Top 50 All-Time Domestic
Box-Office Gross
as of May 15, 2004

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Top 50 in Non-Adjusted US Dollars / Top 50 in Adjusted US Dollars

Note that these earnings have NOT been adjusted for inflation. If they had, many of the titles you see on this list wouldn't be there at all, and Gone With the Wind, which came out in 1939, would be in the no. 1 spot. It's just that our obsession (and, yes, I count myself in that "our") with the highest dollar amounts is prevalent over any common sense - and production companies are always competing for the "highest-grossing movie ever", so they tend to ignore that little fact. Just so you know...

Non-Adjusted US$ Totals

Rank

Title

 Release
Date		 Domestic
Gross
1 Titanic 1997 $600,788,188
2 Star Wars 1977 $460,998,007
3 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial 1982 $434,949,459
4 The Phantom Menace 1999 $431,088,297
5 Spider-Man 2002 $403,706,375
6 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The 2003 $376,556,583
7 Passion of the Christ, The 2004 $367,556,583
8 Jurassic Park 1993 $357,067,947
9 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The 2002 $340,478,898
10 Finding Nemo 2003 $339,714,367
11 Forrest Gump 1994 $329,693,974
12 The Lion King 1994 $328,423,001
13 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001 $317,049,000
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings 2001 $313,837,577
15 Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones 2002 $310,675,583
16 Return of the Jedi 1983 $309,205,079
17 Independence Day 1996 $306,169,255
18 Pirates of the Caribbean 2001 $305,411,224
19 The Sixth Sense 1999 $293,501,675
20 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 $290,271,960
21 Home Alone 1990 $285,761,243
22 Matrix Reloaded, The 2003 $281,492,479
23 Shrek 2001 $267,000,000
24 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002 $261,971,000
25 How The Grinch Stole Christmas 2000 $260,100,000
26 Jaws 1975 $260,000,000
27 Monsters, Inc. 2001 $253,000,000
28 Batman 1989 $251,188,924
29 Men in Black 1997 $250,147,615
30 Toy Story 2 1999 $245,823,397
31 Bruce Almighty 2003 $242,590,000
32 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 $242,374,454
33 Twister 1996 $241,708,908
34 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2002 $241,437,000
35 Ghostbusters 1984 $238,632,124
36 Beverly Hills Cop 1984 $234,760,478
37 Cast Away 2000 $233,600,000
38 The Lost World 1997 $229,086,679
39 Signs 2002 $227,966,000
40 Rush Hour 2 2001 $226,200,000
41 Mrs. Doubtfire 1993 $219,195,051
42 Ghost 1990 $217,631,306
43 Aladdin 1992 $217,350,219
44 Saving Private Ryan 1998 $216,335,085
45 Mission: Impossible 2 2000 $215,397,307
46 X2: X-Men United 2003 $214,949,000
47 Austin Powers in Goldmember 1985 $210,609,762
48 Back to the Future 1985 $210,609,762
49 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 1999 $205,957,794
50 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 $204,843,345

And now to be fair, here's a very unscientific, approximate look at what the actual Top 50 All-Time Box-Office list would look like if these total were adjusted to year 2000 US dollar values (assuming a 2.75% inflation rate):

Adjusted US$ Totals (Updated October 15, 2001)

Rank

Title

 Release
Date		 Original
Gross

Adjusted
Gross
1 Gone With the Wind 1939 $198,654,225 $1,028,638,799
2 Star Wars 1977 $460,987,469 $919,923,451
3 The Sound of Music 1965 $158,671,368 $741,681,028
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial 1982 $399,804,539 $708,207,757
5 The Ten Commandments 1956 $65,500,000 $682,231,213
6 Jaws 1975 $260,000,000 $667,018,069
7 Titanic 1997 $600,788,188 $664,924,618
8 Doctor Zhivago 1965 $111,721,910 $630,608,114
9 The Jungle Book 1967 $135,475,556 $564,111,332
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 $184,925,486 $553,720,000
11 Ben-Hur 1959 $70,000,000 $547,076,924
12 101 Dalmatians 1961 $152,551,111 $534,454,927
13 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 $290,158,751 $498,089,402
14 The Exorcist 1973 $165,000,000 $478,971,428
15 Return of the Jedi 1983 $309,125,409 $478,479,852
16 The Sting 1973 $159,616,327 $463,343,395
17 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 $242,374,454 $442,900,081
18 Jurassic Park 1993 $356,839,725 $437,861,305
19 The Graduate 1967 $104,397,100 $434,702,678
20 The Phantom Menace 1999 $431,088,297 $431,088,297
21 Fantasia 1940 $76,400,000 $421,860,870
22 The Godfather 1972 $134,821,952 $403,572,052
23 Forrest Gump 1994 $329,690,974 $400,677,068
24 Mary Poppins 1964 $86,000,000 $397,163,636
25 Grease 1978 $181,518,204 $390,762,504
26 The Lion King 1994 $312,855,561 $380,216,806
27 Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 $166,000,000 $378,152,466
28 Sleeping Beauty 1959 $51,600,000 $369,194,365
29 Ghostbusters 1984 $238,632,124 $359,350,822
30 Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid 1969 $102,308,889 $358,433,901
31 Bambi 1942 $102,797,150 $357,677,755
32 Independence Day 1996 $306,052,958 $355,777,809
33 Love Story 1970 $106,397,180 $355,590,576
34 Beverly Hills Cop 1984 $234,760,478 $354,935,485
35 Pinocchio 1940 $84,254,167 $342,408,934
36 Home Alone 1990 $285,016,000 $342,288,719
37 Cleopatra 1963 $57,777,778 $341,291,989
38 Airport 1970 $100,489,151 $335,845,320
39 American Graffiti 1973 $115,000,000 $333,828,572
40 The Robe 1953 $36,000,000 $332,509,091
41 Around the World in 80 Days 1956 $42,000,000 $328,246,154
42 Blazing Saddles 1974 $119,500,000 $321,195,767
43 Batman 1989 $251,188,924 $319,809,458
44 The Bells of St. Mary's 1945 $21,333,333 $318,745,098
45 The Towering Inferno 1974 $116,000,000 $311,788,360
46 National Lampoon's Animal House 1978 $141,600,000 $307,405,129
47 The Greatest Show on Earth 1952 $36,000,000 $304,800,000
48 My Fair Lady 1964 $72,000,000 $304,800,000
49 Let's Make Love 1960 $44,840,000 $303,716,171
50 Back to the Future 1985 $210,609,762 $301,379,603

 

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