Social and economic factors such as population change and the growth of international markets also impact on the number of people purchasing theater tickets, along with audience demographics where some films sell a much higher proportion of discounted children's tickets, or perform better in big cities where tickets cost more. One notable example of this phenomenon is Avatar, which was also released in 3D and IMAX: almost two-thirds of tickets for that film were for 3D showings with an average price of $10, and about one-sixth were for IMAX showings with an average price over $14.50, compared to a 2010 average price of $7.61 for 2D films. Īnother complication is release in multiple formats for which different ticket prices are charged. Ticket prices have also risen at different rates of inflation around the world, further complicating the process of adjusting worldwide grosses. For example, in 1970, tickets cost $1.55 or about $6.68 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars by 1980, prices had risen to about $2.69, a drop to $5.50 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars. To compensate for the devaluation of the currency, some charts make adjustments for inflation, but not even this practice fully addresses the issue, since ticket prices and inflation do not necessarily parallel one another. The unadjusted list, while commonly found in the press, is therefore largely meaningless for comparing films widely separated in time, as many films from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases.
Highest-grossing films adjusted for inflationīecause of the long-term effects of inflation, notably the significant increase of movie theater ticket prices, the list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to later films. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Superhero films often have some science-fiction elements but are not included here, as they have their own list.
The top 11 are among the highest-grossing films of all time. The following is a list of the highest-grossing science fiction films of all time.