Quick Answer
The highest-grossing film of all time is Avengers: Endgame, at about 2.94billionworldwideinthechartwecheckedon2November2026.ItretookthetopspotfromAvatar(2.92 billion) in October 2026 after a re-release, leaving a lead of only about $18 million. Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind leads instead, and new releases can still change the order.
Key Takeaways
- The top two are separated by about 0.6 per cent (our own calculation from the figures below), so the order depends on which source and which date you use.
- Re-releases are why old films keep appearing. Avatar’s total includes several, and Endgame returned to first place only through one in 2026.
- The UK chart looks different. In the UK list we checked, Star Wars: The Force Awakens leads with £123.3 million, and Endgame sits ninth.
The raw list
Highest grossing movie of all time worldwide
A raw list ranks films by worldwide ticket sales in US dollars, with no adjustment for ticket price inflation. Avengers: Endgame leads on that basis. In early October 2026 reports said its “Encore” re-release took it to about $2.925 billion, ahead of Avatar’s $2.923 billion. By the time we checked the Wikipedia chart on 2 November 2026, Endgame was listed at $2,942,186,933. We could not tell whether the extra comes from continuing re-release sales or from a different source, so we report both.
Top 10 highest grossing films list box office
The table below is the Wikipedia chart as it stood on 2 November 2026. The page gives no single “as of” date for its figures, so treat it as a snapshot. The dagger marks a film still earning.
| Rank | Film | Year | Worldwide gross (US$) |
| 1 | Avengers: Endgame † | 2019 | 2,942,186,933 |
| 2 | Avatar | 2009 | 2,923,710,708 |
| 3 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day † | 2026 | 2,519,512,338 |
| 4 | Avatar: The Way of Water | 2022 | 2,334,484,620 |
| 5 | Titanic | 1997 | 2,257,906,828 |
| 6 | Ne Zha 2 | 2025 | 2,217,758,382 |
| 7 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 2015 | 2,068,223,624 |
| 8 | Avengers: Infinity War | 2018 | 2,048,359,754 |
| 9 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | 2021 | 1,922,598,800 |
| 10 | Zootopia 2 | 2025 | 1,870,309,291 |
We checked one figure against a second source: The Numbers lists Spider-Man: Brand New Day at $2,519,512,338, with data to 30 October 2026, which matches. Its budget is listed at $225 million. Avengers: Doomsday is due to open on 18 December 2026, according to NPR, so this table will be out of date well before it is read in May 2027.
Avengers Endgame vs Avatar total box office revenue
| Avengers: Endgame | Avatar | |
| Total at 2 November 2026 (Wikipedia chart) | $2,942,186,933 | $2,923,710,708 |
| Total in early October 2026 reports | about $2.925 billion | about $2.923 billion |
| Release | 2019 | 2009 |
| Re-releases counted | At least one in 2026 | Several (the chart lists 2010, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025) |
The Guinness World Records page we could open still names Avatar, at $2,923,706,026 according to The Numbers, with a date of 14 March 2023. That is a stale entry, not a current ruling, and we did not find Guinness’s position after October 2026.
Did Endgame beat Avatar worldwide?
Twice, in a sense. Guinness World Records published a story in 2019 titled “Avengers: Endgame overtakes Avatar as the most successful movie at the global box office”. Avatar then took the title back after its own re-releases, including a China release. In October 2026 Endgame reclaimed first place with its Encore re-release, which ran 185 minutes, four minutes longer than the original, and included new footage tied to Avengers: Doomsday (World of Reel and The A.V. Club, 4 October 2026).
Adjusted for inflation
Highest grossing movie of all time adjusted for inflation
Adjusting for inflation asks what each film would have earned at today’s ticket prices. The Wikipedia table uses 2025 US dollars. It applies IMF consumer price inflation to a Guinness 2014 chart. Its top five are below.
| Rank | Film | Year | Adjusted gross (2025 US$) |
| 1 | Gone with the Wind | 1939 | 4.561 billion |
| 2 | Avatar | 2009 | 4.157 billion |
| 3 | Titanic | 1997 | 3.864 billion |
| 4 | Star Wars | 1977 | 3.743 billion |
| 5 | Avengers: Endgame | 2019 | 3.443 billion |
Other tables use other methods, so none of these numbers is final.
Gone with the Wind box office adjusted to today’s money
The sources disagree. Wikipedia gives $4.561 billion in 2025 dollars. Guinness’s inflation-adjusted page gives $3.44 billion with a 2014 base year, and a later passage on the same page mentions $4.5 billion including re-release earnings. Guinness says its total multiplies estimated tickets sold by the average US ticket price, so the result depends on estimated attendance for a 1939 film. We report the conflict rather than resolve it.
Re-releases
A re-release is a later theatrical run of an older film. It adds to the lifetime total, and the rules differ between sources.
- Avatar: the Wikipedia chart counts re-releases in 2010, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025. The A.V. Club described it as having reached its total through “a whopping five theatrical rereleases”.
- Titanic: Wikipedia says Box Office Mojo’s and The Numbers’ totals are both incorrect and were inflated before the 2023 re-release. It includes the 2012 3D reissue ($343,550,770) and later limited runs. We could not reconcile the $2,257,906,828 figure with that note.
