 When it was re-released in 1947, it earned an impressive $ 5 million rental in the United States and Canada, and was one of the top ten releases of the year. Successful re-releases in 1954 and 1961 enabled it to retain its position as the industry's top earner, despite strong challenges from more recent films such as Ben-Hur, but it was finally overtaken by The Sound of Music in 1966. The 1967 reissue was unusual in that MGM opted to roadshow it, a decision that turned it into the most successful re-release in the history of the industry. It generated a box-office gross of $ 68 million, making it MGM's most lucrative picture after Doctor Zhivago from the latter half of the decade. MGM earned a rental of $ 41 million from the release, with the U.S. and Canadian share amounting to over $ 30 million, placing it second only to The Graduate for that year. Including its $ 6.7 million rental from the 1961 reissue, it was the fourth highest-earner of the decade in the North American market, with only The Sound of Music, The Graduate and Doctor Zhivago making more for their distributors. A further re-release in 1971 allowed it to briefly recapture the record from The Sound of Music, bringing its total worldwide gross rental to about $ 116 million by the end of 1971 — more than trebling its earnings from its initial release — before losing the record again the following year to The Godfather.
