<P> Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights and merchandising . However, theatrical box office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice . Included on the list are charts of the top box office earners (ranked by both the nominal and real value of their revenue), a chart of high - grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest - grossing film record, and a chart of the highest - grossing film franchises and series . All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights and merchandise . </P> <P> Traditionally, war films, musicals and historical dramas have been the most popular genres, but franchise films have been among the best performers in the 21st century . Six Harry Potter films and five films from Peter Jackson's Middle - earth series are included in the nominal earnings chart, while the Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises feature prominently . There is also continued interest in the superhero genre: Batman and Superman from DC Comics and films based on the Marvel Comics brand, such as Spider - Man, X-Men and films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have generally done well . Although the nominal earnings chart is dominated by films adapted from pre-existing properties and sequels, it is headed by Avatar and Titanic (both directed by James Cameron), which are original works . Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney films enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home - video era . Disney also enjoyed later success with films such as Frozen (the highest - grossing animated film), Zootopia and The Lion King, as well as with its Pixar brand, of which the Toy Story and Finding Nemo films have been the best performers . Beyond Disney and Pixar animation, the Shrek, Ice Age and Despicable Me series have met with the most success . </P> <P> While inflation has eroded away the achievements of most films from the 1960s and 1970s, there are franchises originating from that period that are still active . Besides the Star Wars and Superman franchises, James Bond and Star Trek films are still being released periodically; all four are among the highest - grossing franchises . Some of the older films that held the record of highest - grossing film still have respectable grosses by today's standards, but no longer compete numerically against today's top - earners in an era of much higher individual ticket prices . When properly adjusted for inflation, however, on that comparative scale Gone with the Wind--which was the highest - grossing film outright for twenty - five years--is still the highest - grossing film of all time . All grosses on the list are expressed in U.S. dollars at their nominal value, except where stated otherwise . </P> <P> With a worldwide box - office gross of over $2.7 billion, Avatar is often proclaimed to be the "highest - grossing" film, but such claims usually refer to theatrical revenues only and do not take into account home video and television income, which can form a significant portion of a film's earnings . Once revenue from home entertainment is factored in it is not immediately clear which film is the most successful . Titanic earned $1.2 billion from video and DVD sales and rentals, in addition to the $2.2 billion it grossed in theaters . While complete sales data are not available for Avatar, it earned $345 million from the sale of sixteen million DVD and Blu - ray units in North America, and ultimately sold a total of thirty million DVD and Blu - ray units worldwide . After home video income is accounted for, both films have earned over $3 billion . Television broadcast rights will also substantially add to a film's earnings, with a film often earning as much as 20--25% of its theatrical box - office for a couple of television runs on top of pay - per - view revenues; Titanic earned a further $55 million from the NBC and HBO broadcast rights, equating to about 9% of its North American gross . </P>

What's the top grossing film of all time