Top 20 Box Office Gross Since 1977
(Inflation Adjusted)
These numbers are as of September 2011
| |
Released |
Film Name |
Total Box Office |
| 1 |
1977 |
Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope
|
$1,284,600,464 |
| 2 |
1982 |
ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
|
$1,060,155,772 |
| 3 |
1997 |
Titanic
|
$1,016,477,150 |
| 4 |
2009 |
Avatar
|
$778,817,600 |
| 5 |
1980 |
Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire Strikes Back
|
$761,835,156 |
| 6 |
1983 |
Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi
|
$733,586,163 |
| 7 |
1999 |
Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace
|
$669,453,553 |
| 8 |
1993 |
Jurassic Park
|
$668,021,841 |
| 9 |
1981 |
Raiders of the Lost Ark
|
$645,342,265 |
| 10 |
1994 |
Forrest Gump
|
$633,678,391 |
| 11 |
1994 |
The Lion King
|
$603,452,929 |
| 12 |
1977 |
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
|
$587,327,355 |
| 13 |
2008 |
The Dark Knight
|
$585,975,751 |
| 14 |
1978 |
Grease
|
$564,379,937 |
| 15 |
2004 |
Shrek 2
|
$554,550,157 |
| 16 |
2002 |
Spider-Man
|
$548,234,646 |
| 17 |
1996 |
Independence Day
|
$546,452,224 |
| 18 |
1984 |
Beverly Hills Cop
|
$521,554,398 |
| 19 |
1990 |
Home Alone
|
$519,397,359 |
| 20 |
1984 |
Ghostbusters
|
$518,616,036 |
Movies With Lowest Budgets to Earn $1 Million at US Box Office
| |
Release Date |
Movie |
Distributor |
Budget |
US Gross |
Worldwide Gross |
| 1 |
2/26/1993 |
|
El Mariachi
|
Columbia |
$7,000 |
$2,040,920 |
Unknown |
| 2 |
9/25/2009 |
|
Paranormal Activity
|
|
$15,000 |
$107,918,810 |
$196,681,656 |
| 3 |
8/1/1991 |
|
Slacker
|
Orion Classics |
$23,000 |
$1,227,508 |
Unknown |
| 4 |
8/1/1997 |
|
In the Company of Men
|
Sony Classics |
$25,000 |
$2,883,661 |
Unknown |
| 5 |
8/9/1995 |
|
The Brothers McMullen
|
Fox Searchlight |
$25,000 |
$10,426,506 |
Unknown |
| 6 |
6/30/1972 |
|
Deep Throat
|
Damiano |
$25,000 |
$45,000,000 |
Unknown |
| 7 |
10/19/1994 |
|
Clerks
|
Miramax |
$27,000 |
$3,073,428 |
$3,894,240 |
| 8 |
3/16/2001 |
|
Gabriela
|
Power Point |
$50,000 |
$2,335,352 |
Unknown |
| 9 |
5/7/2004 |
|
Super Size Me
|
IDP/Sam Goldwyn |
$65,000 |
$11,529,368 |
$29,529,368 |
| 10 |
7/10/1998 |
|
Pi
|
Artisan |
$68,000 |
$3,221,152 |
$4,678,513 |
| 11 |
8/30/1972 |
|
The Last House on the Left
|
|
$87,000 |
$3,100,000 |
Unknown |
| 12 |
9/29/2006 |
|
Facing the Giants
|
Samuel Goldwyn |
$100,000 |
$10,178,331 |
Unknown |
| 13 |
3/1/1987 |
|
Hollywood Shuffle
|
Samuel Goldwyn |
$100,000 |
$5,228,617 |
Unknown |
| 14 |
1/1/1977 |
|
Eraserhead
|
|
$100,000 |
$7,000,000 |
Unknown |
| 15 |
9/17/1920 |
|
Over the Hill to the Poorhouse
|
|
$100,000 |
$3,000,000 |
Unknown |
| 16 |
2/8/1915 |
|
The Birth of a Nation
|
|
$110,000 |
$10,000,000 |
$11,000,000 |
| 17 |
10/1/1968 |
|
Night of the Living Dead
|
|
$114,000 |
$12,000,000 |
$30,000,000 |
| 18 |
11/16/1942 |
|
Cat People
|
|
$134,000 |
$4,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
| 19 |
12/20/1989 |
|
Roger & Me
|
Warner Bros. |
$140,000 |
$6,706,368 |
Unknown |
| 20 |
10/18/1974 |
|
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
|
New Line |
$140,000 |
$26,572,439 |
Unknown |
Most Profitable Movies, Based on Return on Investment
| |
Release Date |
Movie |
Distributor |
Budget |
Worldwide Gross |
Percentage Return |
| 1 |
9/25/2009 |
|
Paranormal Activity
|
|
$15,000 |
$196,681,656 |
655,505.52% |
| 2 |
3/21/1980 |
|
Mad Max
|
Filmways |
$200,000 |
$99,750,000 |
24,837.50% |
| 3 |
5/7/2004 |
|
Super Size Me
|
IDP/Sam Goldwyn |
$65,000 |
$29,529,368 |
22,614.90% |
| 4 |
7/14/1999 |
|
The Blair Witch Project
|
Artisan |
$35,000 |
$248,300,000 |
20,591.67% |
| 5 |
10/1/1968 |
|
Night of the Living Dead
|
|
$114,000 |
$30,000,000 |
13,057.89% |
| 6 |
11/21/1976 |
|
Rocky
|
|
$1,000,000 |
$225,000,000 |
11,150.00% |
| 7 |
10/17/1978 |
|
Halloween
|
|
$325,000 |
$70,000,000 |
10,669.23% |
| 8 |
8/11/1973 |
|
American Graffiti
|
|
$777,000 |
$140,000,000 |
8,909.01% |
| 9 |
10/19/1994 |
|
Clerks
|
Miramax |
$27,000 |
$3,894,240 |
7,111.56% |
| 10 |
5/16/2007 |
|
Once
|
Fox Searchlight |
$150,000 |
$18,997,174 |
6,232.39% |
| 11 |
7/25/1969 |
|
The Stewardesses
|
|
$200,000 |
$25,000,000 |
6,150.00% |
| 12 |
6/11/2004 |
|
Napoleon Dynamite
|
Fox Searchlight |
$400,000 |
$46,140,956 |
5,667.62% |
| 13 |
8/6/2004 |
|
Open Water
|
Lion's Gate |
$500,000 |
$55,116,982 |
5,411.70% |
| 14 |
5/9/1980 |
|
Friday the 13th
|
Paramount Pictures |
$550,000 |
$59,754,601 |
5,332.24% |
| 15 |
12/15/1939 |
|
Gone with the Wind
|
MGM/UA |
$3,900,000 |
$390,525,192 |
4,906.73% |
| 16 |
2/8/1915 |
|
The Birth of a Nation
|
|
$110,000 |
$11,000,000 |
4,900.00% |
| 17 |
1/1/1925 |
|
The Big Parade
|
|
$245,000 |
$22,000,000 |
4,389.80% |
| 18 |
10/29/2004 |
|
Saw
|
Lion's Gate |
$1,200,000 |
$103,096,345 |
4,195.68% |
| 19 |
10/8/2004 |
|
Primer
|
ThinkFilm |
$7,000 |
$565,846 |
3,941.76% |
| 20 |
4/15/1983 |
|
The Evil Dead
|
|
$375,000 |
$29,400,000 |
3,820.00% |
