Here are the best picture winners that have taken in the most money. Thanks, inflation! As the 2018 Academy Awards draw closer, it’s time to dive into the numbers and check out which of the best-picture winners are the biggest moneymakers of all time at the box office.
There are some obvious ones here, but thanks to inflation, there are a few titles that may surprise you.
Here are the top 15.
Note: All box-office figures are domestic grosses only and include any earnings from rereleases. All figures are from Box Office Mojo.
15. “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) — $504.9 million
Unadjusted: $24 million
14. “Rocky” (1976) — $505 million
Unadjusted: $117 million
13. “Lawrence of Arabia (1962) — $508 million
Unadjusted: $45 million
12. “West Side Story” (1961) — $514 million
Unadjusted: $44 million
11. “My Fair Lady” (1964) — $550.8 million
Unadjusted: $72 million
10. “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) — $550.8 million
Unadjusted: $36 million
9. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) — $566 million
Unadjusted: $378 million
8. “Around the World in 80 Days” (1956) — $593 million
Unadjusted: $42 million
7. “Forrest Gump” (1994) — $722 million
Unadjusted: $330 million
6. “The Godfather” (1972) — $724.5 million
Unadjusted: $135 million
5. “The Sting” (1973) — $818 million
Unadjusted: $156 million
4. “Ben-Hu” (1959) — $900 million
Unadjusted: $74 million
3. “Titanic” (1997) — $1.244 billion
Unadjusted: $659 million
2. “The Sound of Music” (1965) — $1.3 billion
Unadjusted: $159 million
1. “Gone with the Wind” (1939) — $1.
Tech: The 15 Oscar best-picture winners that made the most money at the US box office
