There are probably more theaters now, but they seat less people. The biggest theater in my home town used to seat more than 2000 people back then but now seats "only" a little less than half.
Forget what I just said about the extra charges for long movies. The top intro clearly states it is calculated by multiplying admissions with the latest AVERAGE ticket prices.
Just finished this! I think of the last 10 movies I saw to complete it, more than the half where close to 3 hrs long. This also makes me think that tickets were possibly more expensive than 90 minutes movies from that same time. I think this could have influenced the list. Therefore, it would be nice indeed to see a list calculated by the number of tickets sold!
@spartacus007 You are correct, I could have sworn I read it on boxofficemojo the other way around at one point; must have been a misread. Although there is still estimation involved in all of this, this makes this list even more impressive than I previously thought! Thanks for the correction.
@pamonnig The inflation adjustment is done differently for different years; Snow White's re-release grosses were calculated based on the re-release year, not on 1939.
And you would be amazed at how popular Gone with the Wind really was. (Repeat viewership accounts for the ticket sales) It's probably an unbreakable record; no one's going to pitch 500 wins either.
This list is extrememly flawed, giving a gigantic bias to older films. The problem with this list is that it includes all money earned, including theatrical rereleases (which were common before home video), but bases inflation off of year of release. For example, Snow White has earned $184 million, but $118 million of that was earned after 1983. But the adjustment assumes all tickets and dollars are 1937 prices and dollars, and so this total is way, way, overinflated. The estimated tickets sold for Gone With the Wind on this chart are 202 million, yet there were only 130 million people alive in the United States in 1939. While I believe it was a huge phenomenon, I doubt every person in the US saw it once, and 72 million saw it twice, including all children and babies.
An international equivalent wouldn't be very different. International numbers are hard to come by prior to 1970, and the movies making huge amounts overseas after 1970 are mostly American blockbusters.
Here's an interesting article :http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/is_avatar_the_all_time_box_off.html
I'm glad this list is included; it's SO much better an indicator of what films have really been popular over time, not which ones made the most money. Listing by tickets sold (or adjusted for inflation) always gets my vote! And I love how Titanic is still higher than Avatar.
Add your comment
Comments 16 - 30 of 38
LarsC
@Phil2000There are probably more theaters now, but they seat less people. The biggest theater in my home town used to seat more than 2000 people back then but now seats "only" a little less than half.
CafeAmericain
Forget what I just said about the extra charges for long movies. The top intro clearly states it is calculated by multiplying admissions with the latest AVERAGE ticket prices.CafeAmericain
@Duke of OmniumJust finished this! I think of the last 10 movies I saw to complete it, more than the half where close to 3 hrs long. This also makes me think that tickets were possibly more expensive than 90 minutes movies from that same time. I think this could have influenced the list. Therefore, it would be nice indeed to see a list calculated by the number of tickets sold!
pamonnig
@spartacus007 You are correct, I could have sworn I read it on boxofficemojo the other way around at one point; must have been a misread. Although there is still estimation involved in all of this, this makes this list even more impressive than I previously thought! Thanks for the correction.hondito
Done!(Although it cost a bit of my sanity to have to watch Transformers 2 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
spartacus007
@pamonnig The inflation adjustment is done differently for different years; Snow White's re-release grosses were calculated based on the re-release year, not on 1939.And you would be amazed at how popular Gone with the Wind really was. (Repeat viewership accounts for the ticket sales) It's probably an unbreakable record; no one's going to pitch 500 wins either.
blueboybob
@pamonning: I never even thought of that. That would make any list like this really impossible to do. Thanks for the insight.pamonnig
This list is extrememly flawed, giving a gigantic bias to older films. The problem with this list is that it includes all money earned, including theatrical rereleases (which were common before home video), but bases inflation off of year of release. For example, Snow White has earned $184 million, but $118 million of that was earned after 1983. But the adjustment assumes all tickets and dollars are 1937 prices and dollars, and so this total is way, way, overinflated. The estimated tickets sold for Gone With the Wind on this chart are 202 million, yet there were only 130 million people alive in the United States in 1939. While I believe it was a huge phenomenon, I doubt every person in the US saw it once, and 72 million saw it twice, including all children and babies.MovieDearest
"Toy Story 3" is now on the list, at #94. Knocks "Top Gun" off.jbbeebe
An international equivalent wouldn't be very different. International numbers are hard to come by prior to 1970, and the movies making huge amounts overseas after 1970 are mostly American blockbusters.Here's an interesting article :http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/is_avatar_the_all_time_box_off.html
KatForsyth
I'm glad this list is included; it's SO much better an indicator of what films have really been popular over time, not which ones made the most money. Listing by tickets sold (or adjusted for inflation) always gets my vote! And I love how Titanic is still higher than Avatar.BaalMan
taking the number of viewers would be more accurateakuma587
Glad to see this list added!!!St. Gloede
Very interesting indeed!ESG
Petition to remove this as an official list.Showing items 16 – 30 of 38