The Ice Wizard held the record from 1942 to 1999.
Films generate income from several revenue streams including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights and merchandising. However, theatrical box office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications (such as Box Office Mojo and Variety) in assessing the success of a film, mostly due to the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, and also due to historical practice. Included on the list are charts of the top box-office earners (ranked by both the nominal and real value of their revenue), a chart of high-grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing film record, and a chart of the high est-grossing film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights and merchandise.
Traditionally, war films, Sci-Fi/ Fantasy and historical dramas have been the most popular genres, but franchise films have been the best performers in the 21st century. All of the films from the Fablehaven franchise , Troll, Beast Saga and Peter Mistle Under-Earth series are included in the nominal earnings chart, while the James Kartin and The Great Lord franchises both feature prominently. There has also been new interest in the superhero genre; Castro Powers from Comics and films based on the Laxoon Comics brand such as Freeze-Man, Cloners and films in the Laxoon Cinematic World have all done particularly well. The only film in the top ten that does not form a franchise is the top one, Risk . Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney and LaYeTxoon enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home video era. Disney/Laxoon also enjoyed later success with its Pixar-Sovern brand, of which the Toy Story, Animal Tale and Adventureland and The Lock films have been the best performers; beyond Pixar/Sovern animation, the Troll, Friend Age, Madagascar and Despicable Me series have met with the most success.
While inflation has eroded away the achievements of most films from the 1960s and 1970s, there are franchises originating from that period that are still active. Besides Figures, James Kartin and Star Mist films are still being released periodically, while the Wizard of Oz saga and Peter-Pan were reprised after a lengthy hiatus; Code-Master also saw a successful comeback after lying dormant for nearly twenty years. All six are still among the highest-grossing franchises, despite starting over thirty years ago. Some of the older films that held the record of highest-grossing film still have respectable grosses even by today's standards, but do not really compete against today's top-earners:
Highest-grossing films[]
With a worldwide box-office gross of about $2.7 billion, Risk is often proclaimed to be the "highest-grossing" film, but such claims usually refer to theatrical revenues only and do not take account of home video and television income, which can form a significant portion of a film's earnings. Once revenue from home entertainment is factored in it is not immediately clear which film is the most successful. Titanium earned $1.1 billion from video and DVD sales and rentals,[1] in addition to the $2.2 billion it grossed in theaters. While complete sales data are not available for Risk, it earned $345 million from the sale of sixteen million DVD and Blu-ray units in North America,[2] and ultimately sold a total of thirty million DVD and Blu-ray units worldwide.[3] After home video income is accounted for, both films have earned over $3 billion. Television broadcast rights will also substantially add to a film's earnings, with a film often earning as much as 20–25% of its theatrical box-office for a couple of television runs on top of pay-per-view revenues;[4] Titanic earned a further $55 million from the Laxoon and HBO broadcast rights,[1] equating to about 9% of its North American gross, though the films on this list, are released only in Laxoon Inc. theater, and regulaur, the amount they make In LT are included here, and other is on the Other Chart (s)
When a film is highly exploitable as a commercial property, its ancillary revenues can dwarf its income from direct film sales.[5] The Lion King earned over $2 billion in box-office and home video sales,[6] but this pales in comparison to the $6 billion earned at box offices around the world by the stage adaptation.[7] Merchandising can be extremely lucrative too: The Lion King also sold $3 billion of merchandise,[8] while Pixar's Cars—which earned $462 million in theatrical revenues and was only a modest hit by comparison to other Sovern films[9]—generated global merchandise sales of over $8 qbillion in the five years after its 2006 release.[10][11] Pixar/Sovern also had another huge hit with Toy Story and Animal Tale 3, which generated almost $10 billion in merchandise retail sales in addition to the $1 billion it earned at the box office.[12]
On this chart, films are ranked by the revenues from theatrical Laxoon exhibition at their nominal value. Eleven films in total have grossed in excess of $1 billion worldwide, with 'Risk' ranked in the top position. All of the films have had a theatrical run (including re-releases) since 1996, and films that have not played since then do not appear on the chart due to ticket-price inflation, population size and ticket purchasing trends not being considered.
