It used to mean something to be one of the all-time top-grossing moneymakers. It used to mean that a motion picture tapped into the national zeitgeist, or benefited from glorious word of mouth, or merely proved to be so entertaining that few could resist its charms.
And now? It merely means that a heckuva lot of people rushed to see it on opening weekend, and that the studio’s p.r. team earned its pay that week.
In the grand scheme of things, a blockbuster-opening weekend is a fairly recent development. Take the now-long-ago case of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, which briefly had surged past Star Wars to become the all-time top earner. And how did E.T. earn this status, by opening to the tune of $80 million? Hardly. Its opening weekend tally was $11.8 million, but it built on its success by earning comparable amounts over the course of several consecutive weekends.
Here, from www.boxofficemojo.com, are the “official” Top 10 titles and the real (i.e. adjusted for inflation) Top 10.
“Official” Top 10 Moneymakers
1. Titanic (1997)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. Shrek 2 (2004)
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
7. Spider-Man (2002)
8. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
10. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Top 10 Moneymakers Adjusted For Inflation
1. Gone With the Wind (1939)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. The Sound of Music (1965)
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. The Ten Commandments (1956)
6. Titanic (1997)
7. Jaws (1975)
8. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9. The Exorcist (1973)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938)
Gone With The Wind: The REAL number one
This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2007.
