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thismeintiel on 21 January 2010
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darklich13 said:

I prefer this list adjusted for inflation

Rank Title (click to view) Studio Adjusted Gross Unadjusted Gross Year^
1 Gone with the Wind MGM $1,485,028,000 $198,676,459 1939^
2 Star Wars Fox $1,309,179,000 $460,998,007 1977^
3 The Sound of Music Fox $1,046,753,000 $158,671,368 1965
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Uni. $1,042,629,400 $435,110,554 1982^
5 The Ten Commandments Par. $962,850,000 $65,500,000 1956
6 Titanic Par. $943,342,300 $600,788,188 1997
7 Jaws Uni. $941,379,300 $260,000,000 1975
8 Doctor Zhivago MGM $912,395,600 $111,721,910 1965
9 The Exorcist WB $812,679,700 $232,671,011 1973^
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dis. $801,150,000 $184,925,486 1937^
11 101 Dalmatians Dis. $734,391,800 $144,880,014 1961^
12 The Empire Strikes Back Fox $721,627,700 $290,475,067 1980^
13 Ben-Hur MGM $720,300,000 $74,000,000 1959
14 Return of the Jedi Fox $691,336,700 $309,306,177 1983^
15 The Sting Uni. $655,200,000 $156,000,000 1973
16 Raiders of the Lost Ark Par. $647,842,600 $242,374,454 1981^
17 Jurassic Park Uni. $633,612,900 $357,067,947 1993
18 The Graduate AVCO $628,949,700 $104,901,839 1967^
19 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Fox $623,469,700 $431,088,301 1999
20 Fantasia Dis. $610,369,600 $76,408,097 1941^
21 The Godfather Par. $580,080,900 $134,966,411 1972^
22 Forrest Gump Par. $577,310,300 $329,694,499 1994
23 Mary Poppins Dis. $574,636,400 $102,272,727 1964^
24 The Lion King BV $567,653,700 $328,541,776 1994^
25 Grease Par. $565,374,900 $188,389,888 1978^
26 Thunderball UA $549,780,000 $63,595,658 1965
27 The Dark Knight WB $545,973,300 $533,345,358 2008
28 The Jungle Book Dis. $541,547,400 $141,843,612 1967^
29 Sleeping Beauty Dis. $534,169,000 $51,600,000 1959^
30 Shrek 2 DW $522,224,300 $441,226,247 2004
31 Ghostbusters Col. $519,870,000 $238,632,124 1984^
32 Avatar Fox $519,567,500 $512,852,205 2009
33 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Fox $518,600,200 $102,308,889 1969
34 Love Story Par. $514,486,400 $106,397,186 1970
35 Spider-Man Sony $510,712,900 $403,706,375 2002
36 Independence Day Fox $509,126,200 $306,169,268 1996
37 Home Alone Fox $497,846,400 $285,761,243 1990
38 Pinocchio Dis. $495,414,500 $84,254,167 1940^
39 Cleopatra (1963) Fox $493,798,400 $57,777,778 1963
40 Beverly Hills Cop Par. $493,552,600 $234,760,478 1984
41 Goldfinger UA $487,305,000 $51,081,062 1964
42 Airport Uni. $485,917,900 $100,489,151 1970
43 American Graffiti Uni. $483,000,000 $115,000,000 1973
44 The Robe Fox $481,090,900 $36,000,000 1953
45 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV $475,018,500 $423,315,812 2006
46 Around the World in 80 Days UA $474,923,100 $42,000,000 1956
47 Bambi RKO $468,286,500 $102,247,150 1942^
48 Blazing Saddles WB $464,722,200 $119,500,000 1974
49 Batman WB $462,716,400 $251,188,924 1989
50 The Bells of St. Mary's RKO $461,176,500 $21,333,333 1945
51 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $452,305,300 $377,027,325 2003
52 The Towering Inferno Fox $451,111,100 $116,000,000 1974
53 Spider-Man 2 Sony $442,166,800 $373,585,825 2004
54 My Fair Lady WB $441,000,000 $72,000,000 1964
55 The Greatest Show on Earth Par. $441,000,000 $36,000,000 1952
56 National Lampoon's Animal House Uni. $440,193,500 $141,600,000 1978^
57 The Passion of the Christ NM $438,830,600 $370,782,930 2004^
58 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Fox $436,035,700 $380,270,577 2005
59 Back to the Future Uni. $434,022,300 $210,609,762 1985
60 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers NL $423,583,600 $341,786,758 2002^
61 The Sixth Sense BV $423,206,600 $293,506,292 1999
62 Superman WB $421,582,200 $134,218,018 1978
63 Tootsie Col. $418,244,000 $177,200,000 1982
64 Smokey and the Bandit Uni. $417,722,000 $126,737,428 1977
65 Finding Nemo BV $414,080,400 $339,714,978 2003
66 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen P/DW $411,632,600 $402,111,870 2009
67 West Side Story MGM $411,381,600 $43,656,822 1961
68 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone WB $410,960,400 $317,575,550 2001
69 Lady and the Tramp Dis. $409,651,400 $93,602,326 1955^
70 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Col. $408,480,200 $132,088,635 1977^
71 Lawrence of Arabia Col. $407,069,100 $44,824,144 1962^
72 The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fox $404,760,300 $112,892,319 1975
73 Rocky UA $404,543,800 $117,235,147 1976
74 The Best Years of Our Lives RKO $404,250,000 $23,650,000 1946
75 The Poseidon Adventure Fox $403,529,400 $84,563,118 1972
76 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring NL $402,073,800 $314,776,170 2001^
77 Twister WB $401,957,700 $241,721,524 1996
78 Men in Black Sony $401,432,600 $250,690,539 1997
79 The Bridge on the River Kwai Col. $399,840,000 $27,200,000 1957
80 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World MGM $395,984,300 $46,332,858 1963
81 Swiss Family Robinson Dis. $395,488,800 $40,356,000 1960
82 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest UA $394,587,400 $108,981,275 1975
83 M.A.S.H. Fox $394,578,900 $81,600,000 1970
84 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Par. $393,466,200 $179,870,271 1984
85 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Fox $392,993,300 $310,676,740 2002^
86 Mrs. Doubtfire Fox $387,230,200 $219,195,243 1993
87 Aladdin BV $385,451,300 $217,350,219 1992
88 Ghost Par. $378,269,400 $217,631,306 1990
89 Duel in the Sun Selz. $375,000,000 $20,408,163 1946
90 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl BV $372,269,400 $305,413,918 2003
91 House of Wax WB $371,409,600 $23,750,000 1953
92 Rear Window Par. $370,107,400 $36,764,313 1954^
93 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Uni. $366,838,100 $229,086,679 1997
94 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Par. $363,211,200 $197,171,806 1989
95 Spider-Man 3 Sony $359,520,000 $336,530,303 2007
96 Terminator 2: Judgment Day TriS $357,624,400 $204,843,345 1991
97 Sergeant York WB $353,705,500 $16,361,885 1941
98 How the Grinch Stole Christmas Uni. $353,585,200 $260,044,825 2000
99 Toy Story 2 BV $351,598,400 $245,852,179 1999^
100 Top Gun Par. $350,237,800 $176,786,701 1986

