All-Time Top 191 Movies by U.S. Theatre Attendance

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All-Time Top 191 Movies by U.S. Theatre Attendance

by danger.johnny1

All-Time Top 191 Movies by U.S. Theatre Attendance

This chart lists movies ranked by the number of movie tickets sold in the United States.

This is not the same as "box office receipts adjusted for inflation" because not all movie tickets cost the same. In particular, many movies are seen by a greater number of children, or are seen more often during matinees or with discount (frequent buyer) tickets. Such movies sell more tickets per million dollars of box office receipts than other movies showing alongside them.

Please read the section after the chart for the list of sources I used in my research, and a brief description of how the table was created. In particular I want to point out that data is incomplete for movies before the 1960's.

Recent movies (which includes re-releases even if the original release is not recent) are in bold. The studio abbreviations and notes are listed at the bottom.

Rank	Admissions (millions)	Title (year) (studio)	Notes
1	206.4	Gone With the Wind (1939) (MGM)	AA M
2	197.0	Star Wars (1977) (Fox)	n M
3	153.5	The Sound of Music (1965) (Fox)	AA M
4	150.4	E.T. (1982) (Univ)	n M
5	131.7	The Ten Commandments (1956) (Para)	n M
6	125.3	The Jungle Book (1967) (BV)	. M
7	123.2	Titanic (1997) (Para)	AA
8	122.3	Jaws (1975) (Univ)	n
9	121.8	Doctor Zhivago (1965) (MGM)	n
10	119.7	101 Dalmatians (1961) (Disney)	. M
11	118.6	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (Disney)	. M
12	111.1	Ben-Hur (1959) (MGM)	AA
13	102.2	Return of the Jedi (1983) (Fox)	. M
14	101.8	The Exorcist (1973) (WB)	n M
15	101.7	The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (Fox)	. M
16	94.9	Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (Para)	n M
17	93.1	Mary Poppins (1964) (BV)	n M
18	89.9	The Sting (1973) (Univ)	AA
19	88.9	The Lion King (1994) (Disney)	. M
20	88.3	The Phantom Menace (1999) (Fox)	.
21	86.3	Fantasia (1940) (RKO/BV)	. M
22	81.8	The Graduate (1967) (WB)	n
23	81.1	Jurassic Park (1993) (Univ)	.
24	79.1	Sleeping Beauty (1959) (BV)	. M
25	76.6	Bambi (1942) (Disney)	. M
26	74.6	Shrek 2 (2004) (DW)
27	74.5	The Godfather (1972) (Para)	AA M
28	74.1	Forrest Gump (1994) (Para)	AA
29	73.0	Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (Columbia)	. M
30	70.7	Grease (1978) (Para)	. M
31	70.3	Ghostbusters (1984) (Columbia)	.
32	70.2	Home Alone (1990) (Fox)	.
33	69.6	Spider-Man (2002) (Sony)
34	69.2	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) (BV)	n M
35	68.7	Love Story (1970) (Para)	n
36	67.3	Cleopatra (1963) (Fox)	n
37	66.7	Pinocchio (1940) (RKO/BV)	. M
38	65.9	Thunderball (1965)	.
39	65.7	Beverly Hills Cop (1984) (Para)	.
40	65.3	Independence Day (1996) (Fox)	.
41	64.8	The Robe (1953) (Fox)	n
42	64.7	American Graffiti (1973) (Univ)	n
43	63.4	Around the World in 80 Days (1956) (UA)	AA M
44	62.5	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (NL)
45	62.2	Aladdin (1992) (Disney)	.
46	61.8	Cinderella (1950)	. M
47	61.6	Airport (1970) (Univ)	n
48	61.5	The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) (RKO)	n
49	61.4	The Towering Inferno (1974) (Fox)	n
50	60.6	Lady and the Tramp (1955) (BV)	. M
51	60.2	Spider-Man 2 (2004) (Sony)
52	60.1	Blazing Saddles (1974) (WB)	.
53	60.0	West Side Story (1961) (MGM)	AA
54	59.7	Batman (1989) (WB)	.
55	59.6	Tootsie (1982) (Columbia)	n
