<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 . Five Harry Potter films and five films from Peter Jackson's Middle - earth series are included in the nominal earnings chart, while the Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises feature prominently . There is also strong interest in the superhero genre, with six films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring among the nominal top - earners . Marvel Comics has also had success with its Spider - Man and X-Men properties, while films based on Batman and Superman from DC Comics have generally performed 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 Incredibles 2, Toy Story 3, and the Finding Nemo films have been the best performers . Beyond Disney and Pixar animation, the Despicable Me, Shrek and Ice Age 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> <P> When a film is highly exploitable as a commercial property, its ancillary revenues can dwarf its income from direct film sales . The Lion King earned over $2 billion in box - office and home video sales, but this pales in comparison to the $6 billion earned at box offices around the world by the stage adaptation . Merchandising can be extremely lucrative too: The Lion King also sold $3 billion of merchandise, while Pixar's Cars--which earned $462 million in theatrical revenues and was only a modest hit by comparison to other Pixar films--generated global merchandise sales of over $8 billion in the five years after its 2006 release . Pixar also had another huge hit with Toy Story 3, which generated almost $10 billion in merchandise retail sales in addition to the $1 billion it earned at the box office . </P>

What is the highest grossing film of all time (without adjusting for inflation)
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