Special Report

The Highest-Grossing Movie Every Year Since 1930

Movies make money in several ways, including selling branded products and TV broadcast and streaming rights, which has been on the rise in recent years. But the largest source of revenue is still from theaters.

The film production industry is certainly very lucrative but also very risky. There is no guarantee a movie will become a blockbuster, though several factors increase its chances of success, including casting A-list actors. 

24/7 Tempo reviewed domestic box office data from film industry site The Numbers to determine the top box office movie every year since 1930. Films were ranked based on the total reported domestic box office within a given year. 

For most of Hollywood’s history, the movies that have made the most money in the year they were released were musicals, historical films, and crime dramas. Since the Star Wars series, however — the first of which came out in 1977 — fantasy and adventure movies have been at the top of the box office. 

Franchise films — especially in the superhero genre — have been among the highest-grossing movies of the 21st century. These are the biggest box office hits since 2000.

Click here to see the highest-grossest movie every year since 1930

To determine the top box office movie the year you were born, 24/7 Tempo reviewed domestic box office data from film industry site The Numbers. Films were ranked based on the total reported domestic box office within a given year. Additional box office earnings from rereleases of films in later years were not considered. Box office data was adjusted for inflation using historical ticket prices from the National Association of Theatre Owners and the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Supplemental data on IMDb rating and Rotten Tomatoes audience score were collected in April 2021.

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1930: All Quiet on the Western Front
> Domestic box office: $3.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $119.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 89%
> Cast: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Arnold Lucy
> Director: Lewis Milestone
> Second highest grossing film: N/A

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1931: Frankenstein
> Domestic box office: $12.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $482.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 100%
> RT audience score: 87%
> Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles
> Director: James Whale
> Second highest grossing film: Mata Hari

Courtesy of United Artists

1932: Scarface
> Domestic box office: $ 656000 (Inflation-adjusted: $29.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins
> Director: Howard Hawks
> Second highest grossing film: N/A

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1933: King Kong
> Domestic box office: $10.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $473.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher
> Director: Merian C. Cooper
> Second highest grossing film: She Done Him Wrong

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1934: It Happened One Night
> Domestic box office: $2.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $114.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 93%
> Cast: Jameson Thomas, Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
> Director: Frank Capra
> Second highest grossing film: Viva Villa!

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1935: The Bride of Frankenstein
> Domestic box office: $4.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $194.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 87%
> Cast: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
> Director: James Whale
> Second highest grossing film: A Night at the Opera

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1936: The Great Ziegfeld
> Domestic box office: $3.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $132.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.7 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 64%
> RT audience score: 50%
> Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan
> Director: Robert Z. Leonard
> Second highest grossing film: San Francisco

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
> Domestic box office: $14.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $615.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 78%
> Cast: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell
> Director: Ben Sharpsteen
> Second highest grossing film: Conquest

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1938: You Can’t Take It with You
> Domestic box office: $4.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $173.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 93%
> RT audience score: 88%
> Cast: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold
> Director: Frank Capra
> Second highest grossing film: N/A

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1939: The Wizard of Oz
> Domestic box office: $12.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $539.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 89%
> Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr
> Director: King Vidor
> Second highest grossing film: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1940: Pinocchio
> Domestic box office: $52.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $2.3 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.4 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 100%
> RT audience score: 73%
> Cast: Dickie Jones, Christian Rub, Mel Blanc, Billy Bletcher
> Director: Bill Roberts
> Second highest grossing film: Gone With the Wind

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1941: Sergeant York
> Domestic box office: $16.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $682.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.7 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 88%
> RT audience score: 87%
> Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias
> Director: Howard Hawks
> Second highest grossing film: Gone With the Wind

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1942: Bambi
> Domestic box office: $77.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $2.9 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 90%
> RT audience score: 73%
> Cast: Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Bobette Audrey, Peter Behn
> Director: Paul Satterfield
> Second highest grossing film: Mrs. Miniver

