'Avatar' Top, Kind Of...RSS

'Avatar' Top, Kind Of...

2nd Feb 2010
By Ed, Flicks.co.nz

Last week Avatar, just 41 days after being released in cinemas worldwide, became the highest grossing film of all time, surpassing James Cameron’s previous Titanic (Avatar has grossed $US 1.9 billion, and growing, to Titanic’s $1.8 billion). But ranking films by how much money has been taken is misleading, most notably because inflation isn't considered - of the Top 10 highest grossing all were released in the previous decade asides from Titanic (1997).

So for a better look, you need to adjust for inflation (note: reliable worldwide inflation adjusted figures don’t exist, but the US numbers give us an idea).

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS OF ALL-TIME, US, INFLATION ADJUSTED
Gross figures in millions.
1. Gone with the Wind (1939) - $1,507
2. Star Wars (1977) - $1,329
3. The Sound of Music (1965) - $1,063
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - $1,058
5. The Ten Commandments (1956) - $977
6. Titanic (1997) - $957
7. Jaws (1975) - $955
8. Doctor Zhivago (1965) - $926
9. The Exorcist (1973) - $825
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - $813

Avatar comes in at number 26, after Grease and The Lion King. And it's David O. Selznick's 1939 romance that still takes the cake at number one, in a record that doesn't look like folding anytime soon.

But this ranking is also skewed because grosses reflect sales revenue not attendance. Avatar’s massive takings are partially attributed to its success on 3D and IMAX screens for which tickets are more expensive. So then, let us look at attendance numbers:

ALL TIME TOP FILMS BY CINEMA ATTENDANCE, US
Estimated attendance figures in millions.
1. Gone with the Wind (1939) - 206.4
2. Star Wars (1977) - 197
3. The Sound of Music (1965) - 153.5
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 150.4
5. The Ten Commandments (1956) -131.7
6. The Jungle Book (1967) - 125.3
7. Titanic (1997) - 123.2
8. Jaws (1975) - 122.3
9. Doctor Zhivago (1965) - 121.8
10. 101 Dalmatians (1937) - 119.7

The top 10 looks pretty similar but Avatar drops to 48th ranking based on attendance - putting films such as Home Alone (33rd) and Beverly Hills Cop (40th) above it. Avatar's 62.2 million in attendance is 61 million less than Titanic, and a whopping 144.2 million less than Gone with the Wind.

Not that anyone is diminishing Avatar's huge success. Just food for thought. Why doesn't, rather than announce the weekly box office receipts, the industry announce weekly attendance? Flicks.co.nz would be more interested in seeing the number of people in cinemas and enthralled by Avatar, not how much money it's made.