- Endgame: the 2026 Encore opened at $86 million worldwide, according to World of Reel, which describes it as the second-biggest global opening for a re-release. We did not verify that claim.
First movie to cross 1 billion dollars at the box office
Titanic. Wikipedia says that honour goes to Titanic, “which was widely reported at the time”. We did not find a dated primary source for the exact week.
UK box office
UK figures follow a different order from the worldwide chart. This is the Wikipedia list for the United Kingdom, drawn from BFI sources. It gives no single as-of date, and a dagger means the gross has increased since January 2026.
| Rank | Film | Year | UK gross |
| 1 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 2015 | £123.3 million |
| 2 | Skyfall | 2012 | £102.8 million |
| 3 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day † | 2026 | £98.1 million |
| 4 | No Time to Die | 2021 | £98.0 million |
| 5 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | 2021 | £97.2 million |
| 6 | Avatar | 2009 | £96.7 million |
| 7 | Barbie | 2023 | £95.7 million |
| 8 | Spectre | 2015 | £95.2 million |
| 9 | Avengers: Endgame | 2019 | £88.7 million |
| 10 | The Odyssey † | 2026 | £84.5 million |
Guinness’s own UK record page showed £94 million with a date of 5 December 2012, which is long out of date. Titanic’s UK figure includes the 2012 and 2023 re-releases.
Why lists differ
Five things move the order. The source matters, because Box Office Mojo, The Numbers and Wikipedia can differ by small amounts, and Avatar’s total differs by about $4,700 between two of them. The cut-off date matters, because the leaders are separated by a few million dollars. Re-releases may or may not be included. The currency and inflation method change older films. And a “franchise” total depends on which films you count.
Guinness World Record highest grossing film history
Guinness’s main record page names Avatar for the highest-grossing film at the global box office, using The Numbers’ figure. It also says records change daily and are not immediately published online. Its page does not set out a formal re-release rule, giving only the example that Avatar reclaimed the title after a China re-release. The page we could open was not updated for October 2026.
Marvel Cinematic Universe total box office collection worldwide
Wikipedia lists the Marvel Cinematic Universe at $35,151,266,867 across 38 films, still rising because some entries are still playing.
Highest grossing movie franchises of all time
| Rank | Franchise | Worldwide gross (US$) | Films |
| 1 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | 35,151,266,867 | 38 |
| 2 | Spider-Man | 13,673,604,416 | 17 |
| 3 | Star Wars | 10,748,764,874 | 13 |
| 4 | Wizarding World | 9,661,429,305 | 11 |
| 5 | Avengers | 7,912,171,742 | 4 |
| 6 | James Bond | 7,836,510,562 | 27 |
These overlap: the Avengers films and some Spider-Man films also sit inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe total, so you cannot add the rows together.
Highest grossing Disney live action remakes list
An older Box Office Pro list, which gave no date, ranked these by worldwide gross: The Lion King (2019) $1.66 billion, Beauty and the Beast (2017) $1.26 billion, Aladdin (2019) $1.05 billion, Alice in Wonderland (2010) $1.03 billion and The Jungle Book (2016) $966.6 million. Wikipedia’s film chart agrees with the Lion King figure but calls it a computer-animated remake, so whether it counts as live action is a matter of definition.
That list predates Lilo & Stitch. Disney says the 2025 film crossed 1billion,butwedidnotfinditsfinaltotal,sowedonotplaceitintheranking.Thelive-actionMoanaopenedinJuly2026,andreportsofitsopeningweekenddiffer(95 million worldwide in one, $43 million in another), so we give no total.
James Cameron lifetime box office revenue totals
We found no single sourced career total. Gulf News (7 January 2026) says Avatar: Fire and Ash made him the first director with four $1 billion films. Using the chart figures for Titanic, Avatar and The Way of Water, plus Koimoi’s $1.48 billion final worldwide gross for Fire and Ash (22 April 2026), the four films add up to roughly $9.0 billion. That sum is ours, and it leaves out all his other films.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest grossing film of all time?
Avengers: Endgame, at $2,942,186,933 in the Wikipedia chart we checked on 2 November 2026. Avatar is second at $2,923,710,708. The gap is small and has changed hands before, so check a current chart.
Did Endgame beat Avatar worldwide?
Yes, in 2019 and again in October 2026 after a re-release. Avatar regained the lead between those dates through its own re-releases. The lead is only about $18 million on the figures we checked.
What is the highest grossing movie of all time adjusted for inflation?
Gone with the Wind is first in the Wikipedia table, at $4.561 billion in 2025 dollars. Guinness gives a lower $3.44 billion on a different base year, so the figure depends on the method.
What was the first movie to cross 1 billion dollars at the box office?
Titanic, according to Wikipedia, which says this was widely reported at the time. We did not find a dated primary source confirming the exact date, and the film’s lifetime total now includes re-releases from 2012 and 2023.
Which Disney live-action remake made the most money?
The Lion King (2019), at $1.66 billion worldwide, though Wikipedia calls it a computer-animated remake. Among clearly live-action remakes, an undated Box Office Pro list puts Beauty and the Beast next at $1.26 billion.
