_Avatar_, directed by James Cameron

It's kinda crazy to think that I've seen only 6 of the top 20 highest grossing films (unadjusted) ever.

hahaha I have seen 19 of them

I've seen 10. Mind you I'll be seeing all the Potters soon enough.

time to get adjusted

Yeah, the only one I'm missing is the newest Potter and that's just because I was able to successfully distract my wife from noticing when it was in theaters.

seen four, but star wars part one was a pirated vhs so doesn't entirely count.

Actually I don't think I've seen the entirety of "Ice Age" so 18.5

i saw em all

http://www.youmakebunnycry.info/images/bleeding-eyes.jpg

a cool 9. jurassic park WINS the snap jagger poll

Before the current age of sound and fury, and after The Sound of Music and The Godfather -- something of a freak case since it was considered as a sort of art film in addition to being a pop smash -- the Academy shied away from giving Best Picture to huge hits until Titanic. eg, Annie Hall beat Star Wars, Chariots of Fire beat Raiders of the Lost Ark, Gandhi beat ET etc.

You guys know this is over $1 billion worldwide, yes?

Conceding that the list is meaningless without inflation adjustment, it's worth noting that out of the 20 top grossers, exactly 3 were not based on existing properties. Those three:

TITANIC (nom'd for seemingly everything except Best Original Screenplay)
AVATAR
FINDING NEMO (nom'd for Best Original Screenplay)

Pretty impressive achievement, no?

btw i do NOT agree that the 3D surcharge is cheating - people were willing to pay it to see this movie as it was meant to be seen. In fact, I'd much rather pay $17 to see this in 3D/IMAX than $11 to see it on a normal screen. Without 3D/IMAX it would be a much less enjoyable movie.