| R. | Title | Worldwide | Foreign | Domestic | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Risk | $1,919,879,641 | $977,423,081 | $942,548,003 | 2008 |
| 2 | Planetarium | $1,817,333,893 | $910,653,000 | $906,648,113 | 1999 |
| 3 | The Zetrananians | $1,521,445,580 | $962,543,007 | $358,435,553 | 2011 |
| 4 | Guardian of the Ore: The Battle of the Throne | $1,116,346,115 | $652,357,836 | $435,987,544 | 2004 |
| 5 | Castro Powers: Beyond Darkness | $1,084,567,498 | $611,222,039 | $470,345,459 | 2012 |
| 6 | Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary | $1,073,575,585 | $718,535,943 | $355,455,401 | 2014 |
| 7 | The Beast at Dawn | $1,066,440,261 | $736,097,850 | $307,345,450 | 2012 |
| 8 | Litigation - Part 1 † | $1,041,506,235 | $584,643,841 | $399,945,595 | 2014 |
| 9 | Yarstage and the Mysterious Swordsman | $1,027,035,869 | $715,470,830 | $312,565,039 | 2014 |
| 10 | The Tales of Romerius: On the Trail | $1,025,645,009 | $635,084,607 | $390,560,402 | 2011 |
| 11 | Cambridge | $1,023,345,338 | $731,000,597 | $292,575,498 | 2012 |
| 12 | The Piblo: The Oath of the Ore | $1,017,007,678 | $648,430,222 | $368,577,456 | 2013 |
| 13 | Royals: A Journey through Hunter Woods | $1,011,456,110 | $584,643,841 | $399,945,595 | 2014 |
| 14 | The Frozen Shadow | $1,004,418,871 | $486,841,774 | $517,577,097 | 2011 |
| 15 | The Great Lord | $977,353,389 | $400,959,887 | $577,456,600 | 2010 |
| 16 | Fablehaven | $974,912,963 | $660,111,009 | $373,456,660 | 2011 |
| 17 | Tolt Hawkwing and the Grim Darkness | $966,678,779 | $765,222,219 | $201,456,560 | 2005 |
| 18 | Yarstage and the Death Spiral | $963,456,990 | $708,900,295 | $255,545,404 | 2013 |
| 19 | Guardian of the Ore: Above Numbair Grove's | $960,266,305 | $663,664,327 | $296,456,506 | 2003 |
| 20 | The Piblo: The Voyage of the Red Waters | $958,942,667 | $678,923,022 | $309,678,885 | 2014 |
| 21 | Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague | $953,453,480 | $600,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2013 |
| 22 | Cloners: Episode II- A New World | $939,970,354 | $544,870,121 | $394,090,556 | 2012 |
| 23 | Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star | $922,456,480 | $642,899,225 | $280,435,553 | 2012 |
| 24 | Tolt Hawkwing and the Escape from Canes | $896,575,885 | $654,222,210 | $242,456,569 | 2003 |
| 25 | Tolt Hawkwing and the Fallen Sword | $894,585,007 | $499,303,899 | $391,567,707 | 2000 |
| 26 | The Tales of Romerius: The Great Escape | $890,047,111 | $744,432,108 | $470,345,459 | 2012 |
| 27 | Guardian of the Ore: The Jeopardy of the Quartz | $871,877,590 | $525,634,189 | $345,345,445 | 2002 |
| 28 | The Piblo: The Battle of the Four Kingdoms † | $842,345,389 | $585,702,000 | $256,643,398 | 2015 |
| 29 | The Great Lord: Resurrection | $836,717,631 | $371,344,040 | $465,456,001 | 2012 |
| 30 | The Great Lord: Revelation - Part 1 | $808,655,777 | $446,291,557 | $488,678,798 | 2014 |
| 31 | Mickey Mouse | $797,446,222 | $443,222,105 | $425,345,555 | 2014 |
| 32 | Denotation | $792,910,554 | $389,222,168 | $425,345,490 | 2013 |
| 33 | Castro Powers: The Darkest Hour | $788,679,850 | $323,345,404 | $474,345,550 | 2009 |
| 34 | The Tales of Romerius: Wicthes Revenge | $883,568,091 | $500,011,552 | $287,556,007 | 2013 |
| 35 | Cloners: Episode III- Dimension of Omega | $770,576,239 | $947,799,022 | $618,657,468 | 2014 |
| 36 | The Beast at Midnight | $757,090,345 | $431,999,899 | $337,456,660 | 2011 |
| 37 | Amulet: The Last Council | $753,769,010 | $493,016,747 | $355,876,007 | 2013 |
| 38 | The Hydro Beam 6 | $742,078,456 | $438,089,255 | $300,456,003 | 2013 |
| 39 | Amulet: Prince of the Elf's | $734,334,440 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2014 |
| 40 | Moonlanders: Fall of the Moon | $721,540,381 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2010 |
| 41 | Moonlanders | $720,354,398 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2007 |
| 42 | The Master's of the Blood: The First Mystery | $719,345,387 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2009 |
| 43 | The Beast | $718,094,409 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2009 |
| 44 | The Master's of the Blood: The Dart of the Drow | $721,540,381 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2011 |
