Adjusted for inflation, boxofficemojo calculated that the movie Gone with the wind from the year 1939 would be the top grossing film of all time. only one film in the past 15 years makes the top 10 and the highest grossing movie of the 21st century – The Dark Knight (2008) – ranks 27th overall. Curious to note that all the movies in the top 10 (except for one, E.T.) were before the year 1980, when few movies were made to compete with each other. To bolster that statistic, the top 20 had only 6 movies that were made before the year 2000: Return of the Jedi 1983, Jurassic Park 1993, Phantom Menace 1999, Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981, Empire Strikes Back 1980, and ET from 1982.
Add to this the most obvious reason why pre 2000 movies grossed more on this list is that movies of the past have a headstart and all the time in the world to rake in profits by being made earlier than their y2k counterparts.
DOMESTIC GROSSES
Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation*
Note: Use the adjuster tool in the upper right-hand corner to adjust into any year’s dollars.
| Rank | Title (click to view) | Studio | Adjusted Gross | Unadjusted Gross | Year^ |
| 1 | Gone with the Wind | MGM | $1,450,680,400 | $198,676,459 | 1939^ |
| 2 | Star Wars | Fox | $1,278,898,700 | $460,998,007 | 1977^ |
| 3 | The Sound of Music | Fox | $1,022,542,400 | $158,671,368 | 1965 |
| 4 | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Uni. | $1,018,514,100 | $435,110,554 | 1982^ |
| 5 | The Ten Commandments | Par. | $940,580,000 | $65,500,000 | 1956 |
| 6 | Titanic | Par. | $921,523,500 | $600,788,188 | 1997 |
| 7 | Jaws | Uni. | $919,605,900 | $260,000,000 | 1975 |
| 8 | Doctor Zhivago | MGM | $891,292,600 | $111,721,910 | 1965 |
| 9 | The Exorcist | WB | $793,883,100 | $232,671,011 | 1973^ |
| 10 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Dis. | $782,620,000 | $184,925,486 | 1937^ |
| 11 | 101 Dalmatians | Dis. | $717,405,900 | $144,880,014 | 1961^ |
| 12 | The Empire Strikes Back | Fox | $704,937,000 | $290,475,067 | 1980^ |
| 13 | Ben-Hur | MGM | $703,640,000 | $74,000,000 | 1959 |
| 14 | Return of the Jedi | Fox | $675,346,600 | $309,306,177 | 1983^ |
| 15 | The Sting | Uni. | $640,045,700 | $156,000,000 | 1973 |
| 16 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Par. | $632,858,500 | $242,374,454 | 1981^ |
| 17 | Jurassic Park | Uni. | $618,957,900 | $357,067,947 | 1993 |
| 18 | The Graduate | AVCO | $614,402,600 | $104,901,839 | 1967^ |
| 19 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Fox | $609,049,300 | $431,088,301 | 1999 |
| 20 | Fantasia | Dis. | $596,252,200 | $76,408,097 | 1941^ |
| 21 | The Godfather | Par. | $566,664,000 | $134,966,411 | 1972^ |
| 22 | Forrest Gump | Par. | $563,957,500 | $329,694,499 | 1994 |
| 23 | Mary Poppins | Dis. | $561,345,500 | $102,272,727 | 1964^ |
| 24 | The Lion King | BV | $554,524,300 | $328,541,776 | 1994^ |
| 25 | Grease | Par. | $552,298,200 | $188,389,888 | 1978^ |
| 26 | Thunderball | UA | $537,064,000 | $63,595,658 | 1965 |
| 27 | The Dark Knight | WB | $533,345,300 | $533,345,358 | 2008 |
| 28 | The Jungle Book | Dis. | $529,021,800 | $141,843,612 | 1967^ |
| 29 | Sleeping Beauty | Dis. | $521,814,100 | $51,600,000 | 1959^ |
| 30 | Shrek 2 | DW | $510,145,700 | $441,226,247 | 2004 |
| 31 | Ghostbusters | Col. | $507,845,800 | $238,632,124 | 1984^ |
| 32 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Fox | $506,605,400 | $102,308,889 | 1969 |
| 33 | Love Story | Par. | $502,586,700 | $106,397,186 | 1970 |
| 34 | Spider-Man | Sony | $498,900,500 | $403,706,375 | 2002 |
| 35 | Independence Day | Fox | $497,350,500 | $306,169,268 | 1996 |
| 36 | Home Alone | Fox | $486,331,500 | $285,761,243 | 1990 |
| 37 | Pinocchio | Dis. | $483,955,900 | $84,254,167 | 1940^ |
| 38 | Cleopatra (1963) | Fox | $482,377,300 | $57,777,778 | 1963 |
| 39 | Beverly Hills Cop | Par. | $482,137,100 | $234,760,478 | 1984 |
| 40 | Goldfinger | UA | $476,034,000 | $51,081,062 | 1964 |
| 41 | Airport | Uni. | $474,679,000 | $100,489,151 | 1970 |
| 42 | American Graffiti | Uni. | $471,828,600 | $115,000,000 | 1973 |
| 43 | The Robe | Fox | $469,963,600 | $36,000,000 | 1953 |
| 44 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest | BV | $464,031,700 | $423,315,812 | 2006 |
| 45 | Around the World in 80 Days | UA | $463,938,500 | $42,000,000 | 1956 |
