This site is simply a list of the current top twenty highest-grossing movies in history. Note: Box office intake is measured by money earned, not by tickets sold. (This means that Gone With the Wind should be on here, but isn't. My future brother-in-law's opinion on this is that it makes newer movies look better.) I hope you find this page informative and witty, just as Homer Simpson finds Ted Koppel. This page is run by Michael Allen of St. Louis, MO. I owe all of my information to the author(s) of http://movieweb.com/movie/alltime.html, who listed the top 50 highest-grossing movies, but in a cold, sterile database format. (If it's film reviews and other goodies you're after, just stay here. Otherwise, try the other site, but bring a snack to stay awake.) If you know of any films that should be on this list but for some reason are not, see any blatant mistakes or that I made or just have some comments about my site, then please, by all means sign my guestbook. (And if you do sign it, please tell me how you found out about this site.)
Reluctant thanks to my friend Paul Balfe, who wrote me a letter listing (thus far) all the mistakes I have made on this page. Hey, I asked for it.
This page is still under construction!
Last updated 1/25/01
(By the way, if you know of any place where I can get some nice big pictures of these films' posters that I can paste onto this page, please post a message. I have nearly lost my mind scouring the web for certain posters, so any input would be unbelievably appreciated.)
#1
Titanic
1997
$601 Million
Director: James Cameron
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates.
Of course. What else could be number one but a film that cost over $200 million and made back its budget more than threefold? A romantic adventure, this chick flick swept the Academy Awards, as well as the box office. This is going to be a hard one to top.
#2
Star Wars:
The Special Edition
1997
$461 Million
Director: George Lucas
Starring Mark Hammil, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Sir Alec Guinness.
Not surprising, for a film that has spun off two sequels and one prequel (thus far), as well as numerous novels, comic books and electronic games. Has become as close to a religion as anything pop culture has ever produced.
#3
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
1999
$431 Million
Director: George Lucas
Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson.
What did I tell you? This is probably the biggest film franchise in history, as the box office records show. While dubbed "the most anticipated film of the decade", its over-abundance of CGI effects and numerous, hard-to-follow plotlines (as well as the loathed Jar Jar Binks) made this a bit of a letdown.
#4
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
1982
$400 Million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace and Drew Barrymore.
Probably Spielberg's most beloved film, although I personally have never understood why. Its treatment is just too saccharine for me, but for you kids out there who haven't seen it, by all means watch it and decide for yourself.
#5
Jurassic Park
1993
$357 Million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.
A film with an enormous merchandising campaign, and an early example of replacing character development with eye-dazzling computer-generated effects.
#6
Forrest Gump
1994
$330 Million
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Gary Sinise and Robin Wright Penn.
I love this movie. Forrest Gump is a lot of fun. Like many character studies, it deftly mixes comedy with tragedy. And all-star ensemble casts don't often gel as well as they do in this film.
#7
The Lion King
1994
$313 Million
Directors: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
Featuring the voices of James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick.
This is a true animation classic. The attention to detail that Disney put into this movie is astounding. The backgrounds are beautiful, the story is interesting and the action sequences are stunning. Highly recommended. (This is also, ironically, Matthew Broderick's last really good role.)
#8
Return of the Jedi:
The Special Edition
1997
$307 Million
Director: Richard Marquand
Starring Mark Hammil, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams.
Widely considered the worst film in the original Star Wars trilogy, ROTJ is (to say the least) inconsitent in tone, but its action sequences and musical score are nonetheless breathtaking. The original ending is terrible; watch the Special Edition instead.
#9
Independence Day
1996
$306 Million
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox and Harvey Fierstein.
A film that kicked off a Hollywood fad of full-blown homage, which carried over into films like Scream and Mars Attacks!, Independence Day stands up very well by itself. It features some laughs and mind-blowing special effects and is notable simply for the fact that it made Will Smith just about the biggest "summer movie" draw of the '90's.
