Avatar Not So Titanic?

So Avatar has passed Titanic as history's highest-grossing film, with worldwide ticket sales of $1.86 billion (story here and list here).

Yeah, but we all recognize that ticket prices today are higher than in years gone by, making any such claim somewhat meaningless.

So where does Avatar rank when grosses are adjusted for ticket price inflation?  I don't have the answer for worldwide revenue, but for domestic revenue Avatar ranks (as of today) in the mid 20's on the list (sandwiched between screen gems Grease and Thunderball).  The top ten?

1.  Gone With The Wind
2.  Star Wars
3.  The Sound of Music
4.  E.T.
5.  The Ten Commandments
6.  Titanic
7.  Jaws
8.  Doctor Zhivago
9.  The Exorcist
10.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Not that this post will leave James Cameron feeling blue in the face.

In fact, listen closely and you can hear him say, "Frankly, Tim, I don't give a ...."

Comments

[Matt]

The way of calculating the adjustments is a bit loose, so I'd not take any of this very seriously, but more importantly I'm very surprised to see the "estimated 2010 average ticket price of $7.35" bit. Are there really places where you can get a movie ticket for less than that now? Wouldn't there have to be, if that's the average? (It's close to $12 at most of the movies I've been to recently.) Maybe they are including old-folks discounts and late-run "dollar" movies or something.

[Kelly Anders]

This is a fascinating post, Tim. It also makes me wonder how production costs would compare. It's impressive that Spielberg made the top-10 twice. I still think his first film, "Duel," is one of his best. I question whether Cameron could keep viewers on the edge of their seats with Dennis Weaver, minimal dialogue, and a wayward semi.