List of highest-grossing films in Canada and the United States

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The following is a list of the highest-grossing films in Canada and the United States, a market known in the film industry as the North American box office and the domestic box office,[1][2] and where "gross" is defined in US dollars.

Adjusted for ticket-price inflation[edit]

This chart was compiled based on data from Box Office Mojo, by dividing the gross by the average ticket price to calculate an estimate of the total number of admissions.[3] Admissions better reflect the popularity of older films, since they are less susceptible to the effects of inflation.

Many of the films on this list released prior to the availability of home video have had multiple releases.

  film currently playing Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 20 January 2017 in theaters around the world.
Rank Title Year Est. tickets[3] Adjusted gross
1 Gone with the Wind 1939 202,044,600 $1,747,685,790
2 Star Wars 1977 178,119,600 $1,540,734,540
3 The Sound of Music 1965 142,415,400 $1,231,893,210
4 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 141,854,300 $1,227,039,695
5 Titanic 1997 135,654,500 $1,173,411,425
6 The Ten Commandments 1956 131,000,000 $1,133,150,000
7 Jaws 1975 128,078,800 $1,107,881,620
8 Doctor Zhivago 1965 124,135,500 $1,073,772,075
9 The Exorcist 1973 110,599,200 $956,683,080
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 109,000,000 $942,850,000
11 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 108,115,100 $935,195,615
12 One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1961 99,917,300 $864,284,645
13 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 98,180,600 $849,262,190
14 Ben-Hur 1959 98,000,000 $847,700,000
15 Avatar 2009 [nb 1] 97,255,300 $841,258,345
16 Return of the Jedi 1983 94,059,400 $813,613,810
17 Jurassic Park 1993 91,922,000 $795,125,300
18 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999 90,312,700 $781,204,855
19 The Sting 1973 89,142,900 $771,086,085
20 The Lion King 1994 89,101,100 $770,724,515
21 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 88,526,800 $765,756,820
22 The Graduate 1967 85,576,700 $740,238,455
23 Fantasia 1941 83,043,500 $718,326,275
24 Jurassic World 2015 79,051,900 $683,798,935
25 The Godfather 1972 78,922,600 $682,680,490
26 Forrest Gump 1994 78,545,600 $679,419,440
27 Mary Poppins 1964 78,181,800 $676,272,570
28 Grease 1978 76,969,200 $665,783,580
29 The Avengers 2012 76,768,200 $664,044,930
30 Thunderball 1965 74,800,000 $647,020,000
31 The Dark Knight 2008 74,455,400 $644,039,210
32 The Jungle Book 1967 73,679,900 $637,331,135
33 Sleeping Beauty 1959 72,676,100 $628,648,265
34 Ghostbusters 1984 71,160,400 $615,537,460
35 Shrek 2 2004 71,050,900 $614,590,285
36 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969 70,557,900 $610,325,835
37 Love Story 1970 69,998,100 $605,483,565
38 Spider-Man 2002 69,484,700 $601,042,655
39 Independence Day 1996 69,268,900 $599,175,985
40 Home Alone 1990 67,734,200 $585,900,830
41 Pinocchio 1940 67,403,300 $583,038,545
42 Cleopatra 1963 67,183,500 $581,137,275
43 Beverly Hills Cop 1984 67,150,000 $580,847,500
44 Goldfinger 1964 66,300,000 $573,495,000
45 Airport 1970 66,111,300 $571,862,745
46 American Graffiti 1973 65,714,300 $568,428,695
47 The Robe 1953 65,454,500 $566,181,425
48 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 2006 64,628,400 $559,035,660
49 Around the World in 80 Days 1956 64,615,400 $558,923,210
50 Bambi 1942 63,712,400 $551,112,260
51 Blazing Saddles 1974 63,227,500 $546,917,875
52 Batman 1989 62,954,600 $544,557,290
53 Cinderella 1950 62,879,300 $543,905,945
54 The Bells of St. Mary's 1945 62,745,100 $542,745,115
55 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 61,639,700 $533,183,405
56 Finding Nemo 2003 61,623,900 $533,046,735
57 The Towering Inferno 1974 61,375,700 $530,899,805
58 Spider-Man 2 2004 60,158,700 $520,372,755
59 My Fair Lady 1964 60,000,000 $519,000,000
60 The Greatest Show on Earth 1952 60,000,000 $519,000,000
61 National Lampoon's Animal House 1978 59,890,300 $518,051,095
62 The Passion of the Christ 2004 59,704,800 $516,446,520
63 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 2005 59,324,600 $513,157,790
64 Back to the Future 1985 59,050,700 $510,788,555
65 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story film currently playing 2016 58,613,800 $507,009,370
66 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 57,725,300 $499,323,845
67 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 57,601,400 $498,252,110
68 The Sixth Sense 1999 57,579,100 $498,059,215
69 Superman 1978 57,358,100 $496,147,565
70 Tootsie 1982 56,903,900 $492,218,735
71 Smokey and the Bandit 1977 56,832,900 $491,604,585
72 Finding Dory 2016 56,165,800 $485,834,170
73 West Side Story 1961 55,970,300 $484,143,095
74 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001 55,913,000 $483,647,450
75 Lady and the Tramp 1955 55,734,900 $482,106,885
76 Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 55,575,500 $480,728,075
77 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 55,383,600 $479,068,140
78 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975 55,069,400 $476,350,310
79 Rocky 1976 55,040,000 $476,096,000
80 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 55,000,000 $475,750,000
81 The Poseidon Adventure 1972 54,902,000 $474,902,300
82 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 54,799,300 $474,013,945
83 Twister 1996 54,688,100 $473,052,065
84 Men in Black 1997 54,616,700 $472,434,455
85 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 54,400,000 $470,560,000
86 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009 53,900,900 $466,242,785
87 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 1963 53,875,400 $466,022,210
88 Swiss Family Robinson 1960 53,808,000 $465,439,200
89 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 53,685,400 $464,378,710
90 M*A*S*H 1970 53,684,200 $464,368,330
91 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 53,532,800 $463,058,720
92 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 53,527,100 $463,009,415
93 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 2002 53,468,500 $462,502,525
94 Mrs. Doubtfire 1993 52,684,400 $455,720,060
95 Aladdin 1992 52,442,300 $453,625,895
96 Toy Story 3 2010 52,201,900 $451,546,435
97 Ghost 1990 51,465,200 $445,173,980
98 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2013 51,114,600 $442,141,290
99 Duel in the Sun 1946 51,020,400 $441,326,460
100 The Hunger Games 2012 50,838,300 $439,751,295

