George Lucas, the director of 5 of the annual highest-grossing films in the U.S.

This is a listing of the highest-grossing films by year, based on their United States box-office gross. The films are listed by in-year release, rather than the gross they accumulated during a calendar year.[1]

Six different directors have directed the highest-grossing film on multiple occasions: George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Sam Raimi, Robert Zemeckis, and Chris Columbus. Lucas holds the record with five films, all of which are part of the Star Wars franchise, which he created: the original Star Wars (1977), its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), and two of its prequels The Phantom Menace (1999), and Revenge of the Sith (2005). Spielberg has directed four of the yearly highest-grossing films: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). James Cameron has directed three such films: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009). Sam Raimi, Robert Zemeckis and Chris Columbus have directed two each: Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 3 (2007) for Raimi; Back to the Future (1985) and Forrest Gump (1994) for Zemeckis; Home Alone (1990) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) for Columbus.

Films that are a part of larger film or media franchises are frequently atop the highest-grossing films in the United States. The Star Wars franchise has had the highest-grossing film in 8 different years since 1977. In addition to the five aforementioned which Lucas directed, the franchise has also had The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi (2015–2017, respectively), top a year. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had four films atop the yearly U.S. box office: The Avengers (2012), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). No Way Home also gave the Spider-Man film franchise its third leading film. Batman films, Harry Potter, Top Gun, and Toy Story are the other franchises with two films to top the U.S. box office in a single year.

By in-year release[edit]

The following is the annual listing:

  Denotes current record
  Denotes former record
Year Film Gross Ref.
1977 Star Wars $221,280,994 [2]
1978 Grease $159,978,870 [3]
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer $106,260,000 [4]
1980 The Empire Strikes Back $181,379,640 [2]
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark $212,222,025 [5]
1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $359,197,037 [6]
1983 Return of the Jedi $252,583,617 [7]
1984 Beverly Hills Cop $234,760,478 [8]
1985 Back to the Future $210,609,762 [9]
1986 Top Gun $176,781,728 [10]
1987 Three Men and a Baby $167,780,960 [11]
1988 Rain Man $172,825,435 [12]
1989 Batman $251,188,924 [13]
1990 Home Alone $285,761,243 [14]
1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day $204,843,345 [15]
1992 Aladdin $217,350,219 [16]
1993 Jurassic Park $357,067,947 [17]
1994 Forrest Gump $329,694,499 [18]
1995 Toy Story $191,796,233 [19]
1996 Independence Day $306,169,268 [20]
1997 Titanic $600,788,188 [21]
1998 Saving Private Ryan $216,540,909 [22]
1999 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace $431,088,295 [23]
2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas $260,044,825 [24]
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $317,575,550 [25]
2002 Spider-Man $403,706,375 [26]
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377,027,325 [27]
2004 Shrek 2 $441,226,247 [28]
2005 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith $380,270,577 [29]
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $423,315,812 [30]
2007 Spider-Man 3 $336,530,303 [31]
2008 The Dark Knight $533,345,358 [32]
2009 Avatar $749,766,139 [33]
2010 Toy Story 3 $415,004,880 [34]
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $381,011,219 [35]
2012 The Avengers $623,357,910 [36]
2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire $424,668,047 [37]
2014 American Sniper $350,126,372 [38]
2015 Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens $936,662,225 [39]
2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $532,177,324 [40]
2017 Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi $620,181,382 [41]
2018 Black Panther $700,059,566 [42]
2019 Avengers: Endgame $858,373,000 [43]
2020 Bad Boys For Life $206,305,244 [44]
2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home $804,617,772 [45]
2022 Top Gun: Maverick $714,982,877 [46]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Domestic Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "'Star Wars' B.O. History". Variety. May 17, 1999. p. 30.
  3. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1978". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1979". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  5. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1981". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1982". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1983". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  8. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1984". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1985". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  10. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1986". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  11. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1987". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1988". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  13. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1989". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  14. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1990". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  15. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1991". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  16. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1992". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  17. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1993". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  18. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1994". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  19. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1995". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  20. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1996". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  21. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1997". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  22. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1998". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  23. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 1999". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  24. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2000". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  25. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2001". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  26. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2002". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  27. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2003". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  28. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2004". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  29. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2005". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  30. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2006". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  31. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2007". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  32. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  33. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2009". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  34. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2010". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  35. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2011". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  36. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2012". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  37. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2013". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  38. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2014". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  39. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2015". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  40. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2016". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  41. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2017". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  42. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2018". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  43. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2019". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  44. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2020". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  45. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2021". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  46. ^ "Domestic Box Office For 2022". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 7, 2022.