ALL-TIME
BOX OFFICE HITS

(Domestic Gross)

BY DECADE and YEAR


All-Time (Domestic) Box-Office Hits and Top Films By Decade and Year:

Box-office earnings have often been a great predictor of the feature-length films that have been the most favorite, successful, and popular. However, they do not necessarily reflect the best (or greatest) films of the year or decade. They also provide a window into the era when the film was originally released. Although box-office records are often contradictory, spotty, unreliable and sometimes non-existent (the further you go back in cinematic history), it has been possible to compile listings of the top domestic hits all the way back to 1913 - both by decade (beginning with the silents and the 1920s) and by individual year, up to the present year.

Rankings of the top US feature-length films by decade (based on unadjusted domestic gross revenue) are presented below. Also, rankings of the top films by year are included. In earlier days stretching from the 1920s to the 1940s, exact dollar grosses for films at the box-office were often tallied differently, and therefore remain somewhat unreliable. Examples of sources for this information include: The Numbers, Box-Office Mojo, IMDb, or IMDbPro (subscription), Stats-A-Mania, Wikipedia, Ultimate Movie Rankings, and a Business Insider article (examples of links available at present time). Discrepancies between each of these sources presented a challenge to select the top domestic-grossing film of each year. In most cases, the top-earning domestic film was the one with the most mentions as the highest-grossing film.

Note: Complications in determining accurate box-office totals include the fact that many films have had multiple releases (such as Disney animated feature films), re-issues or re-releases, special editions, director's cuts, and subsequent 3-D and IMAX releases - a situation that can have a significant impact on standings. For some films, there are two figures: domestic gross revenue and lifetime domestic gross revenue.


Box-Office Index
Top 100 (Domestic) | Top 100 (Inflation-Adjusted) | Top 100 (Worldwide) | Major Film Franchises | Summer Blockbusters
Top Films (By Decade and Year) | Highest-Grossing Films By Genre Type | Greatest Box-Office Bombs, Disasters, and Flops
The 1920s Decade
THE SILENT ERA
& THE 1920s DECADE
TOP FILMS
IN SILENT ERA & 1920s
(estimated)
  1. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
  2. The Big Parade (1925)
  3. The Singing Fool (1928)
  4. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
  5. Napoleon (1927, Fr.) (aka Napoléon vu par Abel Gance)
  6. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
  7. Something to Think About (1920)
  8. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
  9. Mickey (1918)
  10. The Covered Wagon (1923)
  11. The Jazz Singer (1927)
  12. The Kid (1921)
  13. The Gold Rush (1925)
  14. Way Down East (1920)
  15. The Ten Commandments (1923)
  16. The Million Dollar Mystery (1914)
  17. Welcome Danger (1929)
  18. His People (1925)
  19. Sunnyside Up (1929)
  20. The Miracle Man (1919)
  21. Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (1920)
  22. Aloma of the South Seas (1926)
  23. The Broadway Melody (1929)
  24. Robin Hood (1922)
  25. The Road to Ruin (1928)
  26. Oliver Twist (1922)
  27. What Price Glory? (1926)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN SILENT ERA & 1920s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1913: Traffic in Souls (1913)
1914: The Million Dollar Mystery (1914)
1915: The Birth of a Nation (1915)
1916: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
1917: A Romance of the Redwoods (1917), and Cleopatra (1917) (lost film)
1918: Mickey (1918)
1919: The Miracle Man (1919)
1920: Something to Think About (1920)
1921: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
1922: Robin Hood (1922)
1923: The Covered Wagon (1923)
1924: (nothing substantial)
1925: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
1926: Aloma of the South Seas (1926)
1927: Napoleon (1927, Fr.) (with re-release), The Jazz Singer (1927), (Wings 1927, unknown gross)
1928: The Singing Fool (1928)
1929: Welcome Danger (1929)




The 1930s Decade
THE 1930s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1930s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. Gone With The Wind (1939)
  2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  4. Frankenstein (1931)
  5. Tom Sawyer (1930)
  6. King Kong (1933)
  7. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
  8. Hell's Angels (1930)
  9. Cavalcade (1933)
  10. Saratoga (1937)
  11. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
  12. A Star Is Born (1937)
  13. Modern Times (1936)
  14. Ingagi (1930)
  15. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
  16. San Francisco (1936)
  17. Shanghai Express (1932)
  18. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) (tie)
  19. City Lights (1931) (tie)
  20. Three Smart Girls (1936)
  21. I'm No Angel (1933)
  22. Boys Town (1938)
  23. The Sign of the Cross (1932)
  24. The Kid From Spain (1932)
  25. It Happened One Night (1934)
  26. Test Pilot (1938)
  27. Whoopee! (1930)
  28. One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
  29. 42nd Street (1932)
  30. Grand Hotel (1932)
  31. You Can't Take It With You (1938)
  32. She Done Him Wrong (1933)
  33. Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
  34. Emma (1932)
  35. Top Hat (1935)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 30s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1930: Tom Sawyer (1930)
1931: Frankenstein (1931)
1932: Shanghai Express (1932)
1933: King Kong (1933)
1934: It Happened One Night (1934)
1935: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
1936: Modern Times (1936)
1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
1938: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
1939: Gone With The Wind (1939)




