Since 1915, 11 films have received the title of "highest grossing of all time". For all the awards and critical accolades a film may receive, a film's box office performance is as viable a measure of success as any other. Studying the list of films that received the title of "the highest-grossing of all time in the history of cinema”, you can take a tour of the history of cinema and the trends that have shaped the industry for over 100 years.
Birth of a Nation (1915)
Box Office: $15 million; 25 years was the highest grossing film
DW Griffith's The Birth of a Nation is both a huge achievement in film history and one of the most controversial and damaging films ever made. The film pioneered several fundamental innovations in cinematography. It was the first 12-reel movie ever made, the longest at the time, over 3 hours. He came to theaters with instructions for an orchestral score to accompany his exhibition - another first. He pioneered such rudimentary techniques as close-up, blackout, and intermission. The film made extensive use of spectacle to captivate the audience, a fairly constant theme in the history of top-grossing films.
The Birth of a Nation also shamelessly promoted the Lost Cause ideology of the Confederacy and crudely depicted African Americans as unintelligent and militant, defending the Ku Klux Klan in its third act and starting the KKK's resurgence in the early 20th century. Although some groups, such as the NAACP, tried to ban it, the film was nevertheless hugely popular. It was even shown at the White House, where President Woodrow Wilson famously compared it to "writing history with lightning."
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Box Office: $32 million; 25 years was the highest grossing film
Birth of a Nation held the title until Victor Flemming's 1939 issue of Gone with the Wind. They are similar in many ways: both are pre-war epics reminiscent of the Confederate Lost Cause, both depict black characters as crude caricatures, both have huge running times, and both were advertised to the public as spectacular films about the events. The way the opening title scrolls across the screen as if it's too big to hold in the frame says a lot about its ambition. "Gone with the Wind" remains an ethically dangerous milestone in the history of cinema, like Griffith's epics that preceded it. It was re-released in 1971 when it technically regained the highest grossing title. Adjusted for inflation, this film is still the highest grossing film of all time.
Fun fact: if inflation is taken into account, then Gone with the Wind is still the highest-grossing film of all time.
Adjusted for inflation, top-grossing films
Sounds of Music (1965)
Box Office: $114.6 million 7 years was the highest grossing film
The Sound of Music represents the pinnacle of Hollywood road show musicals at a time when these '50s-style productions seemed to be just fading away. After a string of musical financial failures, The Sound of Music, along with My Fair Lady (1964) and Mary Poppins (1964), revived studio interest in similar productions after the three combined 35 Oscar nominations and 18 wins. Alas, musical failures in the form of Camelot (1967) and Doctor Dolittle (1967) ended the classic Hollywood musical.
The Godfather (1972)
Box office: ~$134 million; 3 years was the highest grossing film
It has become a cliché to consider The Godfather as one of the greatest films ever made, but it deserves neither weary praise nor a short stint as the highest-grossing film of all time for no reason. The famous performance of Marlon Brando in the title role helped establish the acting method as the mainstay of the popular film. The film's dark, brooding color cinematography was groundbreaking in its own right. The epic story, taken from Mario Puzo's 1969 bestseller of the same name, made it the prototype of the gangster film genre for decades to come. While The Godfather is certainly not the first nor the last to earn the most from an already popular intellectual property, it has garnered both critical and commercial success for itself, something that has rarely been seen since.
Jaws (1975)
Box Office: $193.7 million 2 years was the highest grossing film
With the release of Jaws in the summer of 1975, the modern blockbuster was born. Up until this point, the studios had been resident for major releases during the summer months, believing audiences would prefer the pool or the beach over the theatre. Jaws has developed an entirely new release model, laying the groundwork for future blockbusters. The film was shown simultaneously in hundreds of theaters across the country thanks to a huge investment in television advertising. Instead of slowly bringing the film to new markets and generating expectations over time, it actually created the now common practice of releasing a film across the country on a single, predetermined, hotly anticipated day. Like its most profitable predecessors, the film was eventful, but not a historical epic. This film pioneered the concept film: a film whose plot can be quickly and easily told and sold. All subsequent top pickers will be high-ranking. Simply put, "Jaws" has completely changed the financial potential of Hollywood.
