15 highest grossing films in history

Highest grossing films in absolute numbers

10. Frozen 2

USA, 2019.
Fantasy, adventure.
Duration: 103 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 0.
Box office: $ 1,450,026,933.

Elsa begins to hear voices and accidentally awakens the spirits of the Enchanted Forest. Then she, together with her friends Anna, Christoph, the reindeer Sven and the snowman Olaf, leaves her native land and goes north to understand the distant past of her country.

The first part of Frozen was released in 2013 and became the highest-grossing cartoon in the world at that time. That Disney would shoot a sequel, no one doubted. The only surprise is that it took so long to wait for him. The sequel surpassed the original in gross, and this secured it a spot in the top ten highest grossing films. Although the reviews for this cartoon were much worse than for the first one.

9. Fast and Furious 7

USA, 2015.
Action, adventure.
Duration: 137 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 2.
Box office: $ 1,515,047,671.

Dominic Toretto, Brian O'Conner and the rest of the team, after the capture of the bandits, fell under the amnesty and are trying to establish a quiet life. But Deckard Shaw begins to hunt for them, dreaming of avenging his brother. Toretto has to team up with agent Luke Hobbs to defeat the enemy.

The Fast & Furious franchise, which started out as a street racing story, has evolved over time into near-fantasy blockbusters with huge budgets and cool special effects. And the seventh part was taken by the director James Wang ("The Conjuring", "Astral", "Aquaman"), who knows how to create an excellent atmosphere in his works. This made the picture the highest grossing in the entire franchise.

8. The Avengers

USA, 2012.
Science fiction, thriller.
Duration: 137 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.
Box office gross: $ 1,518,812,988.

The famous superheroes Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and others are already used to fighting enemies. But now a huge danger looms over the Earth: the god Loki launched an invasion, in agreement with the Chitauri aliens. And the Avengers will have to unite to face an entire army.

Since 2008, the Marvel company has been building its cinematic universe, making films about the heroes beloved by the audience and neatly hinting that they live in the same world. And in 2012, all fans were delighted with a large-scale crossover that brought together many characters. The film grossed more than one and a half billion dollars and opened the way for the further development of the MCU.

7. The Lion King

USA, 2019.
Musical, adventure.
Duration: 118 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 9.
Box office: $ 1,656,943,394.

A lion cub named Simba was born into the family of the king of the savannah Mufasa. He was to become the heir and rule over all animals. But the evil Scar tricked him into power and forced the young Simba to flee. The lion cub had to grow up far from his relatives, but still he will return what belongs to him by right.

In recent years, Disney has been making live remakes of many of its films. However, the situation with "The Lion King" is somewhat different. In fact, this is also animation, only more realistic. The entire film was completely created on a computer without any "live" filming.

Excessive realism displeased many critics, who felt that because of this, the animals lost all emotions. But still, nostalgia played a role, and this provided the picture with a huge collection. By the way, it is interesting that initially Disney promoted The Lion King as a film, but after the box office success immediately announced it as the most successful cartoon in history.

6. Jurassic world

USA, 2015.
Science fiction, adventure, thriller.
Duration: 125 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 0.
Box office gross: $ 1,670,400,637.

22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, the new owner of the dinosaur sanctuary is considering how to attract more visitors. With his submission, a new species of ancient predators is being developed. But they turn out to be very smart and cruel. The visitors are in danger again, and only trainer Owen Grady can save them.

This picture also caused a lot of controversy. Having invested heavily in special effects, the studio and director Colin Trevorrow created an overly simple plot that viewers and critics were unhappy with. But on the other hand, the view of huge dinosaurs, much more realistic than in the classics, simply amazed everyone. As a result, the film was scolded, but watched, providing him with a gross of $ 1.6 billion.

5. Avengers: Infinity War

USA, 2018.
Science fiction, thriller.
Duration: 149 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 5.
Box office: $ 2,048,359,754.

Mad Titan Thanos spent many years preparing for his mission. He wants to destroy exactly half of the living beings in the universe and rid the world of hunger and overpopulation. To fulfill his plan, he collects the Infinity Stones, which will make him literally omnipotent. But he is confronted by all the superheroes of the galaxy.

Since the release of The Avengers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown enormously into an incredibly successful franchise. To summarize the events for which the audience had been preparing for 10 years, they filmed a story in two parts, which brought together all the Marvel movie heroes. Of course, the interest in it was maximum: the fees exceeded $ 2 billion.

4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

USA, 2015.
Science fiction, action, adventure.
Duration: 138 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 9.
Box office gross: $ 2,068,223,624.

After the defeat of the Empire, peace in the distant galaxy never came. Now the inhabitants are terrorized by the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke and his assistant Kylo Ren. They created the Starkiller Base, a new weapon capable of destroying planets. But the Resistance plans to stop the villains. They will be helped by a defector stormtrooper, scavenger Rei from the planet Jakku and dashing pilot Po. And also old acquaintances who fought with the Empire.

The return of the legendary "Star Wars" has been awaited for years. The new parts continued the plot of the classics, bringing back almost all the old heroes. Moreover, "The Force Awakens" largely retells the story of the very first film from the franchise. But still, this was enough for the audience to watch the film several times. But the further parts have already caused a lot of controversy and brought less money.

3. Titanic

USA, 1997.
Drama, historical.
Duration: 194 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 8.
Box office: $ 2,194,439,542.

Poor Jack, who won a card ticket, and a wealthy heiress, Rosa, meet while traveling on a luxury ship to America. They do not yet know that this voyage will be the last for the Titanic, and for many of its passengers - fatal.

