- Almost everyone loves to go to the movies.
But which movies are the best?
According to the American Film Institute, AFI,
these are the top 10 American films of all time.
They are great films as judged by the AFI organization.
But are these the films the public has chosen to support?
Let's take a look at the top grossing films of all-time
based on total worldwide box office revenue.
None of those films were on the all-time list.
Part of the reason was
that the AFI list was released in 2007.
The other reason is the age
of many of the movies on the AFI list.
Most were released more than 25 years ago, and actually four
of the top 10 movies were released over 75 years ago.
During that time, the price
of your average movie ticket has gone
from about 23 cents in 1939 to over $9 per ticket in 2018.
So, what does the list look like
when we adjust for inflation?
With the adjustment, one of AFI's top 10 makes it
onto this list.
Actually, Gone with the Wind doesn't just make the list,
it tops the list.
And while the other movies on this list might not be
in the AFI top 10, many are in the top 100.
Star Wars was 13.
So while our knee-jerk reaction to the all-time
top grossing movie list might make a movie buff recoil
at dominance of aliens and superheroes,
the public's taste in movies isn't that bad.
But let's dig in a little deeper into the comparison.
The inflation-adjusted list is actually only
for tickets sold in the United States.
If we were taking into account worldwide ticket revenues
that were adjusted for an inflation,
movies like Titanic and Star Wars would likely rise
to the top.
Star Wars has the advantage of being
a visually groundbreaking film released
in a more modern world.
Titanic is considered a movie with mass appeal
and a visually stunning conclusion.
But more than anything, Titanic, even more
than Star Wars, was released at a time when a huge portion
of the global population had the ability to see this movie.
And of course, I've only been talking
about box office revenues.
We didn't even talk about rentals, movie sales,
video games, books, toys, and every other type
of merchandise available.
Movies can be entertaining and inspiring pieces of art,
but they can also bring delight
to those that love statistics.