The top ten list of highest grossing films of all time has an interesting mix. I don’t think I would have guessed many of these, but after seeing what they were, I’m not too surprised. George Lucas sure managed to make popular movies. He’s got three in the top ten.
I can’t believe that Star Wars: Episode I is in there. I would guess that a good chunk of that money is from all the hopeful fans like myself who went to see it opening weekend without reading reviews. And were bitterly disappointed.
I knew that Independance Day made a lot of money, but I didn’t think it would be in the top ten. That was a surprise. That and the Lion King.
I’d like to see a top ten list that accounts for inflation.
Here is a site that looks at top gross with inflation.. The top move might surprise you.
Though I’ve seen all these, I’m surprised at the list. Some are great movies, but Phantom Menace? Titanic was also not that great, but became a shrine for teenage and early-20’s girls.
Mel: I wasn’t surprised by the top movie, because the other top ten list already said what the top movie would be if they adjusted for inflation.
“If we were to adjust for inflation or count up the number of people that saw every movie, the list would be incredibly different, with Gone With the Wind blowing away the competition.”
I’m suprised that there’s so much Disney at the top of the inflation-adjusted list. Mary Poppins and Bambi both beat Independance Day. Heh.
Titanic? I was a young twenty-something when it came out. I laughed my way through it in a theater and made some teenager very unhappy with me. It still makes me giggle.
What? No LoTR?
I laughed at Titanic, too. But I was impressed with the theatre I saw it in. It was a megaplex with stadium seating and all the bells & whistles soundwise.
I didn’t care for Juraissic Park. Must be a guy thing. When I watched ET again as an adult, I hated it.
The list totally suprised me. Out of the ten, I think I only liked two of them and I had to be tied down to a chair to sit through Titanic (on video). I guess I’m out of touch.
Here’s a critic’s explanation of why critics choose what they do, along with some top films for the year.
I don’t understand this list. What about any of the Lord of the Rings films in the Trilogy? The first two were around $800,000 each not including merchandise etc. The Lord ot the Rings, Return of the King, is still bring in about loads of $s and it was released months ago. Most films don’t even stay in the theater even half that long before going to video.
Missy, check out the dates here. It’s been a while since this post was made. The top 10 have already changed: See this list.
the list is suprising but somewhat incorrect because recently harry potter and the sorcerors stone was named the second highest grossing film of all time and chamber of secrets was the fourth or the fifth. Also lord of the rings is on there to
As Levi explained to the previous person who had that concern, I wrote that in December of 2003, and the list had already been around for a while.
It wasn’t incorrect, it just couldn’t tell the future.
I would have to say keep 2 things in mind. First, the list does change around a lot. Second, we are looking for something that has been adjusted for inflation. Gone With the Wind brought in 198 million dollars at time when it cost $.50 to go to a movie. Adjust that for inflation and the movie brought in 1.187 BILLION dollars. Star Wars episode IV (1977) brought in 400 Million and after adjusting for inflation 1.026 BILLION dollars.
That’s a good point, but they already explain that.
“Please note that while most of these films premiered during the 1990s, this is also when ticket prices were highest. If we were to adjust for inflation or count up the number of people that saw every movie, the list would be incredibly different, with Gone With the Wind blowing away the competition. Also note that these are the North America figures, completely ignoring Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and the bustling Antarctic movie scene. Finally, we’re not counting video rentals, because that’s a completely separate industry unto itself.”