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] * List of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada ## 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. * v * t * e Yearly highest-grossing films in the United States Films listed as number-one by in-year release 1970s–1980s| * Star Wars (1977) * Grease (1978) * Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) * The Empire Strikes Back (1980) * Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) * E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) * Return of the Jedi (1983) * Beverly Hills Cop (1984) * Back to the Future (1985) * Top Gun (1986) * Three Men and a Baby (1987) * Rain Man (1988) * Batman (1989) 1990s−2000s| * Home Alone (1990) * Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) * Aladdin (1992) * Jurassic Park (1993) * Forrest Gump (1994) * Toy Story (1995) * Independence Day (1996) * Titanic (1997) * Saving Private Ryan (1998) * Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) * How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) * Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) * Spider-Man (2002) * The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) * Shrek 2 (2004) * Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) * Spider-Man 3 (2007) * The Dark Knight (2008) * Avatar (2009) 2010s−2020s| * Toy Story 3 (2010) * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) * The Avengers (2012) * The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) * American Sniper (2014) * Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) * Rogue One (2016) * Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) * Black Panther (2018) * Avengers: Endgame (2019) * Bad Boys for Life (2020) * Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) List of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada * v * t * e Box office Topics| * Box office territory * Box-office bomb * list * Fastest-grossing films * Second weekend box office * highest-grossing second weekends * Sequels * Lists of box office number-one films * most weekends at number one * Four wall distribution Highest-grossing| | General| * Highest-grossing films worldwide * Box office admissions * Non-English * Openings * R-rated * Video game adaptations * Independent films | Animated| * Decades * 1980s * 1990s * 2000s * 2010s * Live-action/animated * Openings * Box office admissions * adult-oriented animated films By genre| * Christmas * Comedy * Fantasy * Horror * Musical * Puppet * Science fiction * Sports * Superhero By origin| * Bangladeshi * Czech * Filipino * Greek * Mexican * Indian * overseas * Bengali * Hindi * Malayalam * Punjabi * Telugu * Tamil * Kannada * Italian * Iranian * Japanese * Nigerian * Pakistani * Portuguese By region| * Australia * Austria * China * France * Germany * Hong Kong * India * Indonesia * Italy * Japan * Malaysia * Nepal * Pakistan * Philippines * Romania * Russia * Singapore * South Korea * Soviet Union * Taiwan * Turkey * United Kingdom * United States and Canada By person| * Actors * Directors * Producers Records| * Avatar (2009) * Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) * Avengers: Infinity War (2018) * Avengers: Endgame (2019) Awards| * Box Office Entertainment Awards * Crystal Film * Diamond Film * Golden Film * recipients * Golden Screen Award * Goldene Leinwand * Platinum Film * recipients Websites| * Box Office Mojo * The Numbers * ShowBIZ Data * Box Office India Other| * Box office futures * Box Office Poison * Boxoffice Pro * Film Business Asia Related| * Blockbuster * 100 Crore Club * Best-selling films in the United States * Highest-grossing media franchises * Highest-grossing musical theatre productions * Category *[v]: View this template *[t]: Discuss this template *[e]: Edit this template