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1943: For Whom the Bell Tolls
> Domestic box office: $17.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $629.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 71%
> RT audience score: 70%
> Cast: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Arturo de Córdova
> Director: Sam Wood
> Second highest grossing film: The Song of Bernadette

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1944: Going My Way
> Domestic box office: $16.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $567.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 81%
> RT audience score: 74%
> Cast: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, James Brown
> Director: Leo McCarey
> Second highest grossing film: Meet Me in St. Louis

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1945: The Bells of St. Mary’s
> Domestic box office: $21.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $724.6 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 85%
> RT audience score: 77%
> Cast: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan
> Director: Leo McCarey
> Second highest grossing film: Leave Her to Heaven

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1946: Song of the South
> Domestic box office: $49.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.6 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 50%
> RT audience score: 72%
> Cast: Ruth Warrick, Bobby Driscoll, James Baskett, Luana Patten
> Director: Harve Foster
> Second highest grossing film: Notorious

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1947: Forever Amber
> Domestic box office: $16.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $437.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 0%
> RT audience score: 0%
> Cast: Linda Darnell, Cornel Wilde, Richard Greene, George Sanders
> Director: Otto Preminger
> Second highest grossing film: Gone With the Wind

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1948: The Snake Pit
> Domestic box office: $10.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $254.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 100%
> RT audience score: 83%
> Cast: Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm
> Director: Anatole Litvak
> Second highest grossing film: Red River

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1949: Samson and Delilah
> Domestic box office: $28.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $603.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 63%
> RT audience score: 59%
> Cast: Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury
> Director: Cecil B. DeMille
> Second highest grossing film: Pinky

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1950: Cinderella
> Domestic box office: $85.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.8 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 97%
> RT audience score: 80%
> Cast: Ilene Woods, James MacDonald, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton
> Director: Clyde Geronimi
> Second highest grossing film: King Solomon’s Mines

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1951: Quo Vadis
> Domestic box office: $30.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $578.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 88%
> RT audience score: 73%
> Cast: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov
> Director: Mervyn LeRoy
> Second highest grossing film: David and Bathsheba

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1952: The Greatest Show on Earth
> Domestic box office: $36.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $678.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 47%
> RT audience score: 54%
> Cast: James Stewart, Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde
> Director: Cecil B. DeMille
> Second highest grossing film: The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1953: Peter Pan
> Domestic box office: $60.1 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.1 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 78%
> RT audience score: 80%
> Cast: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson
> Director: Clyde Geronimi
> Second highest grossing film: The Robe

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1954: White Christmas
> Domestic box office: $30.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $560.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 77%
> RT audience score: 88%
> Cast: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen
> Director: Michael Curtiz
> Second highest grossing film: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Courtesy of Buena Vista Film Distribution Company

1955: Lady and the Tramp
> Domestic box office: $66.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $967.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 93%
> RT audience score: 80%
> Cast: Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Peggy Lee, Bill Thompson
> Director: Clyde Geronimi
> Second highest grossing film: Mister Roberts

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1956: The Ten Commandments
> Domestic box office: $85.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.2 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 90%
> RT audience score: 87%
> Cast: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson
> Director: Cecil B. DeMille
> Second highest grossing film: Around the World in 80 Days

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai
> Domestic box office: $33.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $431.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 95%
> RT audience score: 93%
> Cast: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
> Director: David Lean
> Second highest grossing film: Sayonara

Courtesy of Magna Theatre Corporation

1958: South Pacific
> Domestic box office: $36.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $495.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 82%
> RT audience score: 69%
> Cast: Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston
> Director: Joshua Logan
> Second highest grossing film: Auntie Mame

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1959: Ben-Hur
> Domestic box office: $73.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $817.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 86%
> RT audience score: 89%
> Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet
> Director: William Wyler
> Second highest grossing film: The Shaggy Dog

Courtesy of Buena Vista Distribution Company

1960: Swiss Family Robinson
> Domestic box office: $40.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $444.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 82%
> RT audience score: 78%
> Cast: John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Janet Munro
> Director: Ken Annakin
> Second highest grossing film: Psycho