56	59.4	The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) (Para)	AA M
57	59.3	My Fair Lady (1964) (WB)	AA M
58	59.2	Revenge of the Sith (2005) (Fox)
59	59.2	Finding Nemo (2003)
60	58.9	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (NL)
61	58.9	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) (WB)
62	58.8	Billy Jack (1971)
63	58.7	Back To The Future (1985) (Univ)	.
64	58.6	Let's Make Love (1960) (Fox)	.
65	58.5	This is the Army (1943)
66	58.4	The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) (RKO)	AA
67	56.9	National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) (Univ)	.
68	56.7	Superman (1978) (WB)	.
69	56.2	Smokey and the Bandit (1977) (Univ)	.
70	56.0	Saturday Night Fever (1977) (Para)	. M
71	56.0	Quo Vadis? (1951)
72	55.6	The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (NL)	n
73	55.6	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) (Para)	.
74	55.2	Toy Story 2 (1999) (BV)	.
75	54.9	From Here to Eternity (1953)
76	54.5	Rocky (1976) (MGM)	AA
77	54.4	The Sixth Sense (1999)	n
78	54.4	Goldfinger (1964)	.
79	54.3	The Poseidon Adventure (1972) (Fox)	.
80	53.9	It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) (MGM)	.
81	53.7	The Passion of the Christ (2004) (Newmarket)
82	53.4	For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943)
83	53.4	The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) (Col)	AA
84	52.8	Swiss Family Robinson (1960) (UA)	. M
85	52.7	MASH (1970) (Fox)	n
86	52.4	Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) (Fox)	.
87	52.1	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (MGM)	AA
88	51.6	Twister (1996) (WB)	.
89	51.4	Samson and Delilah (1949)	M
90	51.4	The Longest Day (1962)
91	51.3	Men In Black (1997) (Columbia)	.
92	51.0	Song of the South (1946)	M
93	50.9	Ghost (1990) (Para)	n
94	50.9	The Attack of the Clones (2002) (Fox)
95	50.8	Lawrence of Arabia (1962)	M
96	50.8	White Chirstmas (1954)	M
97	50.6	Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)
98	50.5	Duel in the Sun (1946) (Selznick)	.
99	50.4	South Pacific (1958)	M
100	50.3	Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) (Univ)
101	50.2	Toy Story (1995) (Disney)	.
102	49.7	Shrek (2001) (DW)
103	49.7	Peter Pan (1953) (BV)	. M
104	49.6	House of Wax (1953) (WB)	.
105	49.1	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (Para)	.
106	49.1	Rear Window (1954) (Para)	.
107	48.6	Giant (1956)	M
108	48.3	Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
109	48.1	How the West Was Won (1962)	M
110	48.1	The Wizard of Oz (1939)	n M
111	47.6	Sergeant York (1941) (WB)	n M
112	47.4	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) (WB)
113	47.2	Top Gun (1986) (Para)	.
114	47.1	The Trial of Billy Jack (1974)
115	47.0	The Jolson Story (1946)
116	47.0	The Lost World (1997) (Univ)	.
117	46.7	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1968) (Col)	n
118	46.6	Crocodile Dundee (1986) (Para)	.
119	46.1	Going My Way (1944)
120	45.7	Terminator 2 (1991) (Tri Star)	.
121	45.7	Young Frankenstein (1974) (Fox)	.
122	45.2	Peyton Place (1957)	n
123	45.2	Monsters, Inc. (2001) (BV)
124	45.0	The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) (MGM)	.
125	45.0	Meet the Fockers (2004) (Univ)
126	44.8	Every Which Way But Loose (1978) (WB)	.
127	44.2	Funny Girl (1968) (Col)	n
128	43.9	The Fugitive (1993) (WB)	n
129	43.8	Tom Jones (1963)
130	43.7	An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) (Para)	.
131	43.6	Psycho (1960) (Para)	.
132	43.5	The Caine Mutiny (1954) (Col)	n
133	43.5	Home Alone 2 (1992) (Fox)	.