Factors in determining "adjusted gross"[edit]

No one yet has calculated a truly precise and definite referential adjusted gross for a film,[original research?] since doing so would have to take into account most (or all) of the following:

  • Box office gross on initial release
  • Ticket price at time of release, or its relative price to other commodities in a given year,[5] in relation to general inflation and gross domestic product.[6] Related to that:
  • economic conditions that may help or hurt the entertainment industry as a whole (theaters in 2008 lowered ticket prices to attract more viewers though the average ticket cost $7.00)[5]
  • Population at time of release—to be used to calculate:
  • Availability of films (number of theaters and screens, number of prints)
  • Competition of other media (television, internet, home video, film piracy)[5]
  • Total number of films in the marketplace at a given time[5]
  • Screen quotas (no influence on U.S. box office)
  • Price differences: matinee and evening tickets,[7] roadshow tickets,[7] or difference between rural and urban cinemas[6]
  • Length of release (number of weeks)[7]

Further explanation of issues with calculating an adjusted gross can be found in the article for List of highest-grossing films.

Not adjusted for inflation[edit]

This is a list of the highest-grossing films in the U.S. and Canada,[8] a market known in the film industry as the North American box office, or as the domestic box office within the U.S. itself.[1][2] The chart is ranked by lifetime gross, and for comparison, the figures adjusted for the effects of inflation are also listed, using the U.S. consumer price index;[9] a film's earnings from its initial release are also included to provide a basis for comparison between films released around the same time.