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Buena Vista Distribution Company

1961: One Hundred and One Dalmatians
> Domestic box office: $102.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.1 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 76%
> Cast: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O’Malley, Martha Wentworth
> Director: Clyde Geronimi
> Second highest grossing film: West Side Story

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1962: Cape Fear
> Domestic box office: $76.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $824.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.7 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 96%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin
> Director: J. Lee Thompson
> Second highest grossing film: How the West Was Won

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1963: Cleopatra
> Domestic box office: $57.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $607.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 62%
> RT audience score: 69%
> Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown
> Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
> Second highest grossing film: It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

Courtesy of Buena Vista Distribution Company

1964: Mary Poppins
> Domestic box office: $102.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $767.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns
> Director: Robert Stevenson
> Second highest grossing film: My Fair Lady

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1965: The Sound of Music
> Domestic box office: $163.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.2 billion)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 83%
> RT audience score: 91%
> Cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn
> Director: Robert Wise
> Second highest grossing film: Doctor Zhivago

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1966: The Bible: In the Beginning…
> Domestic box office: $34.9 million (Inflation-adjusted: $262.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 0%
> RT audience score: 56%
> Cast: Michael Parks, Ulla Bergryd, Richard Harris, John Huston
> Director: John Huston
> Second highest grossing film: Hawaii

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Embassy Pictures

1967: The Graduate
> Domestic box office: $104.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $783.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 87%
> RT audience score: 90%
> Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels
> Director: Mike Nichols
> Second highest grossing film: The Jungle Book

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1968: Funny Girl
> Domestic box office: $58.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $399.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.4 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 93%
> RT audience score: 85%
> Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis
> Director: William Wyler
> Second highest grossing film: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1969: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
> Domestic box office: $102.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $660.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 88%
> RT audience score: 92%
> Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
> Director: George Roy Hill
> Second highest grossing film: Midnight Cowboy

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1970: Love Story
> Domestic box office: $106.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $590.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 68%
> RT audience score: 75%
> Cast: Ali MacGraw, Ryan O’Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland
> Director: Arthur Hiller
> Second highest grossing film: Airport

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1971: Billy Jack
> Domestic box office: $98.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $544.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 63%
> RT audience score: 63%
> Cast: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Clark Howat, Victor Izay
> Director: Tom Laughlin
> Second highest grossing film: Fiddler on the Roof

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1972: The Godfather
> Domestic box office: $135.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $770.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 9.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 97%
> RT audience score: 98%
> Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola
> Second highest grossing film: The Poseidon Adventure

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1973: The Exorcist
> Domestic box office: $193.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.0 billion)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 83%
> RT audience score: 87%
> Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
> Director: William Friedkin
> Second highest grossing film: The Sting

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1974: Blazing Saddles
> Domestic box office: $119.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $579.2 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.7 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 88%
> RT audience score: 91%
> Cast: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman
> Director: Mel Brooks
> Second highest grossing film: The Towering Inferno

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1975: Jaws
> Domestic box office: $260.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.2 billion)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 90%
> Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Second highest grossing film: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Courtesy of United Artists

1976: Rocky
> Domestic box office: $117.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $504.2 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 92%
> RT audience score: 69%
> Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
> Director: John G. Avildsen
> Second highest grossing film: A Star Is Born

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1977: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
> Domestic box office: $195.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $804.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 92%
> RT audience score: 96%
> Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
> Director: George Lucas
> Second highest grossing film: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1978: Grease
> Domestic box office: $153.1 million (Inflation-adjusted: $599.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 75%
> RT audience score: 87%
> Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
> Director: Randal Kleiser
> Second highest grossing film: National Lampoon’s Animal House

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1979: Kramer vs. Kramer
> Domestic box office: $106.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $394.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 88%
> RT audience score: 89%
> Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
> Director: Robert Benton
> Second highest grossing film: The Amityville Horror