134	43.4	Saving Private Ryan (1998) (DW)	n
135	43.1	Mrs. Miniver (1942)
136	43.1	Dances With Wolves (1990) (Orion)	AA
137	43.0	Spartacus (1960)
138	43.0	Cast Away (2000) (Fox)
139	42.8	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (MGM/UA)	.
140	42.6	Armageddon (1998) (BV)	.
141	42.5	Three Men and a Baby (1987) (BV)	.
142	42.4	On Golden Pond (1981) (Univ)	n
143	42.2	Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) (Columbia)	AA
144	42.2	Earthquake (1974) (Univ)	.
145	42.2	Rain Man (1988) (MGM/UA)	AA
146	42.1	The Incredibles (2004) (Pixar)
147	42.0	The Matrix Reloaded (2003) (WB)
148	42.0	Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) (BV)	.
149	42.0	Sayonara (1957)
150	41.8	Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
151	41.8	Heaven Can Wait (1978)
152	41.7	Pretty Woman (1990) (BV)	.
153	41.6	My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) (IFC)
154	41.5	Gremlins (1984) (WB)	.
155	41.3	Jaws 2 (1978) (Univ)	.
156	41.3	Rocky III (1982) (MGM/UA)	.
157	41.2	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) (WB)
158	41.1	Beauty and the Beast (1991) (Disney)	n
159	40.6	Mission Impossible (1996) (Para)	.
160	40.3	Bruce Almighty (2003) (Univ)
161	40.0	Rush Hour 2 (2001) (NL)
162	39.9	Patton (1970)
163	39.8	Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985) (Tri Star)	.
164	39.8	Batman Forever (1995) (WB)	.
165	39.7	The Guns of Navarone (1961)
166	39.6	Mission Impossible 2 (2000) (Para)	.
167	39.6	Fatal Attraction (1987) (Para)	n
168	39.6	A Bug's Life (1998) (BV)	.
169	39.4	The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) (Fox)	M
170	39.2	Liar Liar (1997) (Univ)	.
171	39.1	Apollo 13 (1995) (Univ)	n
172	39.1	Mister Roberts (1955)	n
173	38.9	Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) (WB)	.
174	38.6	Pocahontas (1995) (Disney)	.
175	38.5	Superman II (1981) (WB)	.
176	38.4	Tarzan (1999)	.
177	38.1	9 To 5 (1980) (WB)	.
178	38.1	The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)	.
179	38.1	Some Like It Hot (1959)	.
180	37.9	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)	M
181	37.8	The Firm (1993) (Para)	.
182	37.7	Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
183	37.5	Porky's (1981) (Fox)	.
184	37.5	The Song of Bernadette (1943)
185	37.5	Stir Crazy (1980) (Fox)	.
186	37.3	The Dirty Dozen (1967)
187	37.3	Signs (2002) (BV)
188	37.3	There's Something About Mary (1998) (Fox)	.
189	37.3	Air Force One (1997) (Columbia)	.
190	37.1	The Goodbye Girl (1977)
191	37.0	The King and I (1956)
		Following are some recent hit movies with lower admissions figures than the top 191 on the chart. Because my historical movie data is incomplete, it is not possible to compute the exact rank for each of these movies.
	36.0	War of the Worlds (2005) (Para)
	31.6	Batman Begins (2005) (WB)
	30.1	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) (WB)
	29.7	Madagascar (2005) (DW)
	28.7	Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) (Fox)
	28.6	The Day After Tomorrow (2004) (Fox)
	28.4	The Bourne Supremacy (2004) (Univ)
	27.9	National Treasure (2004) (Disney)
	27.8	The Wedding Crashers, the (2005) (NL)
	27.7	Hitch (2005) (Columbia)
	26.2	The Polar Express (2004) (WB)
	25.9	Shark Tale (2004) (DW)
	24.6	The Longest Yard (2005) (Para)
	23.5	Fantastic Four (2005) (Fox)
	23.3	I, Robot (2004) (Fox)
		All other recent movies have even fewer total admissions, unless I haven't gotten around to updating the totals (if it's more than a month out of date, email me)