  film currently playing Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 20 January 2017 in theaters around the world.
Rank Title Initial gross
(unadjusted)
Unadjusted Adjusted Year
Lifetime gross
1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $936,662,225 $936,662,225 $946,393,097 2015
2 Avatar $749,766,139 $760,507,625 $848,785,929 2009
3 Titanic $600,788,188 $658,672,302 $956,709,563 1997
4 Jurassic World $652,270,625 $652,270,625 $659,046,987 2015
5 The Avengers $623,357,910 $623,357,910 $650,283,647 2012
6 The Dark Knight $533,345,358 $534,858,444 $594,853,024 2008
7 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story film currently playing $512,201,563 $512,201,563 $512,201,563 2016
8 Finding Dory $486,295,561 $486,295,561 $486,295,561 2016
9 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace $431,088,301 $474,544,677 $665,098,249 1999
10 Star Wars $221,300,000* $460,998,007 $1,399,814,175 1977
11 Avengers: Age of Ultron $459,005,868 $459,005,868 $463,774,425 2015
12 The Dark Knight Rises $448,139,099 $448,139,099 $467,496,318 2012
13 Shrek 2 $441,226,247 $441,226,247 $559,461,822 2004
14 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $359,200,000 $435,110,554 $1,028,846,703 1982
15 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire $424,668,047 $424,668,047 $436,619,419 2013
16 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $423,315,812 $423,315,812 $502,905,893 2006
17 The Lion King $312,855,561 $422,783,777 $626,749,117 1994
18 Toy Story 3 $415,004,880 $415,004,880 $455,789,733 2010
19 Iron Man 3 $409,013,994 $409,013,994 $420,524,816 2013
20 Captain America: Civil War $408,084,349 $408,084,349 $408,084,349 2016
21 The Hunger Games $408,010,692 $408,010,692 $425,634,578 2012
22 Spider-Man $403,706,375 $403,706,375 $537,553,151 2002
23 Jurassic Park $357,067,947 $402,453,882 $638,650,789 1993
24 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $402,111,870 $402,111,870 $448,890,822 2009
25 Frozen $400,738,009 $400,738,009 $412,015,922 2013
26 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $381,011,219 $381,011,219 $405,641,678 2011
27 Finding Nemo $339,714,978 $380,843,261 $485,185,684 2003
28 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith $380,270,577 $380,270,577 $466,315,785 2005
29 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377,027,325 $377,845,905 $491,729,973 2003
30 Spider-Man 2 $373,585,825 $373,585,825 $473,695,769 2004
31 The Passion of the Christ $370,274,604 $370,782,930 $470,120,585 2004
32 The Secret Life of Pets film currently playing $368,384,330 $368,384,330 $368,384,330 2016
33 Despicable Me 2 $368,061,265 $368,061,265 $378,419,561 2013
34 The Jungle Book $364,001,123 $364,001,123 $364,001,123 2016
35 Deadpool $363,070,709 $363,070,709 $363,070,709 2016
36 Inside Out $356,461,711 $356,461,711 $360,164,949 2015
37 Furious 7 $353,007,020 $353,007,020 $356,674,368 2015
38 Transformers: Dark of the Moon $352,390,543 $352,390,543 $375,170,819 2011
39 American Sniper $350,126,372 $350,126,372 $354,211,344 2014
40 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $339,789,881 $342,551,365 $455,859,276 2002
41 Zootopia $341,268,248 $341,268,248 $341,268,248 2016
42 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 $337,135,885 $337,135,885 $341,069,295 2014
43 Spider-Man 3 $336,530,303 $336,530,303 $388,703,032 2007
44 Minions $336,045,770 $336,045,770 $339,536,910 2015
45 Alice in Wonderland $334,191,110 $334,191,110 $367,033,942 2010
46 Guardians of the Galaxy $333,176,600 $333,176,600 $337,063,816 2014
47 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice $330,360,194 $330,360,194 $330,360,194 2016
48 Forrest Gump $329,694,499 $330,252,182 $533,301,350 1994
49 Suicide Squad $325,100,054 $325,100,054 $325,100,054 2016
50 Shrek the Third $322,719,944 $322,719,944 $372,751,635 2007
