 's annually updated chart. '' Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 367. `` It brought in $16.7 million in domestic rentals, $9.4 million in foreign rentals, and made a net profit of $8.1 million. '' Jump up ^ `` Rear Window ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` White Christmas ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 420. `` Domestic Box Office : $19.6 million ; Production Cost : $3.8 million. '' Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 149. `` VistaVision was first used for the musical White Christmas ( 1954 ), which Variety named the top grosser of its year with anticipated domestic rentals of $12 million. '' Jump up ^ `` 20000 Leagues Under The Sea ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Miller, John M. `` 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ( 1954 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 9, 2012. Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 320. `` It was up and running in time to handle Disney 's most elaborate expensive feature, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, based on the book by Jules Verne, starring James Mason and Kirk Douglas and directed by Richard Fleischer at a cost of $4.5 million. '' Jump up ^ `` Lady and the Tramp ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Lady and the Tramp ( 1955 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 27, 2011. Jump up ^ Minego, Pete ( May 21, 1956 ). `` Pete 's Pungent Patter ''. Portsmouth Daily Times. Portsmouth, Ohio. p. 19. Jump up ^ `` Cinerama Holiday ( 1955 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 7, 2012. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010 p. 382. `` Production Cost : $2.4 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ) '' Burns, Douglas ( 2010 ), Mister Roberts, p. 383, Mister Roberts sailed onto movie screens buoyed by enthusiastic reviews and receptive audiences. For pr, Fonda, Cagney, and lemmon reenacted several scenes on ed sullivan 's popular Toast of the Town television variety show. It returned a net profit of $4.5 million on worldwide rentals of $9.9 million, putting it in the top 5 domestic films of 1955. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 327. `` Production cost : $13.3 million ; Domestic Film Rental : $31.3 ; Foreign Film Rental : $23.9 ; Worldwide Box office ( estimated ) : $122.7 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, pp. 159 -- 161 The Ten Commandments : `` No film did more to entrench roadshow policy than The Ten Commandments. While the success of This Is Cinerama, The Robe, and even Eighty Days could be attributed, at least in part, to their respective photographic and projection formats, that of DeMille 's film ( which cost a record $13,266,491 ) could not... General release began at normal prices in 1959 and continued until the end of the following year, when the film was temporarily withdrawn ( the first of several reissues came in 1966 ). The worldwide rental by this time was around $60 million. In the domestic market it dislodged Gone with the Wind from the number one position on Variety 's list of All - Time Rentals Champs. GWTW had hitherto maintained its lead through several reissues ( and was soon to regain it through another in 1961 ). '' The Bridge on the River Kwai : Columbia 's Anglo - American war film The Bridge on the River Kwai ( 1957 ) opened on a roadshow basis in selected U.S. cities ( including New York, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles ) and in London. Costing only $2,840,000 to produce, it grossed $30.6 million worldwide on first release. '' Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 153. `` South Pacific also became for a time the most successful film ever released in the United Kingdom, where it earned a box - office gross three times its negative cost of $5,610,000. Anticipated global rentals after three years were $30 million. '' Jump up ^ Ross, Steven J. ( 2011 ). Hollywood Left and Right : How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics. Oxford University Press. pp. 278 -- 279. ISBN 9780199911431. Costing $15 million to produce, the film earned $47 million by the end of 1961 and $90 million worldwide by January 1989. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 324. `` Worldwide box office : $146.9 million ; Worldwide rentals : $66.1 million ; Production cost : $15.9 million. ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ) '' Jump up ^ Reid, John Howard ( 2006 ). America 's Best, Britain 's Finest : A Survey of Mixed Movies. Volume 14 of Hollywood classics. Lulu. p. 243 -- 245. ISBN 9781411678774. Negative cost : around $4 million ; Worldwide film rentals gross ( including 1968 American reissue ) to 1970 : $30 million. Jump up ^ Webster, Patrick ( 2010 ). Love and Death in Kubrick : A Critical Study of the Films from Lolita Through Eyes Wide Shut. McFarland & Company. pp. 298 ( note 2.23 ). ISBN 9780786459162. Spartacus cost $12 million and grossed some $60 million at the box office, figures Kubrick rarely again matched. ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, p. 179. Spartacus : `` In the case of Spartacus, overseas earnings to 1969 amounted to $12,462,044, while U.S. and Canadian rentals ( even including a million - dollar TV sale ) were only $10,643,181. But the film failed to show a profit on production costs of $10,284,014 because of the distribution charges and expenses amounting to an additional $15,308,083. '' The Bible : `` The Bible -- In the Beginning... ( 1966 ) was financed by the Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis from private investors and Swiss banks. He then sold distribution rights outside Italy jointly to Fox and Seven Arts for $15 million ( 70 percent of which came from Fox ), thereby recouping the bulk of his $18 million investment. Although The Bible returned a respectable world rental of $25.3 million, Fox was still left with a net loss of just over $1.5 million. It was the last biblical epic to be released by any major Hollywood studio for nearly twenty years. '' Jump up ^ Nixon, Rob. `` Psycho ( 1960 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 9, 2012. Jump up ^ `` 101 Dalmatians ( 1961 ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` One Hundred and One Dalmatians ''. Variety. December 31, 1960. Retrieved August 23, 2011. Jump up ^ Block, Hayley Taylor ( 2010 ), West Side Story, p. 449, With its three rereleases, it took in over $105 million in worldwide box office ( $720 million in 2005 dollars ). In : Block & Wilson 2010. ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 434. The Sound of Music : `` Domestic Rentals : $68.4 ; Foreign Rentals : $46.2 ; Production Cost : $8.0 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' The Dirty Dozen : `` Domestic Rentals : $20.1 ; Foreign Rentals : $11.2 ; Production Cost : $5.4 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' 2001 : A Space Odyssey : `` Domestic Rentals : $16.4 ; Foreign Rentals : $5.5 ; Production Cost : $10.3 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Cleopatra : `` Domestic Rentals : $22.1 ; Foreign Rentals : $18.2 ; Production Cost : $44.0 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' West Side Story : `` Domestic Rentals : $16.2 ; Foreign Rentals : $15.6 ; Production Cost : $7.0 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' The Longest Day : `` Domestic Rentals : $13.9 ; Foreign Rentals : $19.3 ; Production Cost : $8.6 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid : `` Domestic Rentals : $29.2 ; Foreign Rentals : $7.9 ; Production Cost : $6.6 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Lawrence of Arabia 1962 release : `` Lawrence of Arabia ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2011. Worldwide Box Office : $69,995,385 ; International Box Office : $32,500,000 US total ( including reissues ) : `` Lawrence of Arabia ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. $44,824,852 ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, p. 165 -- 166 Lawrence of Arabia : Columbia released the $13.8 million Lawrence of Arabia ( 1962 ), filmed in Super Panavision 70, exclusively on a hard - ticket basis, but opened Barabbas ( 1962 ), The Cardinal ( 1963 ), and the $12 million Joseph Conrad adaptation Lord Jim ( 1965 ) as 70mm roadshows in selected territories only. '' The Longest Day : `` Darryl 's most ambitious independent production was The Longest Day ( 1962 ), a three - hour reconstruction of D - Day filmed in black - and - white CinemaScope at a cost of $8 million. It grossed over $30 million worldwide as a roadshow followed by general release, thereby helping the studio regain stability during its period of reorganization. '' Cleopatra : `` With top tickets set at an all - time high of $5.50, Cleopatra had amassed as much as $20 million in such guarantees from exhibitors even before its premiere. Fox claimed the film had cost in total $44 million, of which $31,115,000 represented the direct negative cost and the rest distribution, print and advertising expenses. ( These figures excluded the more than $5 million spent on the production 's abortive British shoot in 1960 -- 61, prior to its relocation to Italy. ) By 1966 worldwide rentals had reached $38,042,000 including $23.5 million from the United States. '' Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 164. `` West cost $14,483,000 ; although it earned $35 million worldwide in just under three years, with ultimate domestic rentals totaling $20,932,883, high distribution costs severely limited its profitability. '' ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 428 -- 429 From Russia With Love : `` Worldwide Box Office : 78.9 ; Production Cost : 2.0 ( in millions of $ s ) '' Goldfinger : `` Worldwide Box Office : 124.9 ; Production Cost : 3.0 ( in millions of $ s ) '' Diamonds Are Forever : `` Worldwide Box Office : 116 ; Production Cost : 7.2 ( in millions of $ s ) '' Moonraker : `` Worldwide Box Office : 210.3 ; Production Cost : 34.0 ( in millions of $ s ) '' ^ Jump up to : Chapman, James ( 2007 ). Licence to thrill : a cultural history of the James Bond films. