When we think about the highest grossing films of all time, certain movies like Avatar, Titanic, and Star Wars likely come to mind. These blockbuster hits have managed to capture the public’s imagination and rake in impressive sums at the box office. But which movie has actually made the most money of all time? Figuring out the top grossing film isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. There are a few factors that make determining the highest grossing movie a complex question.
First, we have to consider whether we are talking about top films in absolute dollars or when adjusting for inflation. Looking at just the absolute numbers tends to give more modern films an advantage, since things like higher ticket prices can drive up box office returns. Adjusting for inflation allows us to make more of an apples-to-apples comparison of grosses across many decades of film releases.
We also have to think about worldwide earnings versus just domestic (U.S. and Canada) grosses. In the modern blockbuster era, international box office returns make up a massive chunk of a film’s overall earnings. Some all-time top grossing movies like Avatar made the majority of their money overseas. So focusing just on domestic gross ignores a huge piece of a movie’s total box office haul.
Finally, re-releases and multiple versions of films also complicate things. Movies like Star Wars and E.T. have been re-released theatrically multiple times, giving their total grosses a boost. And certain major blockbusters have had special editions or director’s cuts that make it tricky to parse out true earnings.
So which movie comes out definitively on top in terms of total global box office gross when taking all these factors into account? Let’s run through the data and settle the debate once and for all.
Highest Grossing Movies of All Time – Domestic Box Office
If we just look at the domestic box office, the highest grossing movie of all time is Star Wars. George Lucas’s space opera has grossed $486 million domestically over multiple releases. Here are the top 5 domestic box office champs:
| Rank | Movie | Domestic Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Wars | $486 million |
| 2 | Avengers: Endgame | $858 million |
| 3 | Avatar | $760 million |
| 4 | Titanic | $659 million |
| 5 | Avengers: Infinity War | $678 million |
Star Wars first arrived in 1977 and has been re-released multiple times, most notably with Special Edition versions in 1997 and even a 3D conversion in 2012. Each re-release has boosted the total gross, allowing the sci-fi series to keep the domestic crown after over 40 years.
Recent mega-hits like Avatar and Avengers: Endgame have come close to topping Star Wars but fallen just short of its haul when only looking at the North American box office.
Highest Grossing Movies Adjusted For Inflation
The picture looks quite a bit different when we adjust the grosses for ticket price inflation though. On an inflation-adjusted basis, the highest-grossing domestic movie of all time is actually Gone with the Wind.
Here are the top films at the U.S. box office adjusted for inflation:
| Rank | Movie | Inflation-Adjusted Domestic Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gone with the Wind | $1.8 billion |
| 2 | Star Wars | $1.6 billion |
| 3 | The Sound of Music | $1.3 billion |
| 4 | E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial | $1.3 billion |
| 5 | Titanic | $1.2 billion |
Gone with the Wind was released in 1939 and still holds the inflation-adjusted domestic box office crown with $1.8 billion. Interestingly, Star Wars falls to second place at $1.6 billion. The all-time domestic chart changes dramatically when accounting for inflation, with classics like The Sound of Music and E.T. rounding out the top 5.
Modern movies have the advantage of higher ticket prices driving up gross revenue. Adjusting for inflation evens the playing field and gives older films credit for their monster earnings in their era.
Worldwide Box Office Gross
Things change again if we look at worldwide box office gross instead of just focusing on North America. On a global basis, the highest grossing movie of all time is Avengers: Endgame with $2.8 billion at the international box office.
Here are the top 5 films worldwide:
| Rank | Movie | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avengers: Endgame | $2.8 billion |
| 2 | Avatar | $2.8 billion |
| 3 | Titanic | $2.2 billion |
| 4 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $2.1 billion |
| 5 | Avengers: Infinity War | $2.0 billion |
Avengers: Endgame just barely eked out Avatar to take the worldwide crown with $2.798 billion globally. But notably, Avatar made $2.789 billion back in 2009, over a decade before Endgame was released.
More modern films dominate the all-time global box office list, as international markets have become more important over time. Star Wars slides down to fourth place worldwide, behind movies like Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Highest Grossing Movie Franchises
Looking at franchise earnings also provides insight into which movie series have been the most financially successful over time. Star Wars may not top some of the individual movie lists, but it wins by a landslide in terms of total franchise box office.
The Star Wars saga has now earned over $10 billion worldwide after 12 theatrically released films. No other franchise comes close. Here are the top 5 highest grossing movie franchises of all time:
| Rank | Franchise | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Wars | $10.3 billion |
| 2 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | $8.5 billion |
| 3 | James Bond | $7.1 billion |
| 4 | Harry Potter | $5.5 billion |
| 5 | Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit | $4.5 billion |
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies dominate the list of individual film grosses, the Star Wars saga takes the cake for total franchise earnings over its decades-long theatrical run. James Bond and Harry Potter also fare better when looking at full franchise box office despite no single film cracking the top.
Highest Grossing Directors
Another interesting angle is looking at which directors have overseen the most financially successful films. Steven Spielberg is by far the highest grossing director with over $10 billion in worldwide box office from his blockbusters.
Here are the top 5 directors ranked by total box office earnings:
| Rank | Director | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Spielberg | $10.3 billion |
| 2 | Peter Jackson | $6.5 billion |
| 3 | James Cameron | $6.2 billion |
| 4 | Joss Whedon | $5.1 billion |
| 5 | Michael Bay | $4.5 billion |
Legendary blockbuster director Steven Spielberg more than doubles the worldwide gross of second place director Peter Jackson. Major moneymakers like E.T., Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and Jaws help cement Spielberg as the most financially successful director.
Other notable big-grossing directors include Star Wars creator George Lucas ($4.5 billion worldwide), MCU directors Anthony and Joe Russo ($3.8 billion), and Christopher Nolan ($3.5 billion).
Highest Grossing Movie Genres
We can also break things down by genre to see which types of films tend to produce the biggest box office windfalls. Among genres, fantasy films have accumulated the most earnings with over $25 billion worldwide.
Here are the top 5 movie genres ranked by total worldwide box office gross:
| Rank | Genre | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fantasy | $26.9 billion |
| 2 | Action | $19.8 billion |
| 3 | Drama | $16 billion |
| 4 | Comedy | $14.1 billion |
| 5 | Animation | $12.7 billion |
Fantasy films top the list thanks largely to massive franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. Other top-grossing genres include action movies, drama, comedy, and animation. Surprisingly, genres like horror and thrillers don’t crack the top 5 for total box office despite major hits like The Sixth Sense, The Exorcist, and Get Out.
Conclusion
So what movie has definitively made the most money worldwide? The answer depends greatly on how you analyze the data. In terms of sheer global box office gross, Avengers: Endgame is the single highest-grossing movie at $2.8 billion. However, films like Gone with the Wind and Avatar would likely top the list when adjusting strictly for ticket price inflation. And Star Wars crushes the competition when looking at total box office for a major franchise.
No matter how you slice it, mega-hits like Star Wars, Avatar, Endgame, Titanic, E.T., Gone with the Wind, and The Sound of Music have separated themselves from the pack as far as total box office earnings. The all-time highest grossing movies list offers an interesting snapshot of which films have successfully won over audiences decade after decade. And it will be exciting to see what new records are set in the years ahead and which modern blockbusters ultimately go down as the highest grossing movies of all time.