51 Transformers $319,246,193 $319,246,193 $368,739,344 2007
52 Iron Man $318,412,101 $318,412,101 $354,190,400 2008
53 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $317,575,550 $317,575,550 $429,541,671 2001
54 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $317,101,119 $317,101,119 $352,732,110 2008
55 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $313,364,114 $315,544,750 $426,502,074 2001
56 Iron Man 2 $312,128,345 $312,128,345 $342,802,945 2010
57 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones $302,191,252 $310,676,740 $413,680,018 2002
58 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $309,420,425 $309,420,425 $357,390,274 2007
59 Return of the Jedi $252,583,617 $309,306,177 $700,259,495 1983
60 Independence Day $306,169,268 $306,169,268 $467,536,648 1996
61 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl $305,413,918 $305,413,918 $397,623,728 2003
62 Skyfall $304,360,277 $304,360,277 $317,507,017 2012
63 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey $303,003,568 $303,003,568 $316,091,706 2012
64 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $301,959,197 $301,959,197 $337,087,070 2009
65 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $300,531,751 $300,531,751 $330,066,689 2010
66 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $296,607,170 $296,607,170 $331,112,425 2009
67 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 $295,983,305 $295,983,305 $325,071,242 2010
68 The Sixth Sense $293,506,292 $293,506,292 $421,966,597 1999
69 Up $293,004,164 $293,004,164 $327,090,270 2009
70 Inception $292,576,195 $292,576,195 $321,329,296 2010
71 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 $292,324,737 $292,324,737 $304,951,606 2012
72 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $292,004,738 $292,004,738 $337,274,611 2007
73 The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
$291,710,957 $291,710,957 $357,717,457 2005
74 Man of Steel $291,045,518 $291,045,518 $299,236,370 2013
75 The Empire Strikes Back $181,400,000* $290,475,067 $738,973,858 1980
76 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $290,013,036 $290,013,036 $355,635,342 2005
77 Monsters, Inc. $255,873,250 $289,916,256 $381,598,763 2001
78 Home Alone $285,761,243 $285,761,243 $523,847,088 1990
79 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 $281,723,902 $281,723,902 $284,650,698 2015
80 The Matrix Reloaded $281,576,461 $281,576,461 $366,589,325 2003
81 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 $281,287,133 $281,287,133 $299,470,931 2011
82 Meet the Fockers $279,261,160 $279,261,160 $354,094,885 2004
83 The Hangover $277,322,503 $277,322,503 $309,584,311 2009
84 Gravity $274,092,705 $274,092,705 $281,806,457 2013
85 Monsters University $268,492,764 $268,492,764 $276,048,918 2013
86 Shrek $267,665,011 $267,665,011 $362,034,408 2001
87 The Amazing Spider-Man $262,030,663 $262,030,663 $273,348,990 2012
88 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets $261,988,482 $261,988,482 $348,849,418 2002
89 The Incredibles $261,441,092 $261,441,092 $331,499,566 2004
90 How the Grinch Stole Christmas $260,044,825 $260,044,825 $361,650,745 2000
91 Jaws $191,741,308* $260,000,000 $1,110,822,117 1975
92 Captain America: The Winter Soldier $259,766,572 $259,766,572 $262,797,304 2014
93 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug $258,366,855 $258,366,855 $265,638,036 2013
94 The Lego Movie $257,760,692 $257,760,692 $260,768,021 2014
95 Star Trek $257,730,019 $257,730,019 $287,712,571 2009
96 I Am Legend $256,386,216 $256,386,216 $296,134,103 2007
97 The Blind Side $255,959,475 $255,959,475 $285,736,054 2009
98 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies $255,119,788 $255,119,788 $258,096,305 2014
99 The Hangover: Part II $254,464,305 $254,464,305 $270,914,142 2011
100 Despicable Me $251,513,985 $251,513,985 $276,231,673 2010

