What about the most financially successful films of all time? You might not know that four of the top twenty highest-grossing movies were released in 2018. Another three will join that group in 2019: Although neither Avengers: Endgame nor Frozen II did exceptionally well at the box office, the "don't call it a live-action" version of The Lion King still managed to crack the top ten. The rising cost of tickets and the expanding human population is skewing the results. Based on today's prices, Gone with the Wind's initial $390 million in box office earnings since its 1939 release would be worth $3.7 billion. On the other side, we're concentrating on the highest-grossing films.

Except for Titanic and two Disney films, all of the most significant movies are franchises, leading us to wonder if movie studios at Paramount or 20th Century Fox attempted to persuade James Cameron to develop a sequel ("Are we sure that Jack genuinely dies? Can he return as a ghost?"). And while we're on the subject of Cameron, we can rest confident that the fact that he directed two of the highest-grossing films of all time hasn't gotten to his head. It's even more impressive when you realise that the two films are so drastically different—a historical romance drama and a science fiction action/adventure.

It's no secret that some of the highest-grossing films of all time are among the greatest ever made, while others leave us baffled and asking why anyone would pay to see them on earth.

Inflation

Inflation in the film industry can be estimated from the current price trend. We have entered an era of inflation, in which a dollar is worth less than it did before. We can tell we are in a deflationary phase when prices fall, and one dollar goes further.

When prices rise, the purchasing power of a dollar decreases. A dollar in 1940 is comparable to about $17.75 in today's currency.

Estimating the Rate of Inflation

The Consumer Price Index is frequently used to gauge inflation (CPI). This index, which tracks the rise and fall of prices for goods and services in metropolitan areas, has been compiled and revised by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since 1919. The Consumer Price Index can be used as a proxy for the cost of living increases.

The CPI considers the price of necessities like food, medicine, and utilities like water and sewage. The Consumer Price Index does not include the cost of buying a property or making an investment.

Movie theatres are experiencing a slowdown in revenue growth

Even though the price of a movie ticket has been increasing at a quicker rate than the rate of inflation in recent years, it is still important to consider inflation when comparing the box office successes of modern films to those of cinema released decades ago. Overall, the average price of a movie ticket in the United States increased by 3% from the same period in 2016 to 2017, rising to $8.93 in the third quarter of 2017.

Movies That Will Make You Forget About Inflation

Both "Avatar" and "Titanic," directed by James Cameron, have the distinction of being the highest-grossing pictures of all time, with global grosses of $2.7 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively, but domestic grosses of just roughly $760 million and $659 million. To become the highest-grossing film of all time in 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned $936 million worldwide, surpassing James Cameron's Titanic.

Here are the five highest-grossing American films of all time, as determined by ticket sales in theatres outside of major cities.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," released in 2015, earned the most money overall ($936 million).

Titanic was released in 1997 and grossed $659.1 million. In 2015, "Jurassic World" earned $652.0 million. Naturally, I'm referring to "Marvel's The Avengers." (2004)

After adjusting for inflation

Inflation-adjusted box office gross is often determined by increasing current ticket prices to reflect the one-time cost of going to the movies. Inflation causes a substantial reordering of the top earner.

After adjusting for inflation, "Gone With the Wind" made almost $1.6 billion, making it the highest-grossing film of all time. Avatar rates a dismal thirteenth when stacked against other classic movies like The Exorcist and 101 Dalmatians. There are currently five films that have made more money at the box office than any other five films combined.

There is a clock on the side of every movie here, so there's no arguing. The most recent of the top five films are almost two decades old, even though "The Force Awakens" is less than two years old. Over the past seventy years since its initial release, "Gone With the Wind" has seen numerous successful reissues.