Gone with the Wind

This might not have been the film you anticipated being at the top of the list of the biggest box office hits ever. However, by the end of its theatrical run (which lasted literally years), 1939’s Oscar-winning historical romance Gone with the Wind made $400.2 million at the box office – and if we adjust for inflation, that’s somewhere between $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion today, making it the biggest film of all time.

Titanic

Altogether now: “I’m the king of the world!” Filmmaker James Cameron certainly was when his historical romance/disaster drama opened in 1997. After well and truly dominating the box office (and the Oscars), Titanic earned $2.187 billion – which equates to between $3.2 billion and $3.4 billion, allowing for inflation. The ship may have sank, but the movie certainly didn’t!

Avatar

Not content with breaking the all-time box office record once, James Cameron went and did it again 12 years after Titanic with his 2009 sci-fi extravaganza Avatar, which helped lure audiences (and bump up ticket prices) with its then-pioneering use of digital 3D. Unadjusted, Avatar remains the biggest film ever at $2.788 billion, but adjusted for inflation it’s an even mightier $3.2 billion.

Star Wars (1977)

When writer-director George Lucas first took us to a galaxy far, far away, the world had never seen anything like it. 1977’s original Star Wars captured the imagination of millions, to the tune of a then-unprecedented $775.4 million in box office receipts. In 2023 money, that equates to somewhere between $2.9 billion and $3 billion.

Avengers: Endgame

Briefly the biggest box office hit ever in modern money (until Avatar was cheekily re-released in China), 2019’s Avengers: Endgame marked the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first age. After delighting fans whilst baffling those who hadn’t seen enough Marvel movies beforehand, Joe and Anthony Russo’s film earned $2.742 billion (and in this case, it’s a little too soon to adjust for inflation).

The Sound of Music

Director Robert Wise’s adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (based on the true story of Austria’s Von Trapp Family Singers) is officially the most popular big screen musical ever made. After winning five Oscars and playing in theaters for many years, the 1965 film ended its box office run with takings of $286.2 million – somewhere between $2.4 billion and $2.5 billion in modern money.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg had already enjoyed huge success as a filmmaker since the mid-70s, but 1982’s ET took things to another level, proving the biggest box office hit of the 1980s – and, for a time, the highest-earning film ever. The heartfelt sci-fi family drama made $792.3 million, breaking the box office record held by Star Wars. Today, that equates to between $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion.

The Ten Commandments

Director Cecil B DeMille is synonymous with Hollywood epics, and his 1956 movie The Ten Commandments is most certainly that. Starring Charlton Heston as Moses, this adaptation of the Bible’s Book of Exodus earned $122.7 million on release. That might not sound like much of a blockbuster by today’s standards, but adjusted for inflation it’s between $2.2 billion and $2.3 billion.

Doctor Zhivago

Britain’s esteemed David Lean was another filmmaker known for his epics, and none of his films made as great a mark commercially as Doctor Zhivago. Released in the same year as The Sound of Music (which beat it to the Best Picture Oscar), the historical romance starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie earned $245 million in 1965, equal to around $2.15 billion – $2.25 billion today.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

The most recent Star Wars trilogy may have proved divisive, but this didn’t stop audiences turning out in droves for the first instalment. Released in 2015, director JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens became the third film (and the first not directed by James Cameron) to break the $2 billion mark at the box office. Its $2.068 billion haul adjusts to $2.15 billion with inflation, making it the tenth biggest film of all time.