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.
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.
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"
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."
2016: "Captain America: Civil War"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
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:
2014: "Transformers: Age of Extinction"
Adjusted gross: $1.2 billion
Unadjusted gross:
2013: "Frozen"
Adjusted gross:
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2012: "The Avengers"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
2011: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
Adjusted gross:
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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"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
Plot summary: "
2009: "Avatar"
Adjusted gross:
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2008: "The Dark Knight"
Adjusted gross:
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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:
2006: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
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:
2004: "Shrek 2"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross:
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:
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2002: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
Adjusted gross:
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2001: "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
Adjusted gross:
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2000: "Mission: Impossible II"
Adjusted gross:
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1999: "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace"
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1998: "Armageddon"
Adjusted gross:
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1997: "Titanic"
Adjusted gross:
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1996: "Independence Day"
Adjusted gross:
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1995: "Die Hard: With A Vengeance"
Adjusted gross: $599 million
Unadjusted gross:
1994: "The Lion King"
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1993: "Jurassic Park"
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1992: "Aladdin"
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1991: "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"
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1990: "Ghost"
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1989: "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
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1988: "Rain Man"
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1987: "Fatal Attraction"
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1986: "Top Gun"
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1985: "Back to the Future"
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1984: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
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1983: "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi"
Adjusted gross:
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1982: "E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial"
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1981: "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
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1980: "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back"
Adjusted gross:
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1979: "Moonraker"
Adjusted gross: $719 million
Unadjusted gross:
1978: "Grease"
Adjusted gross:
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1977: "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope"
Adjusted gross:
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1976: "Rocky"
Adjusted gross:
Unadjusted gross: $225 million
1975: "Jaws"
Adjusted gross:
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1974: "Blazing Saddles"*
Adjusted gross: $604 million
Unadjusted gross: $119.6 million
1973: "The Exorcist"
1972: "The Godfather"
1971: "Billy Jack"
Adjusted gross: $603 million
Unadjusted gross: $98 million
1970: "Love Story"
1969: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
1968: "Funny Girl"
1967: "The Jungle Book"
1966: "The Bible: In The Beginning..."
Adjusted gross: $268 million
Unadjusted gross: $34.9 million
1965: "The Sound of Music"
1964: "Mary Poppins"
1963: "Cleopatra"
1962: "The Longest Day"
Adjusted gross: $322 million
Unadjusted gross: $39.1 million
1961: "101 Dalmatians"
1960: "Swiss Family Robinson"
1959: "Ben-Hur"
1958: "South Pacific"
1957: "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
1956: "The Ten Commandments"
1955: "Lady and the Tramp"
1954: "White Christmas"
1953: "Peter Pan"
1952: "The Greatest Show on Earth"
1951: "Quo Vadis?"
1950: "Cinderella"
1949: "Samson and Delilah"
Adjusted gross: $301 million
Unadjusted gross: $28.8 million
1948: "The Snake Pit"
Adjusted gross: $103 million
Unadjusted gross: $10 million
1947: "Forever Amber"
Adjusted gross: $178 million
Unadjusted gross: $16 million
1946: "Song of the South"
Adjusted gross: $830 million
Unadjusted gross: $65 million
1945: "The Bells of St. Mary's"
Adjusted gross: $295 million
Unadjusted gross: $21.3 million
1944: "Going My Way"
Adjusted gross: $230 million
Unadjusted gross: $16.3 million
1943: "This Is the Army"
Adjusted gross: $281 million
Unadjusted gross: $19.5 million
1942: "Bambi"
undefined $1.6 billion
Unadjusted gross: $103 million
1941: "Sergeant York"
undefined $277 million
Unadjusted gross: $16.4 million
1940: "Pinocchio"
undefined $1.5 billion
Unadjusted gross: $84.3 million
1939: "Gone with the Wind"
undefined $3.5 billion
Unadjusted gross:
1938: "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
undefined $71 million
Unadjusted gross:
1937: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
undefined $3.2 billion
Unadjusted gross:
1935: "Top Hat"
undefined $31 million
Unadjusted gross:
1934: "It Happened One Night"
undefined $46 million
Unadjusted gross:
1933: "King Kong"
undefined $192 million
Unadjusted gross:
1931: "Frankenstein"
undefined $197 million
Unadjusted gross:
1930: "Tom Sawyer"
undefined $164 million
Unadjusted gross:
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