This 1939 Movie Is Still The Highest-Grossing Ever

If you're a movie lover of any stripe, you've undoubtedly heard plenty of talk about box office performance in your life. From "Jurassic Park" and "Titanic" in the 1990s, to the "Avatar" and "Avengers" franchises in more modern times, to the box office success of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in the summer of 2023, the topic is constantly on the minds of industry insiders and pop culture enthusiasts alike.

However, what few may realize is that we've actually had the wrong movies at the top of our collective lists for decades. This is because when you adjust for inflation (you know, good old inflation that we never have to think about), it's not "Avatar," "Avengers," or "Titanic" in the No. 1 slot, but "Gone with the Wind."

The sweeping Civil War epic may have only made $390 million to the $2.9 billion of "Avatar," which currently holds the No. 1 slot, but when you adjust the classic film's domestic and international box office take for inflation, "Gone with the Wind" comes around to a staggering $3.44 billion, taking it well past the heavy-hitters of more recent times.

In terms of the box office slot that "Gone with the Wind" currently holds, it's actually all the way down at No. 359 globally, according to The Numbers. That should offer some indication of how much inflation has skyrocketed over the decades since the film premiered. While the issue of inflation and the cost of living, especially when compared to wage stagnation, has become more and more prevalent over the last few years, this is truly an eye-watering adjustment to consider.

On the other hand, there could be a few other reasons why we don't talk about "Gone with the Wind" as much as one might expect. Despite its massive earnings at the box office and its many awards, the film is told completely from the point of view of the South during the Civil War and has been heavily criticized for whitewashing slavery and depicting the era in question through rose-colored glasses.

This is likely why, despite appearing in the top five for AFI's "100 Years... 100 Movies" list when it was first released back in 1998, "Gone with the Wind" is often disregarded completely among the greatest films of all time or included with a list of caveats. Still, despite its problematic elements, the film remains in the top spot when adjusted for inflation and likely will continue to do so for many years to come.