There are just a small handful of films that can claim to have made more than $2 billion at the box office. While the five biggest films ever made in of pure numbers have made a splash in recent years, it is important to consider that many films have been estimated to have made well-above $2 billion after inflation is taken into consideration.
Gone With The Wind, for example, doesn't make the list, but it is estimated to have made $3,706,000,000 when adjusted for inflation.
Titanic (1997): 7.8
Despite just about everybody in the world knowing exactly how it was going to end, Leonardo DiCaprio, but he was at nowhere near the level of fame he is at now, while the film allowed Kate Winslet to shoot to stardom.
James Cameron wrote, directed and produced Titanic, handling a $200-million budget (the biggest budget a film had ever been given at the time) which allowed him to build an actual replica of the ill-fated ship. It combines a historical of the ship's maiden voyage including real people like Molly Brown and Thomas Andrews with the fictional story of Jack and Rose. This allows a powerful romance drama to form within the setting of the biggest disaster film ever made.
Avatar (2009): 7.8
another four entries into the franchise that could sully that reputation, or make it even more incredible.
Cameron, again, wrote, directed and produced the film, which tells the story of those inhabiting a moon called Pandora, and the humans who are colonizing it in order to mine a mineral called unobtanium. This comes at the cost of the habitat of the native Na'vi tribe. To do so, humans remotely inhabit avatars that look like the Na'vi species. It was a revolution for 3D cinema and a visual masterpiece, even if audiences and critics were relatively nonplussed by its quality as a film.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015): 7.9
Back in 1999, audiences ran to see the first Star Wars film in many, many years. It was generally a major disappointment that affected how the two direct follow-ups fared at the box office.
millions flocked to cinemas to see what was next for the legendary characters reprising their roles nearly forty years later, but while it wasn't met with the anger of The Phantom Menace, fans largely thought it rehashed a lot of ideas already seen in the original trilogy.
As a result, the Disney-fronted Star Wars films that followed were met with heavily divided reviews and, in many cases, somewhat disappointing box office results.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018): 8.4
The War was, as fans knew before viewing, the biggest crossover in cinematic history, bringing together an exceptional ensemble cast via a massive budget and long list of characters who had mostly starred in their own Hollywood blockbusters in the years previous.
Fans also knew that it was the first part of the conclusion of Phase Three of the MCU. It didn't disappoint, delivering exceptional visuals throughout and a powerful storyline that concluded in a dramatic cliffhanger which ended up being turned into a worldwide meme within just hours of the film opening.
Avengers: Endgame (2019): 8.4
In an incredibly impressive turn of events, it is the direct follow up to Infinity War that lands both the top spot in of quality and box office returns. It continues on from the huge cliffhanger that ended Infinity War, but manages to give each character an important and interesting role without them dipping out of the spotlight. At the same time, Tony Stark is given a dramatic and gracious exit from the franchise that was kicked-off by his 2009 film Iron Man.
Endgame was shot on one of the biggest budgets ever seen ($356 million) and raked in an almost incomprehensible $2.798 billion, making it without a shadow of a doubt the biggest film of all time (when not adjusted for inflation) on many levels. The simple fact that two parts of the same franchise hold such strong positions in the highest-grossing films of all time list is an achievement that will probably stand alone for many, many years to come.
