Moviegoing has been one of America's favorite ways to kill time for about a century now, and box-office earnings have been a reliable predictor of what we love and, sometimes, continue to love.
ADVERTISEMENT
The biggest box-office hit the year you were born
The films that made the most money at the box office from 1930 to 2017.
Using lists of the highest-grossing films by year from IMDb, Box Office Mojo, and The Numbers, Business Insider has compiled a chronology of the biggest box-office hits every year since 1930*.
We adjusted global box-office receipts for inflation through 2017 using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator. We've also included critic ratings from Metacritic (on a scale of 1 to 100) and fan ratings from IMDb (on a scale of 1 to 10) for each film where available.
However, we used 1975 as the cutoff for global box office because worldwide figures before then were spotty and inconsistent. For films prior to 1975, we've provided adjusted and unadjusted domestic box office instead.
ADVERTISEMENT
Several franchises are represented — "Star Wars," "Terminator," "Harry Potter" — as are Academy Award winners and classics like "The Sound of Music" and "Rocky."
Read on to find out the highest-grossing movie released the year you were born:
*Note: A couple years in the 1930s are missing due to lack of information. Movies before 1930 were not included due to unreliable box-office data.
This post has been updated and expanded from its original version.
2017: "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
ADVERTISEMENT
Adjusted gross: $1.3 billion
Unadjusted gross: $1.3 billion
Critic rating: 85
Fan rating: 7.5
Plot summary: "Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares for battle with the First Order."
ADVERTISEMENT
2016: "Captain America: Civil War"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Plot summary"Political involvement in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between Captain America and Iron Man.
2015: "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
2014: "Transformers: Age of Extinction"
Adjusted gross: $1.2 billion
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
2013: "Frozen"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
2012: "The Avengers"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
2011: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
Plot summary: "Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts."
2010: "Toy Story 3"
ADVERTISEMENT
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
Plot summary: "
ADVERTISEMENT
2009: "Avatar"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
2008: "The Dark Knight"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Plot summary: "When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, the caped crusader must come to terms with one of the greatest psychological tests of his ability to fight injustice."
2007: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
2006: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Plot summary: "Jack Sparrow races to recover the heart of Davy Jones to avoid enslaving his soul to Jones' service, as other friends and foes seek the heart for their own agenda as well."
2005: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
2004: "Shrek 2"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Plot summary: "Princess Fiona's parents invite her and Shrek to dinner to celebrate her marriage. If only they knew the newlyweds were both ogres."
2003: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
2002: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
2001: "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
2000: "Mission: Impossible II"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1999: "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1998: "Armageddon"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1997: "Titanic"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1996: "Independence Day"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1995: "Die Hard: With A Vengeance"
Adjusted gross: $599 million
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1994: "The Lion King"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1993: "Jurassic Park"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1992: "Aladdin"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1991: "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1990: "Ghost"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1989: "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1988: "Rain Man"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1987: "Fatal Attraction"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1986: "Top Gun"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1985: "Back to the Future"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1984: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1983: "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1982: "E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1981: "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1980: "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back"
Adjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1979: "Moonraker"
Adjusted gross: $719 million
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1978: "Grease"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1977: "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1976: "Rocky"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross: $225 million
ADVERTISEMENT
1975: "Jaws"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1974: "Blazing Saddles"*
Adjusted gross: $604 million
Unadjusted gross: $119.6 million
ADVERTISEMENT
1973: "The Exorcist"
1972: "The Godfather"
ADVERTISEMENT
1971: "Billy Jack"
Adjusted gross: $603 million
Unadjusted gross: $98 million
1970: "Love Story"
1969: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
ADVERTISEMENT
1968: "Funny Girl"
1967: "The Jungle Book"
1966: "The Bible: In The Beginning..."
Adjusted gross: $268 million
Unadjusted gross: $34.9 million
ADVERTISEMENT
1965: "The Sound of Music"
1964: "Mary Poppins"
1963: "Cleopatra"
1962: "The Longest Day"
Adjusted gross: $322 million
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross: $39.1 million
1961: "101 Dalmatians"
1960: "Swiss Family Robinson"
1959: "Ben-Hur"
1958: "South Pacific"
ADVERTISEMENT
1957: "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
1956: "The Ten Commandments"
1955: "Lady and the Tramp"
1954: "White Christmas"
1953: "Peter Pan"
ADVERTISEMENT
1952: "The Greatest Show on Earth"
1951: "Quo Vadis?"
1950: "Cinderella"
1949: "Samson and Delilah"
Adjusted gross: $301 million
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross: $28.8 million
1948: "The Snake Pit"
Adjusted gross: $103 million
Unadjusted gross: $10 million
1947: "Forever Amber"
ADVERTISEMENT
Adjusted gross: $178 million
Unadjusted gross: $16 million
1946: "Song of the South"
Adjusted gross: $830 million
Unadjusted gross: $65 million
ADVERTISEMENT
1945: "The Bells of St. Mary's"
Adjusted gross: $295 million
Unadjusted gross: $21.3 million
1944: "Going My Way"
Adjusted gross: $230 million
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross: $16.3 million
1943: "This Is the Army"
Adjusted gross: $281 million
Unadjusted gross: $19.5 million
1942: "Bambi"
ADVERTISEMENT
undefined $1.6 billion
Unadjusted gross: $103 million
1941: "Sergeant York"
undefined $277 million
Unadjusted gross: $16.4 million
ADVERTISEMENT
1940: "Pinocchio"
undefined $1.5 billion
Unadjusted gross: $84.3 million
1939: "Gone with the Wind"
undefined $3.5 billion
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1938: "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
undefined $71 million
Unadjusted gross:
1937: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
ADVERTISEMENT
undefined $3.2 billion
Unadjusted gross:
1935: "Top Hat"
undefined $31 million
Unadjusted gross:
ADVERTISEMENT
1934: "It Happened One Night"
undefined $46 million
Unadjusted gross:
1933: "King Kong"
undefined $192 million
ADVERTISEMENT
Unadjusted gross:
1931: "Frankenstein"
undefined $197 million
Unadjusted gross:
1930: "Tom Sawyer"
ADVERTISEMENT
undefined $164 million
Unadjusted gross:
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
ADVERTISEMENT