Working out which film made the most money ever is actually not as straight-forward as it may seem.
The biggest problem with working out which movie made the most money overall is inflation. The price of a cinema ticket has changed significantly between the release of Gone With The Wind 1939 and Avatar in 2009.
Which ever way you look at it though, there are only two films that can be associated with the title of most financially successful film ever: Avatar and Gone With The Wind
The movie that made the most money in history
The biggest problem with working out which movie made the most money overall is inflation. The price of a cinema ticket has changed significantly between the release of Gone With The Wind 1939 and Avatar in 2009.
Because of this, simply counting how much money the two movies took at the box office isn't an accurate measurement because a dollar was worth significantly more in 1939 than it was in 2009.
If we take into account the factor of inflation, Avatar raked in around $2,782,300,000, whilst Gone With The Wind would have taken $3,301,400,000 in today's money- making it the overall winner.
The second problem with working out how much a movie takes is that movies don't just stop making money.
The second problem with working out how much a movie takes is that movies don't just stop making money.
Although they are often measured by how much money they take at the box office during their run in theaters, movies can go on making even more money through the following:
- DVD release
- TV Broadcasting
- Merchandise
Top ten most successful movies
If we again adjust the figures to reflect changes in inflation, then the Top 10 most successful movies ever made would like something like this:
- Gone With The Wind
- Avatar
- Star Wars
- Titanic
- The Sound of Music
- E.T.
- The Ten Commandments
- Doctor Zhivago
- Jaws
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
