Besides the Star Wars and Superman franchises, James Bond and Star Trek films are still being released periodically all four are among the highest-grossing franchises. While inflation has eroded away the achievements of most films from the 1960s and 1970s, there are franchises originating from that period that are still active.
HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIES ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION SERIES
Beyond Disney and Pixar animation, the Shrek, Ice Age and Despicable Me series have met with the most success. Disney also enjoyed later success with films such as Frozen (the highest-grossing animated film), Zootopia and The Lion King, as well as with its Pixar brand, of which the Toy Story and Finding Nemo films have been the best performers. Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney films enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home-video era. Although the nominal earnings chart is dominated by films adapted from pre-existing properties and sequels, it is headed by Avatar and Titanic (both directed by James Cameron), which are original works. There is also continued interest in the superhero genre: Batman and Superman from DC Comics and films based on the Marvel Comics brand, such as Spider-Man, X-Men and films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have generally done well.
Six Harry Potter films and five films from Peter Jackson's Middle-earth series are included in the nominal earnings chart, while the Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises feature prominently. Traditionally, war films, musicals and historical dramas have been the most popular genres, but franchise films have been among the best performers in the 21st century. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights and merchandise. Included on the list are charts of the top box office earners (ranked by both the nominal and real value of their revenue), a chart of high-grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing film franchises and series. However, theatrical box office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. Gone with the Wind held the record of highest-grossing film for twenty-five years and, adjusted for inflation, has earned more than any other film.įilms generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights and merchandising.