Here are the top 10 movies ever at the U.S. box office, adjusted for inflation.
If you look up the top grossing domestic film of all time, you’ll see that the winner is 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which has raked in $936.7 million.
But if you factor in inflation, it’s far from the top-grossing movie domestically.
Let’s look at the top 10 movies ever at the U.S. domestic box office, adjusted for inflation. But first…
Caveats and Clarifications
All of these numbers are from Box Office Mojo, a terrific site we recommend.
The adjusted figures are based on the estimated number of tickets sold, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of movies released years or decades apart. It’s one of the best ways to compare a film released in, say, 1939, with a movie released in 2026.
We’re going by the 2022 ticket price, because 2022 is the most recent year for which data is available. We checked, and no film released since 2022 would change what you’re about to read.
So with that out of the way, here are the top 10 movies ever at the U.S. domestic box office, adjusted for inflation.
10 — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Technically groundbreaking and still beautiful to watch, this Walt Disney adaptation of a Grimm fairy tale earned $184.9 million in its initial release and subsequent re-releases. Adjusted, it’s earned $1.02 billion, enough to buy a lot of shiny red apples.
The film had estimated ticket sales of 109,000,000 — slightly more than the 108,115,100 who bought seats for Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. Adjusted for inflation, its the 11th highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office.
It’s no surprise that Disney did a live-action remake just last year.
9 — The Exorcist (1973)
Widely considered one of the most terrifying movies ever made — especially if you grew up believing in the devil — The Exorcist scared up $233 million at the box office, which is, adjusted, $1.04 billion.
That reflects an estimated 110,559,200 tickets sold to people who squirmed a lot in their seats, wondering what heinous thing the demon Pazuzu would do next to poor Regan (Linda Blair).
The Exorcist has unsurprisingly yielded many sequels, including 2023’s Exorcist: Believer. A new film is coming soon from director Mike Flanagan. It will star Scarlett Johansson and promises a radical new take on Exorcist lore.
8 — Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Doctor Zhivago was the most successful of director David Lean’s sweeping epics, which also include Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai.
David Lean’s films, like those of Stanley Kubrick, are often perfect examinations of movies that should really be seen in a movie theater — and ideally a historic movie palace with excellent sound and projection.
Lawrence of Arabia sold an estimated 124,135,500 seats to people who saw it the right way, yielding $111.7 million at the box office — which, adjusted for inflation, comes to just under $1.2 billion.
7 — Jaws (1975)
Widely considered the movie that launched the modern blockbuster, Jaws — a basically perfect film, from a very young Steven Spielberg — had lines around the block upon its release half a century ago.
It has sold 124,135,500 seats, including in re-releases that include last year’s 50th anniversary screenings. Its box office totals $280.1 million, which, adjusted for inflation over all those re-releases, comes to $1.2 billion. And of course it spawned many sequels and even more imitators.
Two years after the release of Jaws, Spielberg’s friend and frequent collaborator, George Lucas, would metaphorically say “hold my beer.” But we’ll get to that very soon.
6 — The Ten Commandments (1956)
The biggest Biblical epic of all, this Cecil B. DeMille epic tells the story of Moses (Charlton Heston), gaining a reverent audience.
It has sold an estimated 131 million tickets, which came to $65 million — or just under $1.3 billion in modern-day dollars.
The all-star cast also includes Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Debra Paxton, and Edward G. Robinson.
5 — Titanic (1997)
Titanic director does very well on these types of lists, between Titanic and the Avatar films. And while both Titanic and the three Avatars had massive box office returns, Titanic is actually the top James Cameron film on this list — which, again, is focused on adjusted, domestic box office.
Before Titanic was released, news coverage predicted that it had almost no shot at recouping its $200 million budget, which made it the most expensive movie ever made, at the time.
But it sure recoup. Titanic earned $674.3 million, which is just under $1.3 billion, adjusted. It sold 135,549,800 seats — and won Best Picture, to boot. It’s one of the most successful movies of all time, by any measure. Basically the opposite of the disaster that inspired it.
4 — E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
If you weren’t around in the ’80s, it’s impossible to communicate how completely E.T. took over the culture. The cute alien who wanted to phone home absolutely owned 1982, and delivered another massive hit for Spielberg just seven years after Jaws. (He was just getting started.)
The film sold 141,854,300 seats — many of them to kids, like your humble correspondent, who saw it again and again in the summer of ’82. It earned $439.4 million at the box office in 1982 and in subsequent re-releases, which comes to $1.3 billion adjusted.
Strikingly, it has never had a sequel or remake, which is probably for the best. But its aesthetic is often imitated to this day, most notably in Netflix’s Stranger Things.
3 — The Sound of Music (1965)
If you’re surprised to see this Julie Andrews film so high, think about how often you have one of its songs stuck in your head. When’s the last time you saw a deer and didn’t start thinking of “Do-Re-Mi”?
Speaking of dough: It earned $160.9 million, or $1.34 billion adjusted, which reflects sales of an estimated 142,485,200 tickets.
Between The Sound of Music and the previously mentioned Doctor Zhivago, 1965 was a pretty stellar year at the U.S. box office — especially when adjusted for inflation.
2 — Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
We know: When it first came out, we all just knew it as Star Wars. It’s a testament to the massive success of the original film that it has spawned so many sequels, spinoffs and television shows.
It sold 178,119,500 tickets — two of them to my dad, who took me when I was very small, thank you Dad — and earned (and deserved) $461 million. Some of that was in re-releases. Factoring in inflation, it has earned just $1.7 billion domestically.
It also really holds up — and remains, at least to us, one of the two best Star Wars films.
Does the next film on our list hold up? That’s often widely debated.
1 — Gone With the Wind (1939)
Gone With the Wind was the second most-expensive movie of its time, behind only 1925’s Ben-Hur. Based on Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, it sold, according to Box Office Mojo’s estimates, an astonishing 202,282,200 seats sold.
That’s even more incredible when you consider that when Gone With the Wind was released, in 1939, the population of the United States was only about 131 million people. So did lots of people see Gone With the Wind twice? Yes. Or more than twice. But additionally, the film was re-released in movie palaces across America for decades.
The film earned $200,882,193, which comes to $1.9 billion adjusted.
It also dominated the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director (Victor Fleming), Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel). McDaniel was the first Black person ever to win an Oscar.
A Note on the Number 1 Film on Our List of the Top 10 Movies Ever at the U.S. Domestic Box Office, Adjusted for inflation
Is it weird, in our IP-obsessed era, that Gone With the Wind hasn’t gotten a modern-day miniseries or other re-imagining? Especially considering how often Hollywood has revisited so many other films on this list?
Not really. First, few creators would want to mess with a film that many consider an untouchable all-time classic, and many others consider a racist relic. The film’s treatment of its Black characters is widely criticized in modern times, and many Black leaders have objected to the film from the beginning. So revisiting it would likely be a lose-lose proposition. It holds a place on our list of Oscar Best Picture Winners That Would Never Be Made Today,
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Main image: Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind. MGM\
Editor’s Note: Corrects main image and Gone With the Wind image.