 Gone
With the Wind (1939)
This Civil War-era love story with Clark Gable and Vivien
Leigh has seduced generations of moviegoers.
- Star
Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
George Lucas' space western with aliens, revolutionaries
and high-tech effects spawned sci-fi's biggest franchise
of six films.
- The Sound of Music
(1965)
Julie Andrews headlines the von Trapp family saga that celebrates
the triumph of good over Nazism.
- E.
T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Spielberg enchants audiences by showing how suburban kids
could help a magical, little alien get back home.
- Titanic (1997)
Romance, life-or-death stakes and spectacular effects make household names of
director James Cameron and star Leonardo DiCaprio.
- The Ten Commandments
(1956)
Sex, violence, religion and Charlton Heston as Moses fuel a Biblical epic that's
become an Easter tradition on TV.
- Jaws
(1975)
Spielberg defines summer blockbuster with a shark flick featuring
one of the most memorable theme songs in movie history.
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Julie Christie and Omar Sharif make love as Russia explodes
into war in this epic romance.
- The Exorcist (1973)
A pop-cultural touchstone: Cursed set, pea soup puke, and
young Linda Blair making heads turn -- including her own.
- Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Arguably Walt Disney's best, this animated feature combines
sentiment and timeless storytelling seamlessly.
- 101 Dalmatians (1961)
A fashionista wants a spotted coat made of puppy hides. Sounds
creepy but this animated pic is actually fun.
- Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes
Back (1980)
A suave Billy Dee Williams gets added to the canny Star Wars
recipe of old-school drama and gee-whiz sci-fi trappings.
- Ben-Hur
(1959)
A little history, a dash of religion, a thrilling chariot
race, and Charlton Heston ripped and ready for redemption.
- Avatar (2009)
3-D visuals make James Cameron's sci-fi spin on "cold
civilization vs. nature-loving natives" fresh again.
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the
Jedi (1983)
Jabba the Hutt, Carrie Fisher in a bikini and Luke's showdown
with Darth Vader wraps the first Star Wars trilogy.
- Jurassic
Park (1993)
Everyone loves Spielberg's stars, not Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, but those
awesome CGI dinosaurs.
- Star
Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Fans rush back to the future, giving Liam Neeson and Natalie
Portman a thumbs up and Jar Jar Binks a big thumbs down.
- The Lion King (1994)
Disney reclaims its reputation for first-rate animated features with this coming
of age story and its Elton John score.
- The Sting (1973)
A clever caper with Paul Newman and Robert Redford in their
prime making this Depression-era comedy a hit.
- Raiders of the
Lost Ark (1981)
Spielberg's vintage adventure tale turns the dashing archaeologist
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) into a modern-day hero.
- The
Graduate (1967)
Fresh out of college, a young Dustin Hoffman tries to decide
what to do when not distracted by the cougar Mrs. Robinson.
- Fantasia
(1940)
After 30 years, this union of Mickey Mouse, dancing hippos
and classical music turns a profit and then some.
- The
Godfather (1972)
Marlon Brando and Al Pacino help Francis Ford Coppola turn
a Mario Puzo's novel into the ultimate gangster pic.
- Forrest Gump (1994)
Gump appeals to heart and head thanks to technology that
inserts Tom Hanks' simple character into great historic
moments.
- Mary Poppins (1964)
What kid doesn't want a sly Julie Andrews for a nanny after
seeing Disney's musical ode to non-traditional families?
- Grease (1978)
1950s nostalgia transforms this high-school musical, showcasing Olivia Newton-John
and John Travolta, into a sweet treat.
- Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
The highly-anticipated 3-D superhero tale produced by Disney-owned Marvel Studios
brought together, under Nick Fury's peace-keeping S.H.I.E.L.D, a team of
superhumans (Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America) to save the Earth
from Loki and his army.
- Thunderball (1965)
Sean Connery's fourth Bond movie gave fans more gadgets,
more sharks and more very sexy Bond girls.
- The Dark Knight (2008)
Christian Bale's brooding Batman and Heath Ledger's scary
Joker gave this comic-book movie reboot real emotional
depth.
- The Jungle Book (1967)
This animated flick about a feral child and his animal friends
is voiced by George Sanders and Louis Prima among others.
- Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Almost ten years in the making, Disney's third princess
movie remains a favorite of 12-year-old girls of all ages.
- Shrek 2 (2004)
Kids love the rude, stinky-but-goodhearted green troll (voiced
by Mike Myers); adults identify with his nemesis in-laws.
- Ghostbusters (1984)
A profitable combination of goofy ghosts and snarky ghost
chasers Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
- Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid (1969)
One part Western, two parts star power (Paul Newman and
Robert Redford), one part "Raindrops Keep Falling
on My Head."
