Draft:List of most-profitable films
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Films achieve profitability when they generate income surpassing their total production budget. While total income may encompass theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising, the primary metric for calculating a film's total income is theatrical box-office earnings. This is largely due to the accessibility and widespread publicity of box-office data, in contrast to the more limited availability of sales figures for home video and broadcast rights. It is worth mentioning that Advertising / Marketing costs are often excluded in production budget estimations.
Most profitable films
Avatar is the most profitable film of all time (when accounting for raw profit, as opposed to Return-on-investment). Profitability is calculated using the formula Total Gross - Production Budget. while traditionally the most profitable films of all time have included westerns, romances and war films, in the contemporary era - the list is exclusively concerned with Franchise Films (excluding James Cameron's Titanic).
| Rank | Title | Worldwide Gross | Production Budget | Profit | Year | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar | $2,923,706,026 | $237,000,000 | $2,663,000,000 | 2009 | [1] |
| 2 | Avengers: Endgame | $2,797,501,328 | $356,000,000 | $2,344,000,000 | 2019 | [2] |
| 3 | Avatar: The Way of Water | $2,320,250,281 | $250,000,000 | $2,050,000,000 | 2022 | [3] |
| 4 | Titanic | $2,257,844,554 | $210,000,000 | $1,990,000,000 | 1997 | [4] |
| 5 | Avengers: Infinity War | $2,048,359,754 | $316,000,000 | $1,724,000,000 | 2018 | [5] |
| 6 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | $1,921,847,111 | $200,000,000 | $1,721,000,000 | 2021 | [6] |
| 7 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $2,068,223,624 | $447,000,000 | $1,613,000,000 | 2015 | [7] |
| 8 | Jurassic World | $1,671,537,444 | $150,000,000 | $1,521,000,000 | 2015 | [8] |
| 9 | The Lion King | $1,656,943,394 | $260,000,000 | $1,340,000,000 | 2019 | [9] |
| 10 | Top Gun: Maverick | $1,495,696,292 | $170,000,000 | $1,330,000,000 | 2022 | [10] |
Films with highest return-on-investment
Return on Investment (ROI) is calculated with the formula ((Total Income - Production Budget) / Production Budget) * 100. Traditionally, Horror, Comedy and Documentary films have allowed for the highest return-in-investment, though Christian-Family-Dramas (Facing the Giants, Fireproof, God's not Dead) have seen high profitability over the last 20 years.
The 1972 Pornographic Film Deepthroat is generally considered to be the most profitable film of all time (when calculating using Return-on-investment), the film was created on the back of a $25,000 and reportedly grossed $600 million - leading to a ROI of 2,300,000%. However, many Pornography Cinemas in the 1970s were owned by the Mafia and inflating box-office receipts was often a way Launder money from drugs and prostitution.[citation needed]
Paranormal Activity, Halloween and The Gallows are examples of Horror Films made on extremely low budgets and that received worldwide theatrical releases. Paranormal Activity cost $15,000 while making $194.2 Million (ROI of 1,294,133.33%) , Halloween (1978) cost $325,000 and returned $70 Million (ROI of 21,415.38%), The Gallows had a budget of $100,000 and made $43 Million at the box office (ROI of 42,900%).
| Rank | Title | Worldwide Gross | Production Budget | ROI | Year | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deepthroat | $600,000,000 | $25,000 | 2,300,000% | 1978 | [11][12] |
| 2 | Paranormal Activity | $194,200,000 | $15,000 | 1,294,133% | 2007 | [13][14] |
| 3 | Tarnation | $1,162,041 | $218 | 504,827% | 2004 | [15][16] |
| 4 | The Blair Witch Project | $248,000,000 | $60,000 | 413,233% | 1999 | [17][18] |
| 5 | Eraserhead | $7,000,000 | $10,000 | 69,900% | 1977 | [19][20] |
| 6 | Mad Max | $99,750,000 | $200,000 | 49,775% | 1979 | [21][22] |
| 7 | Open Water | $55,500,000 | $120,000 | 46,150% | 2003 | [23][24] |
| 8 | The Gallows | $43,000,000 | $100,000 | 42,900% | 2015 | [25][26] |
| 9 | Facing The Giants | $38,551,255 | $100,000 | 38,451% | 2006 | [27][28] |
| 10 | Halloween | $70,724,000 | $325,000 | 21,415% | 1978 | [29][30] |
References
- ^ "Avatar". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Avengers: Endgame". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Avatar: The Way of Water". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Titanic". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Avengers: Infinity War". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Spider-Man: No Way Home". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Jurassic World". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "The Lion King". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Top Gun: Maverick". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Documentary bares all on legacy of 'Deep Throat'". TODAY.com. 2005-01-24. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Paranormal Activity". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Galloway, Stephen (2020-01-18). "What Is the Most Profitable Movie Ever?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Tarnation". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Morgan, Gareth (2020-01-03). "10 Films You Didn't Realise Were Gigantic Successes". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Galloway, Stephen (2020-01-18). "What Is the Most Profitable Movie Ever?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "The Full Budget & Income Breakdown of The Blair Witch Project | Wrapbook". www.wrapbook.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Eraserhead (1977) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Lang, Robert (2022-11-07). "Movies With Lowest Budgets To Earn $1 Million, From 'Clerks' And 'The Blair Witch Project' To 'Eraserhead' & More – Photo Gallery". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Mad Max (1979) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Mad Max". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Open Water". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "The Gallows". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "The Gallows (2015) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "20 Most Profitable Movies Of All Time Compared To Budget". Yahoo Finance. 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "The 35 Most Profitable Movies of All Time, Based on Return on Investment". Mental Floss. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Halloween". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ "Halloween (1978) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2023-11-28.