top 100 box office all time...adjusted for inflation:
1 Gone with the Wind MGM $1,485,028,000 $198,676,459 1939^
2 Star Wars Fox $1,309,179,000 $460,998,007 1977^
3 The Sound of Music Fox $1,046,753,000 $158,671,368 1965
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Uni. $1,042,629,400 $435,110,554 1982^
5 The Ten Commandments Par. $962,850,000 $65,500,000 1956
6 Titanic Par. $943,342,300 $600,788,188 1997
7 Jaws Uni. $941,379,300 $260,000,000 1975
8 Doctor Zhivago MGM $912,395,600 $111,721,910 1965
9 The Exorcist WB $812,679,700 $232,671,011 1973^
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dis. $801,150,000 $184,925,486 1937^
11 101 Dalmatians Dis. $734,391,800 $144,880,014 1961^
12 The Empire Strikes Back Fox $721,627,700 $290,475,067 1980^
13 Ben-Hur MGM $720,300,000 $74,000,000 1959
14 Return of the Jedi Fox $691,336,700 $309,306,177 1983^
15 The Sting Uni. $655,200,000 $156,000,000 1973
16 Raiders of the Lost Ark Par. $647,842,600 $242,374,454 1981^
17 Jurassic Park Uni. $633,612,900 $357,067,947 1993
18 The Graduate AVCO $628,949,700 $104,901,839 1967^
19 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Fox $623,469,700 $431,088,301 1999
20 Fantasia Dis. $610,369,600 $76,408,097 1941^
21 The Godfather Par. $580,080,900 $134,966,411 1972^
22 Forrest Gump Par. $577,310,300 $329,694,499 1994
23 Mary Poppins Dis. $574,636,400 $102,272,727 1964^
24 The Lion King BV $567,653,700 $328,541,776 1994^
25 Grease Par. $565,374,900 $188,389,888 1978^
26 Thunderball UA $549,780,000 $63,595,658 1965
27 The Dark Knight WB $545,973,300 $533,345,358 2008
28 The Jungle Book Dis. $541,547,400 $141,843,612 1967^
29 Sleeping Beauty Dis. $534,169,000 $51,600,000 1959^
30 Shrek 2 DW $522,224,300 $441,226,247 2004
31 Ghostbusters Col. $519,870,000 $238,632,124 1984^
32 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Fox $518,600,200 $102,308,889 1969
33 Love Story Par. $514,486,400 $106,397,186 1970
34 Spider-Man Sony $510,712,900 $403,706,375 2002
35 Independence Day Fox $509,126,200 $306,169,268 1996
36 Home Alone Fox $497,846,400 $285,761,243 1990
37 Pinocchio Dis. $495,414,500 $84,254,167 1940^
38 Cleopatra (1963) Fox $493,798,400 $57,777,778 1963
39 Beverly Hills Cop Par. $493,552,600 $234,760,478 1984
40 Goldfinger UA $487,305,000 $51,081,062 1964
41 Airport Uni. $485,917,900 $100,489,151 1970
42 American Graffiti Uni. $483,000,000 $115,000,000 1973
43 The Robe Fox $481,090,900 $36,000,000 1953
44 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV $475,018,500 $423,315,812 2006
45 Around the World in 80 Days UA $474,923,100 $42,000,000 1956
46 Bambi RKO $468,286,500 $102,247,150 1942^
47 Blazing Saddles WB $464,722,200 $119,500,000 1974
48 Batman WB $462,716,400 $251,188,924 1989
49 The Bells of St. Mary's RKO $461,176,500 $21,333,333 1945
50 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $452,305,300 $377,027,325 2003
51 The Towering Inferno Fox $451,111,100 $116,000,000 1974
52 Spider-Man 2 Sony $442,166,800 $373,585,825 2004
53 My Fair Lady WB $441,000,000 $72,000,000 1964
54 The Greatest Show on Earth Par. $441,000,000 $36,000,000 1952
55 National Lampoon's Animal House Uni. $440,193,500 $141,600,000 1978^
56 The Passion of the Christ NM $438,830,600 $370,782,930 2004^
57 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Fox $436,035,700 $380,270,577 2005
58 Back to the Future Uni. $434,022,300 $210,609,762 1985
59 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers NL $423,583,600 $341,786,758 2002^
60 The Sixth Sense BV $423,206,600 $293,506,292 1999
61 Superman WB $421,582,200 $134,218,018 1978
62 Tootsie Col. $418,244,000 $177,200,000 1982
63 Smokey and the Bandit Uni. $417,722,000 $126,737,428 1977
64 Finding Nemo BV $414,080,400 $339,714,978 2003
65 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen P/DW $411,632,600 $402,111,870 2009
66 West Side Story MGM $411,381,600 $43,656,822 1961
67 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone WB $410,960,400 $317,575,550 2001
68 Lady and the Tramp Dis. $409,651,400 $93,602,326 1955^
69 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Col. $408,480,200 $132,088,635 1977^
70 Lawrence of Arabia Col. $407,069,100 $44,824,144 1962^
71 The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fox $404,760,300 $112,892,319 1975
72 Rocky UA $404,543,800 $117,235,147 1976
73 The Best Years of Our Lives RKO $404,250,000 $23,650,000 1946
74 The Poseidon Adventure Fox $403,529,400 $84,563,118 1972
75 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring NL $402,073,800 $314,776,170 2001^
76 Twister WB $401,957,700 $241,721,524 1996
77 Men in Black Sony $401,432,600 $250,690,539 1997
78 The Bridge on the River Kwai Col. $399,840,000 $27,200,000 1957
79 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World MGM $395,984,300 $46,332,858 1963
80 Swiss Family Robinson Dis. $395,488,800 $40,356,000 1960
81 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest UA $394,587,400 $108,981,275 1975
82 M.A.S.H. Fox $394,578,900 $81,600,000 1970
83 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Par. $393,466,200 $179,870,271 1984
84 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Fox $392,993,300 $310,676,740 2002^
85 Mrs. Doubtfire Fox $387,230,200 $219,195,243 1993
86 Aladdin BV $385,451,300 $217,350,219 1992
87 Ghost Par. $378,269,400 $217,631,306 1990
88 Duel in the Sun Selz. $375,000,000 $20,408,163 1946
89 Avatar Fox $374,252,000 $367,536,685 2009
90 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl BV $372,269,400 $305,413,918 2003
91 House of Wax WB $371,409,600 $23,750,000 1953
92 Rear Window Par. $370,107,400 $36,764,313 1954^
93 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Uni. $366,838,100 $229,086,679 1997
94 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Par. $363,211,200 $197,171,806 1989
95 Spider-Man 3 Sony $359,520,000 $336,530,303 2007
96 Terminator 2: Judgment Day TriS $357,624,400 $204,843,345 1991
97 Sergeant York WB $353,705,500 $16,361,885 1941
98 How the Grinch Stole Christmas Uni. $353,585,200 $260,044,825 2000
99 Toy Story 2 BV $351,598,400 $245,852,179 1999^
100 Top Gun Par. $350,237,800 $176,786,701 1986
undefined

avatar at 89....basically nothing will ever beat gone with the wind

they don't have hard figures for 'birth of a nation'. various chaplins must have made insane bank just because they were played over and over again for a decade. iirc.