Star Wars (1977)
Box Office: $410 million; 5 years was the highest grossing film
When Star Wars (1977) came out, audiences had never seen anything like it. It was an effects-oriented, concept, transportation film with franchise potential that encouraged viewers' escapism while capitalizing on the increased public interest in spaceflight. Audiences marveled at technological breakthroughs that led to exciting galactic-scale battles, and the classic tale of good and evil became wildly popular. George Lucas has unleashed the seemingly limitless creativity of his idea by creating sequels in a short timeframe that will allow the Star Wars intellectual property to be revealed with all its cultural and financial potential. The franchise film will become an integral part of studio business plans in today's media landscape.
Alien (1982)
Box office: ~$619 million; 11 years was the highest grossing film
Steven Spielberg became the first recidivist on this list with the release of 1982's ET. The film established the science fiction genre in a world completely familiar to viewers, with country houses and Reese's plays. It pulled to the quick, drawing on its director's experience in divorce. It was a four-quadrant film, a key factor in predicting the financial success of subsequent films. From a production point of view, the audience can be divided into 4 categories: men over and under 25 and women over and under 25. The four-quadrant film appeals to all four demographic groups, maximizing revenue potential. This principle will make family films, often animated, financially sound in the 21st century.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Box Office: $912.7 million 4 years was the highest grossing film
Combining the spectacular effects and sci-fi elements of Star Wars, the concept component of Jaws, and adapting an already successful IP like The Godfather did, Spielberg scored his biggest ever hat-trick in Jurassic Park (1993).The film adaptation of Michael Crichton's best-selling book worked in two main ways: it thrilled audiences with revolutionary visuals, and it featured characters from all sectors, making it a family film. With the release of Jurassic Park and the critical masterpiece Schindler's List in 1993, Spielberg marked the most extraordinary year of directorial work since Victor Flemming in 1939. "Gone with the Wind" and the cult adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz".
Titanic (1997)
Box office: $2.127 billion; 12 years was the highest grossing film
By this point, spectacle had become the cornerstone of any film claiming to be the highest-grossing film of all time. Titanic (1997) lived up to its title in every sense of the word: a massive set with thousands of extras, huge stunts, and an epic runtime that, minus the modern scenes and credits, is equal to the time it took for the real-life ill-fated ship to sink. To accommodate this giant, director James Cameron committed $200 million, making it the most expensive film ever made, but also the first to eclipse the one billion dollar mark at the box office. It earned a record 14 Academy Award nominations and a record 11 wins. The story of the film originated from Cameron's fascination with shipwrecks and the technological innovations he brought to the study of what he called the "Shipwreck Everest". It won't be the last time Cameron's technological imperative has propelled his work into the top-grossing list.
Avatar (2009)
Box Office: $2.841 billion; 10 years was the highest grossing film
At the height of the 3D phenomenon, James Cameron's Avatar (2009) brought the director the second highest-grossing film of all time. Although he intended to film Avatar immediately after the Titanic was packed, the technology needed for his breathtaking sci-fi vision was not yet available. He stuck with this idea until 2006, when he determined that the motion capture and CGI capabilities were in line with his ambitions. The spectacle of stereoscopic 3D and the wave of critical praise for its technological innovations drew crowds. It surpassed the $2 billion mark at the box office and remains the second-highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation, only surpassed by Gone with the Wind. Cameron has been keen to franchise Avatar IP, with multiple Avatar sequels scheduled through the late 2020s. After being re-released in China in 2021, Avatar regained its top spot in the top-grossing films of all time.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Box Office: $2.797 billion 2 years (so far)
Although cinematic adaptations of comic book characters were not a new invention of the late 2000s, producer Kevin Feige changed the blockbuster landscape by taking the franchise to the extreme. From 2007 to 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe benefited from pre-existing IPs, effects-driven action games, and a vast world that delighted in crossover potential. The culmination of this sprawling story of 22 unprecedented films has always had the potential to claim the top spot on the top-grossing list behind major series such as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Harry Potter and Harry Potter. The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) earned the highest box office performance of their franchises. Thanos represents a watershed in the photorealistic rendering of CGI characters, building on the success of Avatar before him. In the end, Endgame narrowly outsold Avatar by over $8 million on its first launch, but was later overtaken by Avatar.