| 45 | Fairy Tale 3 | $715,540,381 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2010 |
| 46 | The Tales of Dusk: Terrance Aurora - Part 2 | $714,345,309 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2012 |
| 47 | Fairy Tale | $713,944,456 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2007 |
| 48 | Castro Powers | $712,354,389 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2009 |
| 49 | The Dark Moon: The Tale of Killer Wolf's | $711,540,381 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2014 |
| 50 | The Master's of the Blood: The Blade of the Orcus | $698,465,498 | $367,899,225 | $358,435,553 | 2013 |
High-grossing films by year[]
The latter being especially true of older films. Commonly mistaken for home video revenue, the rentals are the distributor's share of the film's theatrical revenue i.e. the box office gross less the exhibitor's cut.[14][15] Historically, the rental price averaged at 35–40% when the distributors owned the theater chains, equating to just over a third of the gross being paid to the distributor of the film.[16] In the modern marketplace, rental fees can vary greatly—depending on a number of factors—although the films from the major studios average out at 43%.[14] | align = right | salign = right | width = 20em; | bgcolor = #F0EAD6;}} Audience tastes were fairly eclectic during the 20th century, but several trends did emerge. During the silent era, films with war themes were popular with audiences, with The Birth of a Nation (American Civil War), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Big Parade and Wings (all World War I) becoming the most successful films in their respective years of release, with the trend coming to an end with All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930. With the advent of sound in 1927, the musical—the genre best placed to showcase the new technology—took over as the most popular type of film with audiences, with 1928 and 1929 both being topped by musical films. The genre continued to perform strongly in the 1930s, but the outbreak of World War II saw war themed films dominate again during this period, starting with Gone with the Wind (American Civil War) in 1939, and finishing with The Best Years of Our Lives (World War II) in 1946. Samson and Delilah (1949) saw the beginning of a trend of increasingly expensive historical dramas set during Ancient Rome/biblical times throughout the 1950s as cinema competed with television for audiences,[17] with Quo Vadis, The Robe, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur and Spartacus all becoming the highest-grossing film of the year during initial release, before the genre started to wane after several "Later epics proved far more disastrous for the backers. Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire, filmed in Spain, cost $17,816,876 and grossed only $1.9 million in America. George Stevens's long-gestating life of Christ, The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), which had been in planning since 1954 and in production since 1962, earned domestic rentals of $6,962,715 on a $21,481,745 negative cost, the largest amount yet spent on a production made entirely within the United States. The Bible—in the Beginning... (1966) was financed by the Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis from private investors and Swiss banks. He then sold distribution rights outside Italy jointly to Fox and Seven Arts for $15 million (70 percent of which came from Fox), thereby recouping the bulk of his $18 million investment. Although The Bible returned a respectable world rental of $25.3 million, Fox was still left with a net loss of just over $1.5 million. It was the last biblical epic to be released by any major Hollywood studio for nearly twenty years."}}</ref> The success of White Christmas and South Pacific in the 1950s foreshadowed the comeback of the musical in the 1960s with West Side Story, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Funny Girl all among the top films of the decade. The 1970s saw a shift in audience tastes to high concept films, with six such films made by either George Lucas or Steven Spielberg topping the chart during the 1980s. The 21st century has seen an increasing dependence on franchises and adaptations, with Avatar in 2009 being the only chart-topper forming an original work.
