5 Ways to Look at The Force Awakens Box Office Legacy

“The Force Awakens” has broken many records. It is the #1 movie of all time in the American box office. But there are several ways to look its Box Office achievement and upcoming legacy. Here are a few.

#1 – Highest Grossing Domestic Films

1	The Force Awakens	$815,000,000 and climbing	2015
2	Avatar	$760,507,625	2009
3	Titanic	$658,672,302	1997
4	Jurassic World	$652,270,625	2015
5	Marvel’s the Avengers	$623,357,910	2012
6	The Dark Knight	$534,858,444	2008
7	The Phantom Menace	$474,544,677	1999
8	Star Wars	$460,998,007	1977
9	Avengers: Age of Ultron	$459,005,868	2015
10	The Dark Knight Rises	$448,139,099	2012

Yes! The Force Awakens is #1. Yet somehow this table is unsatisfying. Three of the films are from 2015. Will any of these recent films withstand the test of time? Where are all the old classics? Let’s take a look at the top ten films when we adjust for inflation.

#2 – Highest Grossing Domestic Films Adjusted for Inflation

1	Gone with the Wind	$1,739,604,200	1939
2	Star Wars	$1,533,609,700	1977
3	The Sound of Music	$1,226,196,400	1965
4	ET	$1,221,365,800	1982
5	Titanic	$1,166,435,200	1997
6	The Ten Commandments	$1,127,910,000	1956
7	Jaws	$1,102,758,600	1975
8	Doctor Zhivago	$1,068,806,300	1965
9	The Exorcist	$952,258,800	1973
10	Snow White	$938,490,000	1937
*	The Force Awakens	$815,000,000 and climbing	2015

Here “The Force Awakens” is not in the top ten. But it should overtake Snow White or Exorcist by the end of its run.

Now there are problems with this chart as well. It’s hard to compare films like Gone with the Wind to anything current. One reason is because during its initial run it spent four years in the cinemas. Back then audiences couldn’t rent or buy or Netflix a movie mere months after its theatrical release. But its four years in cinemas isn’t even where most of the film sold most of its tickets. Most of its money came from its re-releases over the next sixty years, nine total: 1947, 1954, 1961, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1989, 1998 and 2014.

In the next chart we'll ignore the old generation of films and take a look at the box office hits since the invention of home media.

#3 – Highest Grossing Domestic Adjusted for Inflation since 1977

1	Star Wars	$1,362,751,062	1977
2	Titanic	$1,139,182,838	1997
3	ET	$1,124,651,941	1982
4	Avatar	$826,198,130	2009
5	The Force Awakens	$815,000,000 and climbing	2015
6	The Empire Strikes Back	$808,182,542	1980
7	Return of the Jedi	$778,214,979	1983
8	The Lion King	$756,219,975	1994
9	The Phantom Menace	$755,899,504	1999
10	Jurassic Park	$755,387,687	1993

There now, isn’t this a nicer chart to look at? You’ve got Jurassic Park instead of Jurassic World, there are no comic book films, and there are (count them) five Star Wars films. If anyone wants to question how much Americans love Star Wars, here is your answer. Since the first film released, Star Wars has ruled the box office. Notice that The Force Awakens will finish in the #4 position; ahead of Avatar.

But let’s turn now to worldwide sales. How much does the rest of the world love Star Wars? First without adjusting:

#4 – Highest Grossing Worldwide Films

1	Avatar	$2,787,965,087	2009
2	Titanic	$2,186,772,302	1997
3	The Force Awakens	$1,750,000,000 and climbing	2015
4	Jurassic World	$1,668,984,926	2015
5	The Avengers	$1,519,557,910	2015
6	Furious 7	$1,515,047,671	2012
7	Avengers: Age of Ultron	$1,405,035,767	2015
8	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2	$1,341,511,219	2011
9	Frozen	$1,279,852,693	2013
10	Iron Man 3	$1,215,439,994	2013

The big question on everyone’s mind: will The Force Awakens beat Titanic worldwide? My guess is yes, but we won’t know for sure for another month or so.

Again, without adjusting for inflation we see a lot of recent entries. All the films are from this decade except for the James Cameron ones holding the top two positions. So let’s adjust for inflation again.

#5 – Highest Grossing Worldwide Films Adjusted for Inflation

Again, The Force Awakens is not yet on the chart, but give it another week and it will overtake Snow White for that top ten position and could even move ahead of Jaws or The Ten Commandments by the end of its run.

This chart really shows how powerful Avatar was overseas. Avatar isn’t even on the top ten Domestic Films when inflation is accounted for, but here, on the worldwide chart, Avatar is #2.

In the record books Gone with the Wind and Avatar and even the original Star Wars film will always reign high above “The Force Awakens”. But we shouldn't discount the latest entry into the Star Wars franchise, because its still lands among... well, the stars. We’ll see its name forever etched right next to films like The Sound of Music and The Ten Commandments and ET.

So go see this film again. Enjoy it before it hits DVD or Blu-ray or Netflix.