#10
The Sixth Sense
1999
$293 Million
Director: M. Night Shymamalan
Starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment.
Thank God! Everyone who had visited my site before September 29th (all four of you) know why I'm rejoicing. This is a sound testament to my faith that the movie-going public still has heart (even though I think the film gained the most word-of-mouth for its so-so twist ending). Blessedly, The Sixth Sense knocked one of my most-hated movies, Mrs. Doubtfire, off of this list and has moved up nine spaces since it debuted here. SS is easily the best horror movie Hollywood has produced since The Silence of the Lambs (don't even THINK about counting The Blair Witch Project. I love Chris Rock's comment about it: "People are all like, 'Ooh, it only cost $60,000 to make.' Where the hell did all the money go?...Somebody's walkin' around with $59,000 in their pocket.") and has basically made the career of Haley Joel Osment, who has gone on to star in Pay It Forward. You cannot imagine how happy I am that The Sixth Sense made the list. Too bad Shymamalan's sophomore effort, Unbreakable, wasn't nearly as good.
#11
The Empire Strikes Back:
The Special Edition
1997
$290 Million
Director: Irvin Kershner
Starring Mark Hammil, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams.
Widely considered the best film in the original Star Wars trilogy, ESB is also the darkest in tone, as can be gathered by the title. It features arguably the best score of the original three films and also introduces one of the trilogy's most popular characters: Yoda.
#12
Home Alone
1990
$285 Million
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
This movie just sucks. Period. It is a disgrace to this list and says nothing good about public opinion.
#13
Jaws
1975
$260 Million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gray and Murray Hamilton.
No matter what the critics say, this a horror movie, not an action film, and a classic at that. Funny that Spielberg's second theatrical release would wind up on the highest-grossing list. It was a good sign of things to come.
#14
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2000
$259 Million
Director: Ron Howard
Starring Jim Carrey.
I never had any desire to see this and I never shall. What a shame that it should be Howard's highest-grossing movie.
#15
Batman
1989
$251 Million
Director: Tim Burton
Starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
This is another one that I can't find much good to say about. The sets are probably the most outstanding thing in this film. Despite its incredible popularity, I think it's a pretty run-of-the-mill action flick. Too bad Die Hard isn't on here.
#16
Men in Black
1997
$250 Million
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Fiorentino.
Remember what I said about Will Smith? This picture came out only a year after Independence Day and wound up just five spaces below it on this list. I can't exempt myself from its success, though, seeing as how it's the only movie I've ever seen three times in the theater. The video for its theme song was voted in 1998 by MTV to be one of the top 25 music videos of the decade, in the company of such classics as "California Love" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
#17
Toy Story 2
1999
$ 243 Million
Director: ???
Featuring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney and Don Rickles.
(Not reviewed)
#18
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981
$242 Million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring Harrison Ford and John Rhys-Davies.
While many consider this to be the best Indiana Jones film, I myself prefer Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. (It's best to forget Temple of Doom, the biggest turkey Spielberg ever made.) ROLA is a very exciting, funny movie. Spielberg's big-time ambition and love of classic cinema are on prominent display here; plus, the film features the classic "idol" scene in the beginning.
#19
Twister
1996
$242 Million
Director: Jan De Bont
Starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.
The rise in ticket prices is the only way that I can account for the fact that this cheeseball made as much money as the aforementioned Raiders of the Lost Ark. Remember what I said about the special effects in Jurassic Park? The same goes for Twister. The best things about this flick are the Van Halen songs "Humans Being" and "Respect the Wind". (Another aside, courtesy of Paul: the original slogan for this film was "It Sucks". No comment.)
#20
Ghostbusters
1984
$239 Million
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis.
Undoubtedly one of the best films ever to successfully mix comedy and horror (perhaps second only to An American Werewolf in London), Ghostbusters ushered in a new age in special effects and spawned an entertaining sequel, as well a #1 hit song and a giant Saturday morning cartoon and action figure empire.
Thanks for visiting my site! Be sure to tell your friends.
