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Trailer Tuesday, gold edition: the trailers to the highest-grossing movies ever
14.4.2020
Translation: Eva Francis
In this week's Trailer Tuesday, I’m showing you the trailers of the most successful movies of all time – adjusted for inflation – followed by a survey at the request of reader Lemonjuice.
What’s the most successful movie of all time judging by how much money it made? «Avengers: Endgame». Take inflation into account and the answer is a different one. While a cinema ticket in the USA cost an average of just 1.20 dollars in 1967, it would be worth 8.76 dollars today.
So what’s the most successful movie judging by box office results and taking annual inflation into account?
Here are the top 10.
Numbers 10 to 6: short and sweet
I’m going to race through this half of the top 10, just to keep the article shortish.
By the way, the index year is 2019. In other words: no inflation adjustment is applied for movies that were released in 2019 according to the Guinness Book of World Records, who compiled this ranking.
Number 10: Star Wars – The Force Awakens
Worldwide gross: 2 billion dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 2.2 billion dollars
Cinema release: 16 December 2015
Number 9: Doctor Zhivago
Worldwide gross: 111.9 million dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 2.23 billion dollars
Cinema release: 22 December 1965
Number 8: The Ten Commandments
Worldwide gross: 65.5 million dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 2.36 billion dollars
Cinema release: 9 October 1956
Number 7: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Worldwide gross: 793.4 million dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 2.49 billion dollars
Cinema release: 11 June 1982
Number 6: The Sound of Music
Worldwide gross: 159.4 million dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 2.55 billion dollars
Cinema release: 2 March 1965
Numbers 5 to 1: the nitty-gritty
Now, let’s take a look at five highest-grossing films ever – taking annual inflation into account.
Number 5: Avengers: Endgame
Worldwide gross: 2.797 billion dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 2.797 billion dollars
I have mixed feelings about «Avengers: Endgame». I do like the film. Very much so. It’s the culmination of everything that Marvel built up over ten years with its MCU films. And «Endgame» did not disappoint one bit; it fulfilled the high expectations of millions of fans.
So what don’t I like? Not the movie, but the way it was promoted. The way an artificial hype was generated and fans were deliberately instrumentalised to turn the financial success of the film into a problem for the audience. Before «Avengers: Endgame», «Avatar was considered the highest-grossing film of all time. The makers wanted to change that. Hashtags such as #BeatAvatar or #WatchEndgame were created to encourage us to go to the cinema several times or at least at the expense of another film. Is this still normal? I don't think so...
Cinema release: 24 April 2019
Number 4: Star Wars – A New Hope
Worldwide gross: 775.5 million dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 3.04 billion dollars
There we go. «Star Wars», the movie that made me a movie nerd and sparked my interest for film music. My Spotify Playlist collection consists mainly of albums by John Williams, James Horner, Michael Giacchino and Hans Zimmer. My colleague Dominik says about me: «There's nothing in life that Luca couldn't explain with an example from Star Wars». That says it all.
I'm confident I know things about Star Wars that you don't. Let's try it. George Lucas never believed in the success of «Star Wars» until it hit the cinema. One day, when he visited the set of director legend and friend Steven Spielberg, who was filming «Close Encounters of the Third Kind», Lucas was convinced Spielberg's film would be much more successful than «Star Wars». Spielberg didn't agree. The two arranged to give 2.5 percent of the profits of their movie to the other person.
To this day, Spielberg receives 2.5 percent of the profits from «Star Wars».
Cinema release: 25 May 1977
Number 3: Titanic
Worldwide gross: 2.19 billion dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 3.08 billion dollars
Let's get rid of all prejudices: «Titanic» is neither a gooey, far too long music video by Céline Dion, nor a romance tailored to the female fans of DiCaprio. «Titanic» is a great movie – in terms of story, acting and especially how it's made. It won ten Oscars. And rightly so.
Nobody would have bet on its resounding success in 1997. On the contrary. The film was predicted to suffer shipwreck – quite literally. Why? Firstly, because «Titanic» exceeded its 100 million budget and ended up costing 200 million dollars. That’s a huge sum today and it was even more overwhelming 20 years ago. Secondly, because of bad press that suggested there were fights among the production companies. Accidents on set. Delays. Cost-cutting. And more.
But today, we stop and stare in awe when the engines are pounding in the engine room, the icy Atlantic water rushes through the cabin corridors and the ship's stern rises into the night sky.
Cinema release: 18 December 1997
Number 2: Avatar
Worldwide gross: 2.79 billion dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 3.26 billion dollars
What director James Cameron celebrated in his 2009 movie isn't so much about the art of storytelling, but about experimenting with and exploring visual possibilities that have never been seen before. Sure, «Avatar» triggered the 3D boom. But what's more impressive is how it inspired to create entire worlds on the computer and make them feel so real.
How did Cameron do it? He used the motion capture technology known from «Lord of the Rings». This technology was used to record Andy Serkis' movements to create Gollum. Cameron took it one step further and had actors wear their markers on their faces as well as on their bodies. Plus, he made them wear helmets with GoPro cameras mounted on them, which recorded the movements of their eyes. This allowed applying the full acting performance to the computer model of the avatars in the film. Crazy, right?
This is called motion and performance capturing. It was revolutionary then and is normal today. How do you think the Hulk was created in «Avengers: Endgame»?
Cinema release: 16 December 2009
Number 1: Gone with the Wind
Worldwide gross: 402.3 million dollars
Inflation-adjusted: 3.71 billion dollars
I’m sure you know «Gone with the Wind». Or you’ve heard of it at least. That's no surprise, as «Gone with the Wind» – an adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel of the same name – is the poster child for Hollywood's Golden Age.
«Gone with the Wind» tells the story of the irresistible Scarlett O'Hara, who, amidst the American Civil War in the 1860s, fights for true love. This isn't an easy-to-watch family film or gooey romance. This is how BBC film critic Nicholas Barber expressed this from today's perspective:
It’s a valentine to the slave-owning South, and a poison-pen letter to the anti-slavery North. It’s a tonal rollercoaster that plunges from frothy comedy to gruelling tragedy and back again. It’s a romance that puts the hero and heroine at each other’s throats. And it’s an episodic coming-of-age story that keeps going for nearly four hours before reaching its abrupt, unresolved ending. In short, Gone with the Wind is a preposterous, almost unclassifiable mix of highly questionable elements. The wonder is not just that it’s America’s most beloved film, but that it isn’t America’s most hated.
Cinema release: 15 December 1939
Now it's your turn. Why? Reader Lemonjuice commented below the last episode of Trailer Tuesday:
As a tip for next week, do a survey and present the top 3 favourite movies of Digitec and Galaxus employees or favourite children's movies or their insider tips. After all, there are a lot of movies that don’t have a tremendous marketing budget, but are still very good. Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal is one of them.
Thanks for this idea, Lemonjuice. But I’d like to extend the survey to our readers, if it's okay with you. Therefore, next week’s Trailer Tuesday will show our readers’ favourite films. What are they? I’ve no idea. Let me know by participating in the survey or by commenting below.
I’ll include the five most frequently mentioned suggestions in my list – together with my own personal favourite film ever. I bet you nobody will guess my favourite movie. No, it’s not «Star Wars – A New Hope».
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
