Top Ten Grossing Films Of All Time
What is almost sad to me is that over half of these films have been released in the last ten years, and that over half of those are also sequels. No wonder studios are encouraged to make sequels and prequels! Obviously it’s what brings in the money if the first time around is successful. It doesn’t pain me to see Titanic at #1, though people will rip that movie to shreds for days I still maintain it was a wonderful heartfelt love story (it’s rare those get to me), but amazing action, CGI, and an honest element of history that really captured the tragedy. I think it was a brilliant film 
that has deserved all the accolades it’s received. But then I look and am happy to see Star Wars, even though that’s based on it’s re-release into theatres, and feel saddened that there isn’t older films on here. Is inflation and population and other elements taken into consideration here, or is it just pure and simple total $$$$$? So hooray for E.T. and Star Wars…….and even The Dark Knight, but what of Shrek 2? Though it’s profoundly better than the pathetic Home Alone, it seems a strange addition, even though it represents the family genre. I’m not surprised at The Phantom Menace. Curiosity alone sent people to the theatres to see it, and I saw it four times in the theatre myself. Spider-Man I also understand on some levels, but Pirates 2? Wow. Astounding, and even more astounding is Transformers 2. Stunning. Sad to see Jurassic Park is no longer there. (I believe it’s 14) Of course these should be a compilation of popcorn flicks. I just wish there was more originals and some oldies that were still hanging in. By all means, Titanic is a decade old, which is not long, and it is one of the oldest movies on the list. Just goes to show you people always want MORE new and just plain and simply MORE. What do you think about this list?
According to IMB:
| 1. | Titanic (1997) | $600,779,824 |
| 2. | The Dark Knight (2008) | $533,316,061 |
| 3. | Star Wars (1977) | $460,935,665 |
| 4. | Shrek 2 (2004) | $436,471,036 |
| 5. | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) | $434,949,459 |
| 6. | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) | $431,065,444 |
| 7. | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) | $423,032,628 |
| 8. | Spider-Man (2002) | $403,706,375 |
| 9. | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | $400,641,549 |
| 10. | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) | $380,268, 789 |
Popularity: 6% [?]
I’ve railed about all time top grossers so long I’ve gone horse. It’s a bit of a dumb measuring stick. Wanna know why there are only two movies on that list older than 1997? Because the cost of a movie ticket keeps going up.
I’ve never understood why movies never measured success by the amount of tickets sold (like books and music do for instance).
If you’re curious, boxofficemojo actually has a list that adjusts for inflation. It gives an aproximate gauge of actual butts in the seats. By that measure, the most successful film of all time is GONE WITH THE WIND…by a healthy margain too!
Check out the list here, it’s rather interesting.