Top Gun: Maverick has found its way to the top of the box office list as the highest-grossing film of 2022. However, it was not able to compete with the currently reigning highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar.
The epic science fiction film has fought for its spot for over a decade, and while it was temporarily dethroned, a rerelease helped it find its way back to the top. Other films that have made it to the highest-grossing films of all time list haven't been so lucky, while others managed to stick around for longer than Avatar.
Jaws (1975) - 2 years
The film that holds the Guinness World Record title for "The First Film to Reach $100 Million In The Box Office" is the 1975 summer blockbuster hit, Jaws. It actually marked the beginning of modern blockbusters with Steven Spielberg going on to helm several others after the 1975 summer hit became a box office success.
The film has been re-released several times and according to Box Office Mojo, its YTD worldwide box office total stands at around $475 million. While it only reigned for two years, its impact was immense and continues to be felt as a classic can't actually be rebooted or recreated.
The Godfather (1972) - 3 years
Before Jaws redefined the film industry, The Godfather was the ruler of the box office. That rule lasted for a short three years, but the film is still hailed as one of the best and most quotable movies of all time.
After overtaking The Sound Of Music as the highest-grossing film, it went on to win three Oscars at the 1973 ceremony with one of their wins being in the Best Picture category. Marlon Brando also won for Best Actor but allowed Sacheen Littlefeather to respectfully refuse the award on his behalf due to the mistreatment of Native Americans in cinema.
Jurassic Park (1993) - 4 years
Looking at the CGI in Jurassic Park and measuring it against what's seen in the franchise's most recent film Jurassic World: Dominion, it's easy to see how far the filmmaking technology has come. The groundbreaking imagery at the time of the first film's release drew in the crowds, allowing Spielberg to pull off another top-grosser.
Jurassic Park made its return to theaters several times in recent years, which has allowed it to enter the IMDb Billion-Dollar Film Club. The Jurassic World films have gone on to have even bigger box office success, but Jurassic Park is still the only film in the franchise that has held the highest-grossing film title and kept it for four years.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) - 5 years
Science fiction films hadn't seen incredible box office success before the release of George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in 1977. The film was however just the start of the well-loved Star Wars franchise which has since grown to encompass a generous number of successful films and shows.
When adjusted for inflation, A New Hope is still the highest-grossing Star Wars film of all time. Its story, visual effects, and actor performance lured in audiences in waves unheard of for a movie of its nature, placing it in the highest-grossing film spot from 1977 to 1982. In 1977, it sold almost 350 million tickets, which brought in $775 million and would now amount to over $3 billion.
The Sound Of Music (1965) - 7 years
Early Hollywood musicals peaked with the 1965 Julie Andrews-led wartime musical, The Sound Of Music. The songs in the movie have become classics and are looked at as some of the best songs included in a movie musical. Not only was it well received by viewers, but it also garnered critical acclaim, winning five of the 10 Oscar nominations it received.
The majority of the money made from the film came from domestic sales with Box Office Mojo finding that 99.9% of the $157 million it has brought in is from its domestic releases. Internationally, the musical barely reached the $150,000 mark, but those domestic numbers were still enough to push it to the number one spot on the highest-grossing films chart in 1965.
Avatar (2009) - 10+ years
For a while, movies were only able to hold their highest-grossing film title for around 4-7 years, but Avatar broke that trend when it held its title for a decade before Avengers: Endgame came to claim it for itself. However, there wasn't much of a margin between the two so when Avatar was re-released in China last year, it claimed the top spot once again.
Avatar has brought in a monumental $2.8 billion dollars since its initial release. With its sequel Avatar: The Way Of Water on the way, it'll be exciting to see whether viewers' interest in the world that Avatar's groundbreaking special effects created over 10 years ago will have increased, allowing it to compete for the top spot.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 11 years
Spielberg has found his way to the top of the box office hit list several times, but his first repeat appearance was with the sci-fi film E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. While Star Wars may have broken the seal on the financial potential of the science fiction genre, E.T. showed that sci-fi was more than a one-hit wonder when it came to success at the box office.
E.T. drew from some of the appeal of Star Wars, but its emotional story is what really gained it the recognition it received from audiences of all ages. After taking the top-grossing spot from Star Wars, it held its place for 11 years and became a classic family film that many cite as a childhood favorite.
Titanic (1997) - 12 years
Titanic brought moviegoers one of the most epic movie love stories ever seen on the big screen. Its ending has been the topic of many debates but whether it's looked at with love or hate, there's no denying the cultural impact it has had. That year, the romance film received 14 Oscar nominations and won 10 of them, tying for the record.
Not only did Titanic take the title of the highest-grossing film, but it also became the first film in history to make a billion dollars in the box office (according to Guinness World Records). There are only 50 movies that have accomplished that feat and only four of those have been the highest-grossing films of all time, a title the first billion-dollar blockbuster had for 12 years.
The Birth Of A Nation (1915) - 25 years
Some filmmaking accomplishments marked by the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation included it being the longest-running film made at the time and introducing several technical innovations to the industry. It was the most profitable film of its time and continued to be for a quarter of a century.
The film did however exemplify a lot of things wrong with the film industry and the state of the country in the early 1900s. Its blatant racism and positive portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan also spawned the resurgence of KKK activity in the country. The fact that it performed so well and was shown at the White House by President Woodrow Wilson showed just how harmful the mindset of its predominantly if not all white audience was.
Gone With The Wind (1939) - 25 years
Unfortunately, the controversial film was replaced by yet another one when Gone With The Wind took the place of The Birth of A Nation as the most profitable film. The two were both reminiscent of the civil war era, both boasted long runtimes, and they had their Black characters play into crude stereotypes.
There are several harmful themes in the classic film but still, when adjusted for inflation, Gone With The Wind holds the spot of the highest-grossing film to date (though without the adjustment, it only held the title for 25 years). It is still causing controversy today, as it was pulled from HBO Max last year before later being added back to the platform's streaming library but now with a message about the film's history and reception at the start.