The 1940s Decade
THE 1940s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1940s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. Bambi (1942)
  2. Pinocchio (1940)
  3. Fantasia (1940)
  4. Song of the South (1946)
  5. Mom and Dad (1945)
  6. Samson and Delilah (1949)
  7. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
  8. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
  9. This Is the Army (1943)
  10. Duel in the Sun (1946)
  11. For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
  12. Sergeant York (1941)
  13. Going My Way (1944)
  14. Forever Amber (1947)
  15. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
  16. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
  17. Battleground (1949)
  18. Random Harvest (1942)
  19. The Snake Pit (1948)
  20. The Lost Weekend (1945)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 40s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1940: Pinocchio (1940)
1941: Sergeant York (1941)
1942: Bambi (1942)
1943: This Is the Army (1943)
1944: Going My Way (1944)
1945: Mom and Dad (1945)
1946: Song of the South (1946)
1947: Forever Amber (1947)
1948: The Snake Pit (1948)
1949: Samson and Delilah (1949)




The 1950s Decade
THE 1950s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1950s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. The Ten Commandments (1956)
  2. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
  3. Peter Pan (1953)
  4. Cinderella (1950)
  5. Ben-Hur (1959)
  6. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
  7. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
  8. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
  9. This is Cinerama (1952)
  10. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
  11. Rear Window (1954) (tie)
  12. South Pacific (1958) (tie)
  13. The Robe (1953)
  14. Giant (1956)
  15. Seven Wonders of the World (1956) (Cinerama feature)
  16. From Here to Eternity (1953)
  17. White Christmas (1954)
  18. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
  19. Sayonara (1957)
  20. Cinerama Holiday (1955)
  21. Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
  22. Peyton Place (1957)
  23. Some Like It Hot (1959)
  24. Quo Vadis (1951)
  25. Auntie Mame (1958)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 50s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1950: Cinderella (1950)
1951: Quo Vadis (1951)
1952: This is Cinerama (1952)
1953: Peter Pan (1953)
1954: Rear Window (1954)
1955: Lady and the Tramp (1955)
1956: The Ten Commandments (1956)
1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
1958: South Pacific (1958)
1959: Ben-Hur (1959)




The 1960s Decade
THE 1960s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1960s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. The Sound of Music (1965)
  2. The Graduate (1967)
  3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
  4. The Jungle Book (1967)
  5. My Fair Lady (1964)
  6. Thunderball (1965)
  7. Cleopatra (1963)
  8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  9. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
  10. How the West Was Won (1962/63)
  11. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
  12. Funny Girl (1968)
  13. The Love Bug (1968)
  14. Goldfinger (1964)
  15. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
  16. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
  17. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
  18. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
  19. The Odd Couple (1968)
  20. Valley of the Dolls (1967)
  21. West Side Story (1961)
  22. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
  23. You Only Live Twice (1967)
  24. Bullitt (1968)
  25. Easy Rider (1969)
  26. The Longest Day (1962)
  27. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
  28. Tom Jones (1963)
  29. Oliver! (1968)
  30. The Bible: In the Beginning (1966)
  31. Hawaii (1966)
  32. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
  33. Hello, Dolly! (1969)
  34. Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice (1969)
  35. Paint Your Wagon (1969)
  36. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
  37. Mary Poppins (1964)
  38. The Sand Pebbles (1966)
  39. The Guns of Navarone (1961)
  40. The Carpetbaggers (1964)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 1960s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1960: Spartacus (1960)
1961: West Side Story (1961)
1962: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
1963: Cleopatra (1963)
1964: My Fair Lady (1964)
1965: The Sound of Music (1965)
1966: The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) and Hawaii (1966) (virtual tie)
1967: The Graduate (1967)
1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1969: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)