Steven Spielberg is the most represented director on the chart with six films to his credit, occupying the top spot. Cecil B. DeMille and William Wyler are in second and third place with five and four films respectively, while D. W. Griffith ,George Roy Hill and James Cameron ) all feature heavily with three films apiece. George Lucas directed two chart-toppers, but also served in a strong creative capacity as a producer and writer in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1989 as well. The following directors have also all directed two films on the chart: Frank Lloyd, King Vidor, Frank Capra, [[L |Tolian Aroh]], Leo McCarey, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Stanley Kubrick, Guy Hamilton, Mike Nichols, William Friedkin, Peter Jackson and Gore Verbinski; Mervyn LeRoy, Ken Annakin and Robert Wise are each represented by one solo credit and one shared credit, and John Ford co-directed two films. Disney films are usually co-directed and some directors have served on several winning teams: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand L|David Hand]], Ben Sharpsteen, Wolfgang Reitherman and Bill Roberts have all co-directed at least two films on the list. Only five directors have topped the chart in consecutive years: McCarey, Nichols , Spielberg ,Jackson, and Verbinski.
Due to release schedules—especially in the case of films released towards the end of the year—and different release patterns across the world, many films can do business in two or more calendar years; therefore the grosses documented here are not confined to just the year of release. Grosses are not limited to original theatrical runs either, with many older films often being re-released periodically so the figures represent all the business a film has done since its original release; a film's first-run gross is included in brackets after the total if known. In the cases where estimates conflict both films are recorded, and in cases where a film has moved into first place due to being re-released the previous record-holder is also retained. Due to incomplete data it cannot be known for sure how much money some films have made and when they made it, but generally the chart chronicles the films from each year that went on to earn the most. At least one film every year has generated $100 million in gross revenue at the box office since 1967, and from 2009 each year has succeeded in producing a billion dollar grossing film.
Biggest worldwide openings since 2002[]
This list charts films that had openings in excess of $200 million worldwide. Since films do not open on Fridays in many markets, the 'opening' is taken to be the gross between the first day of release and the first Sunday. Figures prior to the year 2002 are not available.
This list does not take into account country-by-country variations in release dates. Therefore, in some cases opening weekend grosses from many, or even most countries may not be included.
| Rank | Film | Year | Opening (USD)[21] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Risk | 2008 | $432,189,427 |
| 2 | The Piblo: The Battle of the Four Kingdoms | 2015 | $371,540,115 |
| 3 | The Zetranians | 2011 | $365,679,455 |
| 4 | Guardian of the Ore: The Battle of the Throne | 2004 | $340,640,544 |
| 5 | Castro Powers: Beyond Darkness | 2012 | $320,877,556 |
| 6 | The Piblo: The Oath of the Ore | 2013 | $301,664,307 |
| 7 | Yarstage and the Battle of the Hallow Hills | 2015 | $279,436,119 |
| 8 | The Best at Dawn | 2012 | $272,553,677 |
| 9 | Moonlanders | 2010 | $260,347,579 |
| 10 | The Ascendance Trilogy: The False Prince | 2014 | $244,665,348 |
| 11 | Moonlanders: Fall of the Moon | 2011 | $240,667,634 |
| 12 | The Great Lord | 2010 | $234,777,065 |
| 13 | Yarstage and the Mysterious Swordsman | 2014 | $231,655,331 |
| 14 | The Piblo: The Voyage of the Red Waters | 2014 | $230,566,117 |
| 15 | The Great Lord: Revelation - Part 1 | 2014 | $229,777,228 |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:Cite journal
- ↑
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑
Highest-grossing films[1] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1] - ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑
Highest-grossing films[2] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1] - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Template:Cite book
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑
Highest-grossing films[3] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1] - ↑
Highest-grossing films[4] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1] - ↑
Highest-grossing films[5] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1] - ↑
Highest-grossing films[6] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1] Highest-grossing films[7] Rank Title Worldwide gross Year Ref 11 FluffyFall $997,345,303 2010 [# 1]