<P> Guinness' adjusted total for Titanic only increased by $102,000,000 between the 2012 (published in 2011) and 2015 editions, a rise of 4.2% shared by the other adjusted totals in the chart, and omitted the gross from a 3D re-release in 2012 . This chart incorporates the gross of $343,550,770 from the reissue and adjusts it from the 2014 index . Titanic was re-released again in 2017 but this figure is not represented in the adjusted total . </P> <P> Since Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in 2015, inflation is only applied to its gross from 2016 onwards . </P> <P> Audience tastes were fairly eclectic during the 20th century, but several trends did emerge . During the silent era, films with war themes were popular with audiences, with The Birth of a Nation (American Civil War), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Big Parade and Wings (all World War I) becoming the most successful films in their respective years of release, with the trend coming to an end with All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930 . With the advent of sound in 1927, the musical--the genre best placed to showcase the new technology--took over as the most popular type of film with audiences, with 1928 and 1929 both being topped by musical films . The genre continued to perform strongly in the 1930s, but the outbreak of World War II saw war themed films dominate again during this period, starting with Gone with the Wind (American Civil War) in 1939, and finishing with The Best Years of Our Lives (World War II) in 1946 . Samson and Delilah (1949) saw the beginning of a trend of increasingly expensive historical dramas set during Ancient Rome / biblical times throughout the 1950s as cinema competed with television for audiences, with Quo Vadis, The Robe, The Ten Commandments, Ben - Hur and Spartacus all becoming the highest - grossing film of the year during initial release, before the genre started to wane after several high - profile failures . The success of White Christmas and South Pacific in the 1950s foreshadowed the comeback of the musical in the 1960s with West Side Story, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Funny Girl all among the top films of the decade . The 1970s saw a shift in audience tastes to high concept films, with six such films made by either George Lucas or Steven Spielberg topping the chart during the 1980s . The 21st century has seen an increasing dependence on franchises and adaptations, with the box office dominance of films based on pre-existing intellectual property at record levels . </P> <P> Steven Spielberg is the most represented director on the chart with six films to his credit, occupying the top spot in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1989 and 1993 . Cecil B. DeMille (1932, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1956) and William Wyler (1942, 1946, 1959 and 1968) are in second and third place with five and four films respectively, while D.W. Griffith (1915, 1916 and 1920), George Roy Hill (1966, 1969 and 1973) and James Cameron (1991, 1997 and 2009) all feature heavily with three films apiece . George Lucas directed two chart - toppers in 1977 and 1999, but also served in a strong creative capacity as a producer and writer in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1989 as well . The following directors have also all directed two films on the chart: Frank Lloyd, King Vidor, Frank Capra, Michael Curtiz, Leo McCarey, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Stanley Kubrick, Guy Hamilton, Mike Nichols, William Friedkin, Peter Jackson, Gore Verbinski and Michael Bay; Mervyn LeRoy, Ken Annakin and Robert Wise are each represented by one solo credit and one shared credit, and John Ford co-directed two films . Disney films are usually co-directed and some directors have served on several winning teams: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand, Ben Sharpsteen, Wolfgang Reitherman and Bill Roberts have all co-directed at least two films on the list . Only five directors have topped the chart in consecutive years: McCarey (1944 and 1945), Nichols (1966 and 1967), Spielberg (1981 and 1982), Jackson (2002 and 2003) and Verbinski (2006 and 2007). </P>

Top 100 movies of hollywood in box office grossing