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1980: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
> Domestic box office: $181.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $617.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.7 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 94%
> RT audience score: 97%
> Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
> Director: Irvin Kershner
> Second highest grossing film: Superman II

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1981: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
> Domestic box office: $168.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $555.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.4 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 95%
> RT audience score: 96%
> Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Second highest grossing film: On Golden Pond

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1982: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
> Domestic box office: $322.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.0 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 72%
> Cast: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Second highest grossing film: Tootsie

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1983: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
> Domestic box office: $249.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $725.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 82%
> RT audience score: 94%
> Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
> Director: Richard Marquand
> Second highest grossing film: Terms of Endearment

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1984: Beverly Hills Cop
> Domestic box office: $234.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $640.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 83%
> RT audience score: 82%
> Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher
> Director: Martin Brest
> Second highest grossing film: Ghostbusters

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1985: Back to the Future
> Domestic box office: $212.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $547.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 96%
> RT audience score: 94%
> Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
> Second highest grossing film: Rambo – First Blood Part 2

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1986: Top Gun
> Domestic box office: $179.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $443.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 56%
> RT audience score: 83%
> Cast: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer
> Director: Tony Scott
> Second highest grossing film: Platoon

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

1987: Three Men and a Baby
> Domestic box office: $167.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $393.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 76%
> RT audience score: 47%
> Cast: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, Nancy Travis
> Director: Leonard Nimoy
> Second highest grossing film: Fatal Attraction

Courtesy of United Artists

1988: Rain Man
> Domestic box office: $172.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $385.2 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 89%
> RT audience score: 90%
> Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
> Director: Barry Levinson
> Second highest grossing film: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1989: Batman
> Domestic box office: $251.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $576.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 71%
> RT audience score: 84%
> Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
> Director: Tim Burton
> Second highest grossing film: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1990: Home Alone
> Domestic box office: $284.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $620.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 67%
> RT audience score: 80%
> Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard
> Director: Chris Columbus
> Second highest grossing film: Ghost

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of TriStar Pictures

1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
> Domestic box office: $203.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $442.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 93%
> RT audience score: 94%
> Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
> Director: James Cameron
> Second highest grossing film: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

1992: Aladdin
> Domestic box office: $217.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $479.7 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 95%
> RT audience score: 92%
> Cast: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman
> Director: Ron Clements
> Second highest grossing film: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1993: Jurassic Park
> Domestic box office: $402.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $890.6 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 91%
> RT audience score: 91%
> Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Second highest grossing film: Mrs. Doubtfire

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

1994: The Lion King
> Domestic box office: $421.8 million (Inflation-adjusted: $946.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 93%
> RT audience score: 93%
> Cast: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
> Director: Roger Allers
> Second highest grossing film: Forrest Gump

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

1995: Toy Story
> Domestic box office: $192.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $405.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 100%
> RT audience score: 92%
> Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney
> Director: John Lasseter
> Second highest grossing film: Batman Forever

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1996: Independence Day
> Domestic box office: $306.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $634.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 67%
> RT audience score: 75%
> Cast: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell
> Director: Roland Emmerich
> Second highest grossing film: Twister

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1997: Men in Black
> Domestic box office: $250.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $500.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 92%
> RT audience score: 79%
> Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio
> Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
> Second highest grossing film: The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1998: Titanic
> Domestic box office: $443.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $865.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 89%
> RT audience score: 69%
> Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
> Director: James Cameron
> Second highest grossing film: Saving Private Ryan

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1999: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
> Domestic box office: $474.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $859.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 52%
> RT audience score: 59%
> Cast: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd
> Director: George Lucas
> Second highest grossing film: The Sixth Sense

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

2000: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
> Domestic box office: $260.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $442.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 49%
> RT audience score: 56%
> Cast: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Kelley, Jeffrey Tambor
> Director: Ron Howard
> Second highest grossing film: Cast Away

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
> Domestic box office: $317.9 million (Inflation-adjusted: $515.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 81%
> RT audience score: 82%
> Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith
> Director: Chris Columbus
> Second highest grossing film: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