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84511 - 515 - 9. From Russia With Love : `` The American release of From Russia With Love again followed on some six months after it had been shown in Britain. North American rentals of $9.9 million were an improvement on its predecessor, helped by a slightly wider release, though they were still only half the $19.5 million of foreign rentals... ( Online copy at Google Books ) '' Diamonds Are Forever : `` Diamonds Are Forever marked a return to the box - office heights of the Bond films of the mid-1960s. Its worldwide rentals were $45.7 million... ( Online copy at Google Books ) '' Moonraker : `` These figures were surpassed by Moonraker, which earned total worldwide rentals of $87.7 million, of which $33 million came from North America. ( Online copy at Google Books ) '' ^ Jump up to : Balio, Tino ( 2009 ). United Artists, Volume 2, 1951 -- 1978 : the Company that Changed the Film Industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 261. ISBN 978 - 0 - 299 - 23014 - 2. From Russia With Love : `` The picture grossed twice as much as Dr. No, both domestic and foreign -- $12.5 million worldwide ( Online copy at Google Books ) '' Goldfinger : `` Produced on a budget of around $3 million, Goldfinger grossed a phenomenal $46 million worldwide the first time around. ( Online copy at Google Books ) '' ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, p. 184 My Fair Lady : `` My Fair Lady ( 1964 ) cost Warners $17 million to make, including a record $5.5 million just for the film rights to the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe stage show and a million - dollar fee for star Audrey Hepburn. By 1967 it was reported to have grossed $55 million from roadshowing worldwide. '' Mary Poppins : `` Mary Poppins ( 1964 ), which cost $5.2 million, was neither a stage adaptation nor a roadshow. But by the end of its first release, it had grossed nearly $50 million worldwide. '' Jump up ^ Burns, Douglas ( 2010 ), Mary Poppins, p. 469, In its initial run, Poppins garnered an astounding $44 million in worldwide rentals and became the company 's first Best Picture Oscar contender. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Sound of Music ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hawaii ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. LLC. Retrieved August 18, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 188. `` The negative cost of Warners ' adaptation of Edward Albee 's play Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? ( 1966 ) -- filmed in widescreen and black - and - white, largely set in domestic interiors and with a cast of only four principal actors -- amounted to $7,613,000, in part because stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton received up - front fees of $1 million and $750,000 respectively, against 10 percent of the gross apiece. ( Their participation was presumably added to the budget ). '' Jump up ^ `` The Jungle Book ( 1967 ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Jungle Book ''. Variety. December 31, 1966. Retrieved August 23, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Denisoff, R. Serge ; Romanowski, William D. ( 1991 ). Risky Business : Rock in Film. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9780887388439. The Graduate : p. 167. `` World net rental was estimated at more than $85 million by January 1971. '' Grease : p. 236. `` The film was produced for $6 million and Paramount reportedly spent another $3 million on promotion. '' ^ Jump up to : Hall & Neale 2010, p. 191 -- 192 The Graduate : `` The Graduate eventually earned U.S. rentals of $44,090,729 on a production cost of $3.1 million to become the most lucrative non-roadshow picture ( and independent release ) to date. '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid : `` None of these films was roadshown in the United States ; most were set in contemporary America or had a contemporary `` take '' on the past ( the casting of genuine teenagers to play Romeo and Juliet, the urbane sophistication of the dialogue in Butch Cassidy, the antiauthoritarianism of Bonnie and Clyde and MASH ) ; most were produced on modest or medium - sized budgets ( as low as $450,000 for Easy Rider and no higher than $6,825,000 for Butch Cassidy ) ; and all grossed upward of $10 million domestically. '' Jump up ^ Palmer, R. Barton ( 2006 ). `` 2001 : The Critical Reception and the Generation Gap ''. In Kolker, Robert Phillip. Stanley Kubrick 's 2001 : a Space Odyssey : New Essays. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780195174526. With its initial and subsequent releases, domestic and worldwide, Kubrick 's arty, intellectual film earned nearly $138 million, which was, at that time, an astounding figure. Jump up ^ Miller, Frank. `` 2001 : A Space Odyssey ( 1968 ) -- Articles ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 24, 2011. Jump up ^ Haber, Joyces ( March 27, 1969 ). `` ' Funny Girl ' a Box Office Winner ''. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012... `` Funny Girl '' will gross an estimated $80 to $100 million worldwide. Jump up ^ Welles, Chris ( September 7, 1970 ). `` Behind the Silence at Columbia Pictures -- No Moguls, No Minions, Just Profits ''. New York. 3 ( 36 ). New York Media. pp. 42 -- 47. While Columbia, battling Ray Stark over every dollar, did Funny Girl for around $8.8 million, a million or so over budget, Fox spent nearly $24 million on Hello, Dolly !, more than twice the initial budget, and the film will thus have to gross three times as much to break even. Jump up ^ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid United States and Canada : `` Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. $102,308,525 Outside North America : Vanity Fair. 2008. p. 388. Butch Cassidy went on to be a huge hit -- by the spring of 1970 it had taken in $46 million in North America and grossed another $50 million abroad. Jump up ^ `` ' Love Story ' II : Ryan Redux ? ''. New York. 9. New York Media. 