- Love Story (1970)
Everybody cries at this tale of doomed young lovers (Ali
McGraw and Ryan O'Neal). The "disease movie" of
the '70s.
- Spider-Man (2002)
Tobey Maguire convinces us that high-school nerd Peter
Parker could become a superhero when bit by a spider.
- Independence Day (1996)
The ultimate war movie for nervous times proves that no one
cares when bug-eyed monsters get their alien butts kicked.
- Home Alone (1990)
Precocious Macaulay Culkin foils buffoonish burglars after
his parents accidentally abandon him during Christmas vacation.
- Pinocchio (1940)
Funny, action-packed and a little scary, this animated feature
targets kids between Dumbo and The Lion King age.
- Cleopatra (1963)
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton front a cast of thousands
and lavish sets for this big screen epic.
- Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
A good cop thriller that showcases the young Eddie Murphy's
signature mix of sweetness and street smarts.
- Goldfinger (1964)
With Sean Connery oozing charm, a golden girl and Honor Blackman
as Pussy Galore, the third Bond movie is the charm.
- Airport (1970)
The template for modern disaster movies has an all-star cast:
Burt Lancaster, Jacqueline Bisset, Dean Martin, etc.
- American Graffiti
(1973)
Before George Lucas conquered the universe, he reworked his
past in a coming-of-age story set in early '60s California.
- The Robe (1953)
Pomp, piety, and pop psych (and CinemaScope) lure moviegoers
to an epic about a Roman (Richard Burton) who won Christ's
robe.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's
Chest (2006)
This sequel adds a monster, a ghost ship and the tentacle-bearded
Davy Jones to Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow.
- Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
A little Jules Verne adventure, a lot of globe-trotting locations
and an avalanche of movie-star cameos.
- Bambi (1942)
From the hand-drawn images to its unsentimental story of
a fawn's journey to adulthood, a Disney watermark.
- Blazing Saddles
(1974)
The tiny western town of Rock Ridge gets a black sheriff
(Cleavon Little) in Mel Brooks' rudely hilarious spoof.
- Batman (1989)
Thanks in part to Jack Nicholson's Joker, the Michael Keaton
reboot of the superhero legitimizes comic-book movies.
- The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
An easy-going priest (Bing Crosby) and a feisty nun (Ingrid
Bergman) save a faltering Catholic school.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King (2003)
Building on the success of the first two installments, the
last Lord of the Rings movie tops the awards and box office.
- Finding Nemo (2003)
A sad clownfish stops at nothing to find his missing son in this animated feature
(also one of the bestselling DVDs ever).
- The Towering Inferno (1974)
Following Airport's lead, this disaster movie trots out big names like
Paul Newman, Fred Astaire, and Steve McQueen.
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
This sequel which adds Doc Oc (Alfred Molina) to Spidey's
problems more than holds its own.
- My Fair Lady (1964)
Audiences thrill to Audrey Hepburn's transformation from
guttersnipe to elegant lady in the ultimate makeover movie.
- The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Cecil B. De Mille's Oscar-winning circus spectacular stars
Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton and James Stewart as a sad
clown.
- National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Comedian John Belushi raucously celebrated
rude fraternity hijinks.
- The Passion of the Christ (2004)
While traditional religious movies glorify transcendence,
Mel Gibson's Aramaic-language drama zeroes in on Jesus'
pain and agony.
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of
the Sith (2005)
The last of three Star Wars prequels, Revenge of
the Sith benefits from being the final link between old and new.
- Back to the Future (1985)
Eighties teen heartthrob Michael J. Fox meets his parents
when they were teens themselves in this time travel comedy.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002)
The first Rings sequel turns the Tolkien hit about Frodo
the Hobbit into a cultural phenomenon.
- The
Dark Knight Rises (2012)
In the last of director Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films, the caped
superhero Dark Knight battled a masked villain to save Gotham City.
- The Sixth Sense (1999)
How many didn't guess the twist ending of this thriller about troubled shrink
Bruce Willis and a child (Haley Joel Osment) who sees ghosts?
- Superman (1978)
Pitched between camp and cute, this fantasy put an old-fashioned
hero (Christopher Reeve) in a brave new world.
- Tootsie (1982)
"I was a better man… as a woman... than I ever
was with a woman, as a man," says a cross-dressing
Dustin Hoffman.
- Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
On initial release, only Star Wars out-grossed Burt Reynolds'
southern-fried action comedy, fueled by the CB radio fad.