The 1970s Decade
THE 1970s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1970s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
  2. Jaws (1975)
  3. Grease (1978)
  4. The Sting (1973)
  5. Superman (1978)
  6. The Godfather (1972)
  7. The Exorcist (1973)
  8. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
  9. (National Lampoon's) Animal House (1978)
  10. Blazing Saddles (1974)
  11. Rocky (1976)
  12. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977/80)
  13. The Towering Inferno (1974)
  14. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
  15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
  16. Love Story (1970)
  17. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
  18. Airport (1970)
  19. American Graffiti (1973)
  20. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
  21. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
  22. The Trial of Billy Jack (1974)
  23. The Amityville Horror (1979)
  24. Young Frankenstein (1974)
  25. Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
  26. Rocky II (1979)
  27. Apocalypse Now (1979)
  28. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
  29. The Goodbye Girl (1977)
  30. Heaven Can Wait (1978)
  31. Alien (1979)
  32. Hooper (1978)
  33. Jaws 2 (1978)
  34. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 1970s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1970: Love Story (1970)
1971: Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
1972: The Godfather (1972)
1973: The Sting (1973)
1974: Blazing Saddles (1974)
1975: Jaws (1975)
1976: Rocky (1976)
1977: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
1978: Grease (1978)
1979: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)




The 1980s Decade
THE 1980s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1980s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  2. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
  3. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  4. Batman (1989)
  5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  6. Ghostbusters (1984)
  7. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
  8. Back to the Future (1985)
  9. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
  10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) (tie)
  11. Top Gun (1986) (tie)
  12. Tootsie (1982)
  13. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
  14. Rain Man (1988)
  15. Three Men and a Baby (1987)
  16. Fatal Attraction (1987)
  17. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
  18. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
  19. Gremlins (1984)
  20. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 1980s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1980: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1982: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
1983: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
1984: Ghostbusters (1984)
1985: Back to the Future (1985)
1986: Top Gun (1986)
1987: Three Men and a Baby (1987)
1988: Rain Man (1988)
1989: Batman (1989)




The 1990s Decade
THE 1990s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 1990s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. Titanic (1997)
  2. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
  3. Jurassic Park (1993)
  4. The Lion King (1994)
  5. Forrest Gump (1994)
  6. Independence Day (1996)
  7. The Sixth Sense (1999)
  8. Home Alone (1990)
  9. Men in Black (1997)
  10. Toy Story 2 (1999)
  11. Twister (1996)
  12. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
  13. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
  14. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
  15. Ghost (1990)
  16. Aladdin (1992)
  17. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
  18. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
  19. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  20. Armageddon (1998)
  21. Toy Story (1995)
  22. Dances With Wolves (1990)
  23. Batman Forever (1995)
  24. The Fugitive (1993)
  25. Liar Liar (1997)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 1990s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

1990: Home Alone (1990)
1991: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
1992: Aladdin (1992)
1993: Jurassic Park (1993)
1994: The Lion King (1994)
1995: Toy Story (1995)
1996: Independence Day (1996)
1997: Titanic (1997)
1998: Saving Private Ryan (1998)
1999: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

 



THE 2000s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 2000s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. Avatar (2009)
  2. The Dark Knight (2008)
  3. Shrek 2 (2004)
  4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
  5. Spider-Man (2002)
  6. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
  7. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
  9. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
  10. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
  11. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  12. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
  13. Finding Nemo (2003)
  14. Shrek the Third (2007)
  15. Transformers (2007)
  16. Iron Man (2008)
  17. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
  18. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
  19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  20. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 2000s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

2000: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
2002: Spider-Man (2002)
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
2004: Shrek 2 (2004)
2005: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
2006: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
2007: Spider-Man 3 (2007)
2008: The Dark Knight (2008)
2009: Avatar (2009)



The 2010s Decade
THE 2010s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 2010s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
  1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
  2. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
  3. Black Panther (2018)
  4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  5. Jurassic World (2015)
  6. Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
  7. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
  8. Incredibles 2 (2018)
  9. The Lion King (2019)
  10. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
  11. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
  12. Finding Dory (2016)
  13. Frozen II (2019)
  14. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  15. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
  16. Toy Story 4 (2019)
  17. Captain Marvel (2019)
  18. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
  19. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
  20. Toy Story 3 (2010)
  21. Wonder Woman (2017)
  22. Iron Man 3 (2013)
  23. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
  24. The Hunger Games (2012)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 2010s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

2010: Toy Story 3 (2010)
2011: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)
2012: Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
2013: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
2014: American Sniper (2014)
2015: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
2017: Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
2018: Black Panther (2018)
2019: Avengers: Endgame (2019)



The 2020s Decade
THE 2020s DECADE
TOP FILMS OF 2020s
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)
TOP FILMS BY YEAR
IN 2020s DECADE
(unadjusted domestic gross totals)

2020: Bad Boys for Life (2020) (tentative)
2021: The Croods: A New Age (2021) (tentative)



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