2002: Spider-Man
> Domestic box office: $403.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $637.6 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 90%
> RT audience score: 67%
> Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco
> Director: Sam Raimi
> Second highest grossing film: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

2003: Finding Nemo
> Domestic box office: $380.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $578.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 99%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe
> Director: Andrew Stanton
> Second highest grossing film: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

2004: Shrek 2
> Domestic box office: $441.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $650.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 89%
> RT audience score: 69%
> Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews
> Director: Andrew Adamson
> Second highest grossing film: Spider-Man 2

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

2005: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
> Domestic box office: $380.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $543.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 80%
> RT audience score: 66%
> Cast: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson
> Director: George Lucas
> Second highest grossing film: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

2006: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
> Domestic box office: $423.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $592.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 53%
> RT audience score: 72%
> Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport
> Director: Gore Verbinski
> Second highest grossing film: Night at the Museum

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

2007: Spider-Man 3
> Domestic box office: $336.5 million (Inflation-adjusted: $448.1 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 63%
> RT audience score: 51%
> Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church
> Director: Sam Raimi
> Second highest grossing film: Shrek the Third

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

2008: The Dark Knight
> Domestic box office: $533.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $680.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 9.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 94%
> RT audience score: 94%
> Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Second highest grossing film: Iron Man

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

2009: Avatar
> Domestic box office: $760.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $928.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 82%
> RT audience score: 82%
> Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
> Director: James Cameron
> Second highest grossing film: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2010: Toy Story 3
> Domestic box office: $415.0 million (Inflation-adjusted: $481.8 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 98%
> RT audience score: 90%
> Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty
> Director: Lee Unkrich
> Second highest grossing film: Alice in Wonderland

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

2011: Transformers: Dark of the Moon
> Domestic box office: $352.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $407.0 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.2 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 35%
> RT audience score: 55%
> Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel
> Director: Michael Bay
> Second highest grossing film: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2012: The Avengers
> Domestic box office: $623.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $717.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 91%
> RT audience score: 91%
> Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner
> Director: Joss Whedon
> Second highest grossing film: The Dark Knight Rises

Courtesy of Lionsgate

2013: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
> Domestic box office: $424.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $478.5 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.5 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 90%
> RT audience score: 89%
> Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman
> Director: Francis Lawrence
> Second highest grossing film: Iron Man 3

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

2014: American Sniper
> Domestic box office: $350.1 million (Inflation-adjusted: $392.6 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 72%
> RT audience score: 84%
> Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis
> Director: Clint Eastwood
> Second highest grossing film: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2015: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
> Domestic box office: $936.7 million (Inflation-adjusted: $1.0 billion)
> IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 93%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson
> Director: J.J. Abrams
> Second highest grossing film: Jurassic World

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
> Domestic box office: $532.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $563.6 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 84%
> RT audience score: 86%
> Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen
> Director: Gareth Edwards
> Second highest grossing film: Finding Dory

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2017: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
> Domestic box office: $620.2 million (Inflation-adjusted: $633.3 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.0 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 90%
> RT audience score: 42%
> Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher
> Director: Rian Johnson
> Second highest grossing film: Beauty and the Beast

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2018: Black Panther
> Domestic box office: $700.1 million (Inflation-adjusted: $703.9 million)
> IMDb rating: 7.3 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 96%
> RT audience score: 79%
> Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira
> Director: Ryan Coogler
> Second highest grossing film: Avengers: Infinity War

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2019: Avengers: Endgame
> Domestic box office: $858.3 million (Inflation-adjusted: $858.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 8.4 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 94%
> RT audience score: 90%
> Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth
> Director: Anthony Russo
> Second highest grossing film: The Lion King

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

2020: Bad Boys for Life
> Domestic box office: $204.4 million (Inflation-adjusted: $204.4 million)
> IMDb rating: 6.6 out of 10
> Tomatometer score: 77%
> RT audience score: 96%
> Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig
> Director: Adil El Arbi
> Second highest grossing film: Sonic the Hedgehog

Credit card companies are handing out rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.