1976. p. 389. Bring those handkerchiefs out of retirement... After all, the first movie made around $80 million worldwide. Jump up ^ Block, Hayley Taylor ( 2010 ), Love Story, p. 545, The final cost came in at $2,260,000. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Scott, Vernon ( June 30, 1979 ). `` '' Airports '' Flourish ``. The Bryan Times. United Press International. p. 10. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 541. `` Screenwriter and director George Seaton was given a then - whopping production budget of $10 million to make what would be his last big movie after a long career as an actor in radio, a screenwriter, and a director. '' Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 549. `` Fiddler had the highest domestic box office of 1971 ( it was second in worldwide box office after Diamonds Are Forever ), with more than $100 million in unadjusted worldwide box office on its initial release. The soundtrack album was also a huge seller. The 1979 rerelease was not as successful, with the $3.8 million print and ad costs almost as high as the $4.3 million in worldwide rentals. '' ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 527. Star Wars : `` Domestic Rentals : $127.0 ; Foreign Rentals : $141.5 ; Production Cost : $13.0 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' The Godfather : `` Domestic Rentals : $85.6 ; Foreign Rentals : $42.0 ; Production Cost : $7.2 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Fiddler on the Roof : `` Domestic Rentals : $34.0 ; Foreign Rentals : $11.1 ; Production Cost : $9.0 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Rocky : `` Domestic Rentals : $56.0 ; Foreign Rentals : $21.1 ; Production Cost : $1.6 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ The Godfather 1974 : Newsweek. 84. 1974. p. 74. The original Godfather has grossed a mind - boggling $285 million... 1991 : Von Gunden, Kenneth ( 1991 ). Postmodern auteurs : Coppola, Lucas, De Palma, Spielberg, and Scorsese. McFarland & Company. p. 36. ISBN 9780899506180. Since The Godfather had earned over $85 million in U.S. - Canada rentals ( the worldwide box - office gross was $285 million ), a sequel, according to the usual formula, could be expected to earn approximately two - thirds of the original 's box - office take ( ultimately Godfather II had rentals of $30 million ). 1997 re-release : `` The Godfather ( Re-issue ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. North America : $1,267,249 As of 2010 : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 246. `` Domestic Box Office : $135.0 ; Foreign Box Office : $110.1 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Total : `` The Godfather ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Worldwide Gross : $245,066,044 Jump up ^ Jacobs, Diane ( 1980 ). Hollywood Renaissance. Dell Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 9780440533825. The Godfather catapulted Coppola to overnight celebrity, earning three Academy Awards and a then record - breaking $142 million in worldwide sales. Jump up ^ `` The Godfather ( 1972 ) -- Notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 9, 2012. Jump up ^ `` The Exorcist ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Stanley, Robert Henry ; Steinberg, Charles Side ( 1976 ). The media environment : mass communications in American society. Hastings House. p. 76. ISBN 9780803846814... further reflected by the phenomenal successes of The Sting, Chinatown and The Exorcist. The latter film, which cost about $10 million to produce, has grossed over $110 million worldwide. Jump up ^ New York, 8, New York Media, 1975,... Jaws should outstrip another MCA hit, The Sting, which had world - wide revenues of $115 million. ( Online copy at Google Books ) Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 560. `` Production Cost : $5.5 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, pp. 206 -- 208. `` The most successful entry in the disaster cycle was the $15 million The Towering Inferno which earned over $48,650,000 in domestic rentals and about $40 million foreign. '' Jump up ^ Brooks, Mel ( 2004 ). `` My Movies : The Collisions of Art and Money ''. In Squire, Jason E. The movie business book ( 3 ed. ). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7432 - 1937 - 2. To their credit, Blazing saddles, opened wide in June to tremendous business around the country. It 's done over $80 million in rentals worldwide in 1974 dollars. ( Online copy at Google Books ) Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 564. `` Production Cost : $2.6 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ `` Jaws ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Kilday, Gregg ( July 5, 1977 ). `` Director of ' Jaws II ' Abandons His ' Ship ' ''. The Victoria Advocate. p. 6B. Jump up ^ Priggé, Steven ( 2004 ). Movie Moguls Speak : Interviews With Top Film Producers. McFarland & Company. p. 8. ISBN 9780786419296. The budget for the first Jaws was $4 million and the picture wound up costing $9 million. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 214. `` Rocky was the `` sleeper of the decade ''. Produced by UA and costing just under $1 million, it went on to earn a box - office gross of $117,235,247 in the United States and $225 million worldwide. '' Jump up ^ Block, Alex Ben ( 2010 ), Rocky, p. 583, The budget was $1,075,000 plus producer 's fees of $100,000. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ `` Star Wars ( 1977 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Wuntch, Philip ( July 19, 1985 ). `` Return of E.T. '' The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012. Its worldwide box - office gross was $619 million, toppling the record of $530 million set by Star Wars. Jump up ^ Hall & Neale 2010, p. 218. `` Eventually costing $11,293,151, Star Wars was previewed at the Northpoint Theatre in San Francisco on May 1, 1977. '' Jump up ^ `` Grease ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Hofler, Robert ( 2010 ). Party Animals : A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock ' N ' Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 145. ISBN 9781459600072. Despite the fact that Grease was well on its way to becoming the highest - grossing movie musical in the world, and eventually grossed over $341 million... ^ Jump up to : Kramer vs. Kramer United & Babson Investment Report. 72. Babson - United, Inc. 1980. p. 262. Columbia Pictures Industries is continuing to rake in the box office dollars from its Oscar - winning Kramer vs. Kramer, which has topped $100 million in domestic grosses and $70 million overseas. Kramer, which cost less than $8 million to make, is now the second... Prince, Stephen ( 2002 ). A New Pot of Gold : Hollywood Under the Electronic Rainbow, 1980 -- 1989. University of California Press. p. 7. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 23266 - 2. Much of this was attributable to the performance of its hit film, Kramer vs. Kramer ( $94 million worldwide and the number two film in the domestic market ). Jump up ^ `` Rocky II ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Kilday, Greg ( May 22, 1992 ). `` Rules of the Game ''. Entertainment Weekly ( 119 ). Retrieved July 4, 2012. Jump up ^ The Empire Strikes Back Total up to 2014 : `` The Empire Strikes Back ( 1980 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. $538,375,067 Special edition : `` The Empire Strikes Back ( Special Edition ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. North America : $67,597,694 ; Overseas : $57,214,766 2015 re-release : `` The Empire Strikes Back ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 8, 2015. United Kingdom : $9,593,937 ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 519. The Empire Strikes Back : `` Production Cost : $32.0 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Return of the Jedi : `` Production Cost : $42.7 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' The Phantom Menace : `` Production Cost : $127.5 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Raiders of the Lost Ark `` Raiders of the Lost Ark ( 1981 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2012. Total : $389,925,971 ; North America : $212,222,025 ( original run ) ; Overseas : $141,766,000 Block & Wilson 2010, p. 625. Domestic Box office : $180.1 ; `` Production Cost : $22.8 ( Initial Release -- Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ `` E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial ( 1982 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 609. `` Steven Spielberg, by far the most successful director of the decade, had the highest - grossing movie with 1982 's E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial, which grossed over $664 million in worldwide box office on initial release. '' Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 652. `` Production Cost : $12.2 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Return of the Jedi Total : `` Return of the Jedi ( 1983 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. $475,106,177 Special edition : `` Return of the Jedi ( Special Edition ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2012. North America : $45,470,437 ; Overseas : $43,790,543 Jump up ^ `` Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ( 1984 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 12, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Finler 2003, pp. 190 -- 191. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 664. `` Production Cost : $28.2 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ Back to the Future Original release : `` Back to the Future ( 1985 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 18, 2014. Worldwide : $381,109,762 ; Production Budget : $19 million 2010 reisue : `` Back to the Future ( 2010 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 10, 2014. Foreign Total : $2,315,159 2014 reisue : `` Back to the Future ( 2014 re-issue ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 31, 2014. United Kingdom : $5,628,876 Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 268. `` The studio had a record operating income of $212 million in 1982, the year of Spielberg 's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial ( which had cost only slightly over $10 million ) and $150 million in 1985, mainly due to another Spielberg production, the $22 million Back to the Future, which became the top box office hit of the year. '' Jump up ^ `` Top Gun ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ McAdams, Frank ( 2010 ), Top Gun, pp. 678 -- 679, Production Cost : $19.0 ( Millions of $ s )... Despite mixed reviews, it played in the top 10 for an extended period and was a huge hit, grossing almost $345 million in worldwide box office. In : Block & Wilson 2010. Jump up ^ Fatal Attraction `` Fatal Attraction ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Scott, Vernon ( June 15, 1990 ). `` ' Three Men and Baby ' Sequel Adds Cazenove to Original Cast ''. The Daily Gazette. New York. Hollywood ( UPI ). p. 9 ( TV Plus -- The Daily Gazette Supplement ). That legacy is the $167,780,960 domestic box - office and $75 million foreign gross achieved by the original... Jump up ^ `` Rain Man ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 244. `` Rain Man : 30.0 ( cost in million $ s ) '' Jump up ^ `` Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ( 1989 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 15, 2013. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 694 -- 695. `` Production Cost : $55.4 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s )... The film went on to haul in over $494 million worldwide. '' Jump up ^ `` Ghost ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Terminator 2 Original release : `` Terminator 2 : Judgment Day ( 1991 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 26, 2017. $519,843,345 3D re-release : `` Terminator 2 : Judgment Day ( 1991 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2017. Jump up ^ Ansen, David ( 8 July 1991 ). `` Conan The Humanitarian ''. Newsweek. Retrieved September 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Aladdin ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Toy Story Total : `` Toy Story ( 1995 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 16, 2014. Worldwide : $373,554,033 3D release : `` Toy Story in 3D ( 2009 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 16, 2014. Foreign Total : $8,680,257 Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 776. `` Production Cost : $30.0 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ) '' Jump up ^ `` Die Hard : With A Vengeance ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Finler 2003, p. 123. Jump up ^ `` Independence Day ( 1996 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 13, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Armageddon ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved May 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Block & Wilson 2010, p. 509. `` Production Cost : $140.0 ( Unadjusted $ s in Millions of $ s ). '' Jump up ^ `` Mission : Impossible II ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jump up ^ Patten, D. ( December 3, 2009 ). `` ' Avatar 's ' True Cost -- and Consequences ''. The Wrap. Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Frankel, Daniel ( 17 November 2010 ). `` Get Ready for the Biggest ' Potter ' Opening Yet ''. The Wrap. Retrieved August 27, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Black Panther ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 20, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Show Business : Record Wind ''. Time. February 19, 1940. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2013. ( Subscription required ( help ) ). Jump up ^ Thomas, Bob ( August 1, 1963 ). `` Movie Finances Are No Longer Hidden From Scrutiny ''. The Robesonian. Associated Press. p. 10. Jump up ^ The Atlantic Monthly. 231. 1973. p. 2. As of the end of 1971, GWTW stood as the all - time money - drawing movie, with a take of $116 million, and, with this year 's reissues, it should continue to run ahead of the second place contender and all - time kaffee - mit - schlag spectacle. Jump up ^ New Times. 2. 1974. Coppola is King Midas, the most individually powerful U.S. filmmaker. '' His credits include directing the first Godfather ( worldwide earnings : $142 million, ahead of Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music and The Exorcist )... ( Online copy at Google Books ) Jump up ^ Harmetz, Aljean ( May 18, 1980 ). `` The Saga Beyond ' Star Wars ' ''. The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012. `` Star Wars '' has brought 20th Century - Fox approximately $250 million in film rentals... `` Star Wars '' grossed $410 million, and his share was enough to allow him to finance its sequel, `` The Empire Strikes Back, '' himself. Jump up ^ `` Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) -- Miscellaneous notes ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 9, 2011. Franchise and series sources `` Franchise Index ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 23, 2015. Avengers `` Avengers -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 12, 2015. Batman `` Batman -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) & Batman : Mask of the Phantasm ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 26, 2016. `` Big Rental Pictures of 1966 ''. Variety. January 4, 1967. p. 8. Batman : $1.7 million `` Catwoman ( 2004 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 22, 2012. `` Batman : Return of the Caped Crusaders ''. The Numbers. Retrieved December 17, 2016. `` Batman and Harley Quinn ( 2017 ) ''. The Numbers. Retrieved August 22, 2017. Captain America `` Captain America ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 