To recieve a rank number, a newly-released (2006) movie would have to gross at least $243.6 million at the box office.

Studios:
BV Buena Vista
DW DreamWorks
Fox includes 20th Century Fox
MMax Miramax
NL New Line
Para Paramount
Sony
Univ Universal
WB Warner Brothers

Notes:
AA: This film received an Academy Award® for Best Picture.
n: This film was nominated for an Academy Award® in the Best Picture category.
M: This film has been released more than once (or has been showing every year since its release, in the case of Rocky Horror); the admission total shown here is the total for all release years. In all such cases, the box office for each year was adjusted for inflation separately before adding the years together.

Method

In order to generate these figures (which are only estimates) I had to take many factors into account.

Box office gross figures are the easiest statistic to find. However, many movies have been released more than once and it is very important to find out how much the movie grossed in each different year, because the ticket prices differ from one year to the next. Also, for older movies the box office gross is itself an estimate, because exhibitors (theatres) and studios didn't really keep consistently accurate records on this type of thing until the 1970's.

Adjusted box-office gross figures come from Exhibitor Relations (see below) and account for changes in movie ticket prices (not the "consumer price index", which varies at a different rate).

Current and historical movie ticket prices are published by the Motion Picture Association of America (the MPAA) in their annual report (see below) but for years not mentioned in their report I had to derive estimated ticket prices from the adjusted and unadjusted box office gross figures. Note that these prices might seem low because they include subsequent runs, senior and child discounts, and special pricing.

MPAA ratings are available for movies that received a rating, a process that began around 1968. They are used to estimate child attendance ratios (children throw off the numbers because they pay less). For unrated movies a guess is made as to how much child attendance the movie would have gotten, using other more recent movies as a guide, and assuming that for older movies the audience was generally more balanced because of the lack of ratings and enforcement.

Sources for general information about movies were used to learn more about what movies attract what types of audiences, and to learn about movies whose studios have placed restrictions on discount ticket sales.

All of this information is used to compile a database of movies, each with an average ticket price index (which varies depending on the movie's audience demographics) and a total adjusted gross figure (which properly adjusts the grosses in each year the movie made money). Then, the attendance estimate is computed simply by dividing one by the other.

Future Improvements:
   - Some data is lacking for years before 1960, and even more data is lacking for years before 1940.
   - I want to find a comprehensive list of movies that have been released with restrictions on discount tickets. While many films restrict discounts during the first few weeks of release, a few restrict discounts during a much longer period.
   - I am also in search of information that will help improve estimates of matinee attendance rates and attendance by seniors.

Things That Will (Probably) Never Change:
   - Expanding the data to a global (worldwide) context. The problem here is that each nation (or group of nations, as might be the case in certain parts of Europe) has a greater interest in its own local statistics than in the non-local statistics. In other words, if I include movies that aren't popular in the United States, the list will be of less interest to readers in the United States. This list mainly exists for my own benefit, and since I never see movies outside the United States, I have no interest in a global list. I don't want to maintain multiple lists, one is hard enough!

Sources

This data was compiled from many sources, including the following. (I know some of the links are dead, but I cannot do anything about that.)

Sources of inflation data (I divide the adjusted gross by the actual gross to get an average ticket price index):

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About this Content

Posted 03/28/07
by danger.johnny1
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