- West
Side Story (1961)
This Romeo and Juliet musical on Manhattan's mean streets
somehow made dancing gang members dangerously cool.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
(2001)
Richard Harris, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman made the first
Harry Potter adaptation downright respectable.
- Lady and the Tramp (1955)
A pampered cocker spaniel and a mangy mutt find love in Disney's
first CinemaScope animated feature.
- Close Encounters
of the Third Kind (1977/1980)
New Ageism meets UFOlogy when regular guy Richard Dreyfuss'
life is turned upside down by extraterrestrials.
- Lawrence
of Arabia (1962)
This stunning, psychologically rich bio of T.E. Lawrence
(Peter O'Toole) inspired Steven Spielberg to make movies.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Perverse alien Dr. Frank-n-furter (Tim Curry) corrupts innocent
sweethearts Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick in a glam
sci-fi musical.
- Rocky (1976)
Struggling actor Sylvester Stallone writes himself a good
part which leads to the biggest boxing movie franchise
in history.
- The
Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Post-WWII sentiment gave this drama about veterans adjusting
to civilian life a timely relevance.
- The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
A cavalcade of stars -- Shelley Winters, Gene Hackman and
Leslie Nielsen -- seeks to escape an upended cruise ship.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
of the Ring (2001)
In the first of the series, world-class actors Ian McKellen,
Hugo Weaving, and Viggo Mortensen play wizards, elves and
warriors.
- Twister (1996)
Professional storm chasers (Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton) with
complicated personal lives track extreme weather outbreaks.
- Men in Black (1997)
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones look like boring bureaucrats
but are actually top secret agents monitoring aliens in
this ultra-snarky comedy.
- The
Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
During WWII, British prisoners are put to the test when ordered
to build a strategically useful bridge for their captors.
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
The robots that turn into cars and guns return in a sequel
that outperforms the original.
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963)
Nearly every star in Hollywood had a cameo in this comedy
about a race to recover a fortune in California's Santa
Rosita State Park.
- Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
A shipwrecked family pulls together to survive natural hardships
and vicious pirates in this live-action Disney hit.
- One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
The anarchic spirit of '60s idealism is crushed by the establishment
in this bitterly funny dramedy with Jack Nicholson.
- M*A*S*H (1970)
Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould helm Robert Altman's
dark comedy about Korean-War medics.
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(1984)
Alongside Gremlins, this boundary-pushing prequel prompted
the MPAA to create its first new rating in 12 years: PG-13.
- Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the
Clones (2002)
Introducing the new Luke Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) plus
an opportunity to find out who the clones are.
- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Wacky hijinks ensue when divorced dad Robin Williams masquerades
as a frumpy housekeeper to be near his kids.
- Aladdin (1992)
Allegations of cultural insensitivity didn't stop this Arabian
Nights-inspired Disney feature from enchanting American
kids.
- Toy Story 3 (2010)
Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the toys must face
the fact children grow up and put away childish things:
Adults weep.
- Ghost (1990)
Romantics swoon over this fantasy about a murdered man (Patrick
Swayze) who defies death to become visible to his girlfriend
(Demi Moore).
- Duel in the
Sun (1946)
The Western romance, a.k.a. "Lust in the Dust" takes place between
a half-breed girl (Jennifer Jones) and an anglo cowboy (Gregory Peck).
- The Hunger Games (2012)
The big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling book was an action-packed
survival story set in a dystopian future.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse
of the Black Pearl (2003)
Johnny Depp's show-stealing Captain Sparrow made it a hit
and spawned a few sequels.
- House of Wax (1953)
3D gave this Vincent Price remake of the classic horror flick
Mystery of the Wax Museum extra audience appeal.
- Rear
Window (1954)
The only Hitchcock film in the top 100 is about laid-up photographer
(James Stewart) who suspects his neighbor is a wife-killer.
- The
Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
"Taking dinosaurs off this island is the worst idea in the long, sad history
of bad ideas," says pessimistic scientist Jeff Goldblum. He's right.
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(1989)
Cool archaeologist Jones (Harrison Ford) and his even cooler
dad (Sean Connery) go after the Holy Grail.
- Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Pixar's fourth feature-length animated film, a comedy about
two power plant monster-employees (John Goodman and Billy
Crystal).
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spider-Man fans turned out for this sequel that was star
Tobey Maguire's swan song in the franchise.
|
Top
100 Films of All-Time: These are the US domestic
rankings (adjusted for inflation), to fairly accurately
show which films have been the largest blockbusters over
a long period of time. [It
is inflation-adjusted to the 2013 average ticket price
of $8.05.] A short summary description
of each film is included. A few other sites post all-time
box-office information, including the Internet
Movie DataBase, 