Love this list much better.  Avatar will never be #1 on this list, nor should it.  It's not too hard to cross the once touted 100 mil mark now, not when  you have over 300 mil population in the U.S. and it costs (at least where I live) $10-14 for a normal movie ticket.  For those of you who think Avatar is bigger than any movie based on revenue alone, you need to put it in context.  The average ticket price now is ~$8, back in 1939 (GWTW) it was ~$0.45.  Currently, the population of the U.S. is ~308.5 mil, back in 1939 it was ~ 130.9 mil.  And let's not omit that Avatar opened in ~3,500 theatres, which probably isn't even half of the number of theatres in the US, but is probably more than all the theatres back  in 1939.  The vast majority of those being single screen theatres.  So you can see why putting things in context is important.  Avatar isn't really close to being the most successful movie.

I also hate when people are brought in by hype.  Though with Avatar it's more like blinded by hype.  EVERY single "positive" review (and that's not an exaggeration) always talk about how the story and dialogue are just average, or sometimes even below average, but go for the effects.  "They bridge the gap between what's real and fake."  "It'll change the way we watch movies."  Sorry, but CGI and hype have never gotten me into the theatre and it never will.  And you know what, the effects aren't that great.  Everytime I see an ad I'm like, "What is the fuss about, I can so tell that's fake."  I have seen better CGI in other movies, stuff that actually looks quite real.  And no magical 3-D glasses aren't going to make the effects or story better.  What I find funny, though, is in like 5-10 years when effects are to the point when we truly can't tell they are fake, this movie is going to just fade away in history.  Just remembered for the money it brought in, and nothing else.