* These films fall outside the top 100 when considering only initial gross, and would be replaced by Batman ($251.18m), Night at the Museum ($250.86m) and Men in Black ($250.69m).

Franchises and film series adjusted for inflation[edit]

This chart was compiled based on data from Box Office Mojo, by dividing the gross by the average ticket price to calculate an estimate of the total number of admissions.

  film currently playing Background shading indicates that at least one film in the series is playing in the week commencing 20 January 2017 in theaters around the world.
Highest-grossing franchises and film series[§] (The films in each franchise can be viewed by selecting "show")
Rank Series Total adjusted for inflation No. of films Average of films Highest-grossing film

Franchises and film series not adjusted for inflation[edit]

This is a list of highest-grossing franchises and film series in the U.S. and Canada.[10]

  film currently playing Background shading indicates that at least one film in the series is playing in the week commencing 20 January 2017 in theaters around the world.
(The films in each franchise can be viewed by selecting "show")
Rank Series Total box office No. of films Average of films Highest-grossing film

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The figure of 97,255,300 is an average value based on Box Office Mojo estimating the number of admissions by dividing gross revenue by the cost of an average ticket. However in the case of Avatar, ticket sales are a combination of the three formats of 2D, 3D and IMAX used during its theatrical run. Since box office admissions are not tracked, the total number of admissions cannot therefore be accurately determined simply by dividing the gross receipts by the average ticket price. Box Office Mojo revised estimate - by taking account of the ticket prices for all three different formats - is that Avatar sold 75 million tickets by April 21, 2010, by which time it had grossed $745 million of its $760 million total.[4] An extra $15 million of sales would be equivalent to about 2 million more ticket sales, at the average 2D ticket price of $7.50 in 2009; using this revision, Avatar probably sold closer to 77,000,000 tickets.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Genre and InternatIonal Box offIce" (PDF). Film Victoria / Government of Australia. p. 10. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012. North American box office statistics includes figures from both the United States and Canada as industry standard. 
  2. ^ a b Richwine, Lisa (April 30, 2012). "Think Like a Man tops North American box office". Reuters via Canada.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012. ...easily beat four new films to win the U.S. and Canadian box office race.... Think Like a Man led domestic charts with... 
  3. ^ a b "All Time Box Office > Domestic Grosses: Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 16, 2012.  * Adjusted to the estimated number of tickets sold. Inflation-adjustment is mostly done by multiplying estimated admissions by the latest average ticket price. Where admissions are unavailable, adjustment is based on the average ticket price for when each film was released (taking into account rereleases where applicable).
  4. ^ Subers, Ray (April 21, 2010). "'Avatar' Strikes DVD". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c d e "Adjusting for Ticket Price Inflation". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2012. 
  6. ^ a b Anderson, S. Eric; Albertson, Stewart; Shavlik, David. "2004 Proceedings of the Midwest Business Economics Association March 17 – March 19, Chicago, Illinois: How the Motion Picture Industry Miscalculates Box Office Receipts". Loma Linda University. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012. 
  7. ^ a b c Garris, Daniel (September 7, 2007). "$200 Million Adjusted Extra". BoxOfficeReport.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. 
  8. ^ "Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 5, 2016. 
  9. ^ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2017. 
  10. ^ "Franchise Index". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2014. 
§ Franchise and series sources

External links[edit]