19, 2016. DC Extended Universe `` DC Extended Universe -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 16, 2016. Despicable Me `` Despicable Me ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2015. The Fast and the Furious `` The Fast and the Furious -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 22, 2017. `` The Fate of the Furious ( 2017 - 04 - 14 ) ''. Boxoffice. Retrieved January 11, 2018. The Hunger Games `` The Hunger Games -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 31, 2016. Ice Age `` Ice Age -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2017. `` Ice Age : The Meltdown 3D ( 2014 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 23, 2014. Foreign Total : $6,095,750 Iron Man `` Iron Man -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 14, 2013. J.K. Rowling 's Wizarding World `` J.K. Rowling 's Wizarding World -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 17, 2016. James Bond `` James Bond -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 17, 2016. ( Brosnan and Craig ) Block & Wilson 2010, pp. 428 -- 429. `` James Bond Franchise Films : All - Release Worldwide Box Office. '' ( Connery, Lazenby, Moore and Dalton ) `` Never Say Never Again ( 1983 ) ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2012. `` Casino Royale ( 1967 ) ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Jurassic Park `` Jurassic Park -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 28, 2015. `` Jurassic Park ( 2011 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 17, 2015. United Kingdom : $786,021 Madagascar `` Madagascar -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 15, 2015. Marvel Cinematic Universe `` Marvel Cinematic Universe -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 19, 2016. Middle - earth `` Middle Earth -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 18, 2016. `` The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2017 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 6, 2017. `` The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers ( 2017 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 6, 2017. `` The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2017 re-release ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 6, 2017. `` The Lord of the Rings -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) & The Lord of the Rings ( 1978 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 23, 2015. Mission : Impossible `` Mission : Impossible -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2015. Pirates of the Caribbean `` Pirates of the Caribbean -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. Shrek `` Shrek -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 14, 2012. Spider - Man `` Spider - Man -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 15, 2014. Star Trek `` Box Office History for Star Trek Movies ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved October 16, 2016. Star Wars `` A New Hope ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. `` The Empire Strikes Back ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 8, 2015. `` Return of the Jedi ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. `` The Phantom Menace ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 25, 2012. `` Attack of the Clones ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. `` Revenge of the Sith ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. `` The Clone Wars ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2012. `` The Force Awakens ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 8, 2016. Superman Superman, Superman Returns, Man of Steel and Batman v Superman : `` Superman -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 15, 2016. Superman II, Superman III and Superman IV : Block & Wilson 2010, p. 534. `` Superman Franchise Films : All - Release Worldwide Box Office Revenues vs. Production Costs -- Equivalent 2005 $ s. '' Block & Wilson 2010, p. xii. `` Notes on Adjusting Dollars and Making Estimates -- Adjusting Revenues. '' `` Adjusting for Ticket Price Inflation '' ( Source : MPAA ). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 7, 2013. `` Supergirl ( 1984 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 7, 2013. Transformers `` Transformers -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 17, 2015. The Twilight Saga `` Twilight -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 1, 2013. `` Twilight / New Moon Combo ( one - night - only ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 25, 2011. X-Men `` X-Men -- Worldwide ( Unadjusted ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Bibliography Block, Alex Ben ; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. ( 2010 ). George Lucas 's Blockbusting : A Decade - by - Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061778896. Finler, Joel Waldo ( 2003 ). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. ISBN 978 - 1 - 903364 - 66 - 6. Hall, Sheldon ; Neale, Stephen ( 2010 ). Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters : A Hollywood History. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8143 - 3008 - 1. 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Question: top 50 highest grossing hollywood movies of all time
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