For years, a fan of the deep sea, James Cameron has been exploring the remains of the real "Titanic" lying on the bottom of the ocean. And after that, the director created his own large-scale and very touching film. And among the highest-grossing films to date, this is the only melodrama - without fantasy and combat action. Moreover, the film held the box office record for more than 10 years, and it was only surpassed by a new creation by the same director.

2. Avatar

USA, 2009.
Science fiction, action, adventure.
Duration: 162 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 8.
Box office gross: $ 2,790,439,000.

Former Marine Jake Sully, confined to a wheelchair, joins Project Avatar on the planet Pandora. Earthlings are trying to colonize it in order to extract a rare mineral. Jake learns to transfer his consciousness into an artificially created avatar - a creature that looks like the natives of the Na'vi. But the invasion of people turns into a disaster for both the population and the planet itself.

By creating this film, James Cameron revolutionized science fiction. Thanks to new developments, the huge aliens of the Na'vi looked completely alive. Moreover, the director added a serious theme to the standard fantastic plot, talking about the destructive influence of man on nature. Avatar held the palm in the box office for exactly 10 years.

1. Avengers: Endgame

USA, 2019.
Science fiction, thriller.
Duration: 181 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 4.
Box office: $ 2,797,800,564.

Few superheroes survived the defeat in Infinity War. They all understand that even if Thanos is defeated, the world will not be the same. However, the return of a long-lost hero gives everyone new hope.

Infinity War brought the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the end of the story and goodbye to some of its beloved heroes. In fact, "Endgame" cannot even be considered an independent film: its plot is completely tied to the previous twists and turns of the franchise. Still, the army of fans could not miss such a significant event. And therefore, "Avengers: Endgame" has overtaken in fees not only other parts of the MCU, but in general all films in the history of mankind.

Highest grossing films adjusted for inflation

However, the above list is not entirely accurate. There has long been a debate over whether fees should be adjusted for inflation. After all, one dollar in 1939 was worth significantly more than one dollar in 2020. Therefore, classics are often included in the rating.

This list still includes some of the ten films with absolute gross. True, "Avengers: Endgame" is already losing to "Titanic" and "Avatar". But in the first place was a completely different picture.

5. Ten Commandments

USA, 1956.
Drama, adventure.
Duration: 220 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 8.
Box office gross: $ 65.5 million.
Adjusted for inflation: $ 2,361,000,000.

Highest Grossing Films: The Ten Commandments

The film retells the famous biblical story about the prophet Moses, who led his people out of Egyptian slavery and received the Ten Commandments from God.

In 1956, director Cecil B. DeMille decided to reshoot his 1923 silent film of the same name. But in the new version, he took advantage of all the modern possibilities of cinema. The result was huge popularity among viewers and seven Oscar nominations. Moreover, the award for the best special effects went to the "Ten Commandments".

4. Alien

USA, 1982.
Science fiction, drama.
Duration: 115 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 8.
Box office gross: $ 793,482,178.
Adjusted for inflation: $ 2,493,000,000.

Aliens who have secretly arrived on Earth collect samples to familiarize themselves with the culture and encounter government special agents. The aliens run away, but in a hurry they forget to take one of their own. As a result, ordinary earthly children save him.

Steven Spielberg originally planned to make "Alien" darker, and its plot would continue the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". But then the director changed his mind and chose to shoot a nice kind story for the whole family. The film's success was overwhelming, becoming the highest-grossing blockbuster for a decade, second only to Jurassic Park in 1993.

3. Sound of music

USA, 1965.
Musical, drama, melodrama.
Duration: 172 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.
Box office gross: $ 159,413,574.
Adjusted for inflation: $ 2,554,000,000.

On the eve of World War II, a young girl from Salzburg, Austria, is preparing to become a nun. But she is too energetic and attached in the ordinary world. Then the abbess decides to send Mary to work as a governess in the family of a widowed officer. The girl helps him to cope with the children, and soon falls in love with the father of the family. But then Austria joins the fascists.

After the resounding success of Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews became the main star of musicals. The popular actress in the title role, as well as the military theme, which was still relevant in the 60s, provided the touching film with unprecedented box office receipts.

2. Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope

USA, 1977.
Science fiction, thriller.
Duration: 121 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 6.
Box office: $ 775,512,064.
Adjusted for inflation: $ 3,049,000,000.

A distant galaxy is under the yoke of the cruel emperor and his companion Darth Vader. Resistance is almost crushed, and the great Jedi warriors are long gone. But the rebels have a new hope - a young Luke Skywalker, able to change the balance of power.

Before the release of Star Wars, science fiction films about space were considered more the lot of adult audiences. But George Lucas managed to add youthful flair to them and attracted many teenagers to the cinemas. Ironically, due to the mass of problems during filming, neither the director nor the studio predicted much box-office success. But the popularity of the film exceeded all expectations.

1. Gone with the Wind

USA, 1939.
Drama, melodrama, historical.
Duration: 222 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 1.
Box office gross: $ 402,352,579.
Adjusted for inflation: $ 3,713,000,000.

Highest Grossing Films: Gone with the Wind

The adaptation of the novel by Margaret Mitchell tells about the life of a young American woman Scarlett O'Hara, whose peaceful life is disturbed by the Civil War. The heroine has to go through many trials and losses and meet true love.

In addition to its popular source material and a stunning history of all time, there was another factor that made Gone With the Wind its immense popularity. This is the first full-length film shot in color. The picture was far ahead of its time, because in the 30s the cinema was exclusively black and white.

Gone With the Wind received 13 Oscar nominations and won eight categories. Well, at the box office, the film grossed an incredible $ 400 million for those times. Adjusted for inflation, they equate to about 3.7 billion today. And in such calculations, this film has far bypassed all modern popular blockbusters.