| 46 | Bambi | RKO | $457,455,400 | $102,247,150 | 1942^ |
| 47 | Blazing Saddles | WB | $453,973,600 | $119,500,000 | 1974 |
| 48 | Batman | WB | $452,014,200 | $251,188,924 | 1989 |
| 49 | The Bells of St. Mary’s | RKO | $450,509,800 | $21,333,333 | 1945 |
| 50 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | NL | $441,843,800 | $377,027,325 | 2003 |
| 51 | The Towering Inferno | Fox | $440,677,300 | $116,000,000 | 1974 |
| 52 | Spider-Man 2 | Sony | $431,939,800 | $373,585,825 | 2004 |
| 53 | My Fair Lady | WB | $430,800,000 | $72,000,000 | 1964 |
| 54 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Par. | $430,800,000 | $36,000,000 | 1952 |
| 55 | National Lampoon’s Animal House | Uni. | $430,012,100 | $141,600,000 | 1978^ |
| 56 | The Passion of the Christ | NM | $428,680,800 | $370,782,930 | 2004^ |
| 57 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Fox | $425,950,500 | $380,270,577 | 2005 |
| 58 | Back to the Future | Uni. | $423,983,700 | $210,609,762 | 1985 |
| 59 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | NL | $413,786,400 | $341,786,758 | 2002^ |
| 60 | The Sixth Sense | BV | $413,418,100 | $293,506,292 | 1999 |
| 61 | Superman | WB | $411,831,400 | $134,218,018 | 1978 |
| 62 | Tootsie | Col. | $408,570,300 | $177,200,000 | 1982 |
| 63 | Smokey and the Bandit | Uni. | $408,060,400 | $126,737,428 | 1977 |
| 64 | Finding Nemo | BV | $404,503,100 | $339,714,978 | 2003 |
| 65 | West Side Story | MGM | $401,866,600 | $43,656,822 | 1961 |
| 66 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | WB | $401,455,200 | $317,575,550 | 2001 |
| 67 | Lady and the Tramp | Dis. | $400,176,500 | $93,602,326 | 1955^ |
| 68 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Col. | $399,032,400 | $132,088,635 | 1977^ |
| 69 | Lawrence of Arabia | Col. | $397,653,900 | $44,824,144 | 1962^ |
| 70 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Fox | $395,398,500 | $112,892,319 | 1975 |
| 71 | Rocky | UA | $395,187,000 | $117,235,147 | 1976 |
| 72 | The Best Years of Our Lives | RKO | $394,900,000 | $23,650,000 | 1946 |
| 73 | The Poseidon Adventure | Fox | $394,196,100 | $84,563,118 | 1972 |
| 74 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | NL | $392,774,200 | $314,776,170 | 2001^ |
| 75 | Twister | WB | $392,660,800 | $241,721,524 | 1996 |
| 76 | Men in Black | Sony | $392,147,700 | $250,690,539 | 1997 |
| 77 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Col. | $390,592,000 | $27,200,000 | 1957 |
| 78 | It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | MGM | $386,825,500 | $46,332,858 | 1963 |
| 79 | Swiss Family Robinson | Dis. | $386,341,400 | $40,356,000 | 1960 |
| 80 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | UA | $385,460,900 | $108,981,275 | 1975 |
| 81 | M.A.S.H. | Fox | $385,452,600 | $81,600,000 | 1970 |
| 82 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Par. | $384,365,600 | $179,870,271 | 1984 |
| 83 | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | Fox | $383,903,600 | $310,676,740 | 2002^ |
| 84 | Mrs. Doubtfire | Fox | $378,273,900 | $219,195,243 | 1993 |
| 85 | Aladdin | BV | $376,536,100 | $217,350,219 | 1992 |
| 86 | Ghost | Par. | $369,520,300 | $217,631,306 | 1990 |
| 87 | Duel in the Sun | Selz. | $366,326,500 | $20,408,163 | 1946 |
| 88 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | P/DW | $363,867,000 | $363,867,000 | 2009 |
| 89 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | BV | $363,659,100 | $305,413,918 | 2003 |
| 90 | House of Wax | WB | $362,819,100 | $23,750,000 | 1953 |
| 91 | Rear Window | Par. | $361,547,000 | $36,764,313 | 1954^ |
| 92 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Uni. | $358,353,400 | $229,086,679 | 1997 |
| 93 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Par. | $354,810,400 | $197,171,806 | 1989 |
| 94 | Spider-Man 3 | Sony | $351,204,600 | $336,530,303 | 2007 |
| 95 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | TriS | $349,352,800 | $204,843,345 | 1991 |
| 96 | Sergeant York | WB | $345,524,500 | $16,361,885 | 1941 |
| 97 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Uni. | $345,407,000 | $260,044,825 | 2000 |
| 98 | Toy Story 2 | BV | $343,466,200 | $245,852,179 | 1999^ |
| 99 | Top Gun | Par. | $342,137,100 | $176,786,701 | 1986 |
| 100 | Shrek | DW | $339,546,800 | $267,665,011 | 2001 |
