1. It will take ticket count from Titanic as well.
2. Its an even bigger issue considering the fact that its 3D ticket sales that are pushing it. First time ever that a 3D variant has outsold 2D.

That's totally bold. It costs 2$ more for 3D. It would still have beaten The Dark Knight a long time ago. And Avatar deserves more anyway.

I doubt anything will approach Gone with the Wind in Ticket Sales though over 280,000,000 but it will be nice to see something knock Titanic down a spot.

Wow, didn't realize that the Avatar hype machine was that big. I feel odd now since I haven't seen it. Weird blue people in 3D are hardly my idea of a great movie experience

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.

Darklich13, that list that's adjusted for inflation?

It dosn't take into account that the vast, vast majority of ticket sales for many of those movies (including Gone with the Wind) were taken in during re-releases, sometimes decades later. It's not a strictly accurate adjustment chart.

Great for avatar, hope it rises up.

avatar u can do it, such a awesome movie. going to see it for a 5th time at the theaters tomorrow . :)

I was just going to post this. Times change in more ways than inflation. In my opinion, the inflation is offset by a rental industry, people waiting to see it for cheap in their housholds. TV shows, other forms of entertainment, pirating, obvious other expenditures like college, autos, videogames....not to mention things like restraunts, night life and less of an emphasis on "theaters" as the premiere form of entertainment as was such in the past.

Yeah i agree its hard to measure thats hwy i said imo. But i also dont think someone can say adjusted is the only way or the highway either. Theres no science to comparing eras but in my opinion gross for any era is comparable to the era and since eras change so do a lot of things so it leads me to believe all the factors and things that compete with our dollars, like the need for education, medical bills etc. could very well outweigh the inflation increase.