by 
Updated on December 10, 2021
Everyone’s favorite three-hours-long-with-no-intermission superhero epic, “Avengers: Endgame,” has made history. As of this previous weekend, it’s finally become the top-grossing film of all time globally. “Endgame” dethroned 2009’s “Avatar,” which held the record for the past decade.
Below is a list of the top ten films. Note it’s not adjusted for inflation, which I suspect might be a very difficult task for a list like this. Figures are as of July 22, 2019.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Observations
Out of the top 10 films, five are superhero films. All of them feature Marvel characters. If curious, the top-grossing non-Marvel superhero film is “Aquaman,” in 21st place with $1.148 billion.
Seven of the top 10 films are owned by Disney, including films released by 20th Century Fox, such as “Avatar.” Many online have noted how a Disney-owned film topped another Disney-owned film for the top box office spot. They also noted the box office dominance of a billion-dollar conglomerate like Disney, which for some makes this all hard to care about.
Domestic top 10 movies of all time
Below is (as of this writing) the domestic top 10 movies of all time:
- “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” $936.7 million
- “Avengers: Endgame,” $854.8 million
- “Avatar,” $760.5 million
- “Black Panther,” $700.1 million
- “Avengers: Infinity War,” $678.8 million
- “Titanic,” $659.4 million
- “Jurassic World,” $652.3 million
- “The Avengers,” $623.4 million
- “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” $620.2 million
- “Incredibles 2,” $608.6 million
The top 10 domestic films, adjusted for inflation:
- “Gone With the Wind,” $1.82 billion
- “Star Wars,” $1.60 billion
- “The Sound of Music,” $1.28 billion
- “E.T.,” $1.28 billion
- “Titanic,” $1.22 billion
- “The Ten Commandments,” $1.18 billion
- “Jaws,” $1.15 billion
- “Doctor Zhivago,” $1.12 billion
- “The Exorcist,” $996.5 million
- “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” $982.1 million
The unadjusted domestic list is even more lopsidedly in favor of Disney—eight of the top 10 films are by Disney or Fox. Obviously, “Endgame” won’t come close to topping “The Force Awakens.”
Adjusted for inflation, most of the top-grossing films are much older titles. Only three of them are owned by Disney: “Star Wars,” “The Sound of Music,” and “Snow White.” The last one’s the top-earning animated film.
Image from “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” (Marvel)