Is "Ghostbusters" the highest-grossing movie on here that wasn't nominated for an Oscar????

ghostbusters won best ghost iirc

haha nope, that was nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Song

can someone adjust this list for inflation pls

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Movie-Award-BEST-winner/lm/R1OBZ6R04C9VBC

really folx, nobody cares about Oscars except the "top 3" categories. Esp these types of films, the Academy feels bound to throw tech noms at em.

the top 3 = best ghost, best kiss and what else?

yes, those are the awards that Pirates of the Caribbean shit deserves

Unless I've missed something, "National Lampoon's Animal House" is the first movie on this list that wasn't nominated for an Oscar.

biggest suprise on the adjusted list: The Sting at 15!

didn't know that was so huge, love it

Unless I've missed something, "National Lampoon's Animal House" is the first movie on this list that wasn't nominated for an Oscar.

― ah ah oh ooh ooh oh ah ah ah ah ah oh ah ah aha ooh (HI DERE), Wednesday, January 6, 2010 3:53 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

best animals

The Sting is kind of a windup toy of a movie. I remember seeing Robert Altman ridicule it on "60 Minutes." "There were no people in it," or some such.

this from the dude who made O.C. and Stiggs

morbs made OC and Stiggs?

how is avatar already adjusted for inflation?

yeah i was going to say

inflation happens

more like deflation amirite?

inflation is just economic poppage

buck-want

hahahaaa

I don't think I've ever made it more than halfway through "Gone with the Wind." Are re-releases accounted for in that adjusted list?

What I'd really like to see is a list of number of tickets sold, if only as a vital reminder that the vast majority of the world couldn't give a fuck what an "Avatar" is.

The 3-D surcharge is only cheating because it's "competing" against films that didn't have that financial leg up (and like I said, it's so far between $150 and $200 mil bonus - minus the 3-D cash it wouldn't be in the top 20 grossers yet). I couldn't fathom sitting through "Avatar" in 2-D any more than I could watch the (equally awesome in 3-D) "Beowulf" in 2-D (and I tried that shit but could barely make it 15 minutes into a movie I enjoyed immensely in theaters). Supposedly a huge number of the global ticket sales are for 2-D screenings, FWIW. What a bunch of suckers.

couldn't give a shit about the 3d it was the IMAX that made it for me

What I'd really like to see is a list of number of tickets sold, if only as a vital reminder that the vast majority of the world couldn't give a fuck what an "Avatar" is.

So far int'l gross is 2x domestic. Or am I missing something?

Conceding that the list is meaningless without inflation adjustment, it's worth noting that out of the 20 top grossers, exactly 3 were not based on existing properties. Those three:

TITANIC (nom'd for seemingly everything except Best Original Screenplay)
AVATAR
FINDING NEMO (nom'd for Best Original Screenplay)

tb totally fair "titanic" is kind of an existing property

yeah i was gonna say

though it only exists now in the briney deep, holding close to her bosom those 1522 poor souls

So far int'l gross is 2x domestic. Or am I missing something?

I just meant that of the 300 million people in the US (for example), how many will see "Avatar?" And globally as well, a fraction of a fraction, and that includes the film's apparently massive success in China!

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013377.html?categoryid=3599&cs=1&nid=4758

$4.8 million opening day record, y'all!

Anyway, just some perspective that by talking about gross we always gloss over how few people (relatively speaking) even bother flocking to the movies. I've always wondered how many people (not how much money) it takes to make something a seemingly huge hit.

it's just a way to make the movies seem like bigger hits than they actually are, to an extent. which is why movies deal with $$$ when talking about success as opposed to people talking about how many people bought a copy of an album.

2007 - JUNO
2006 - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
2005 - CRASH

u all r arguing abt this fn award - im confiscating yr 3d glasses

actually max, the two major Titanic productions from Hollywood before Cameron didn't think of adding teenage puppylove as the crucial ingredient. So it WAS original.

The reason GWTW will never be caught in tickets sold is that practically everyone DID go to the movies then.

*~now we're alone at last~*

i meant less that it had been made before than that its kind of a story that everyone knows already so calling it "original" is a little bit of a stretch u know

There are about six basic plots, young one.

The reason GWTW will never be caught in tickets sold is that practically everyone DID go to the movies then.

― Rage, Resentment, Spleen (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, January 6, 2010 8:27 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i wonder how this formulation looks w/emerging economies added and population growth figured - a much smaller percentage americans go to the movies than in 1939 but many more asians and south americans must be going right - and there are just so many more people now

was thinking max meant the boat the titanic was the original property myself