The Greatest Movie of All Time?

Alex Vezina
3 days ago
4 min read

This piece is an add-on or ‘bonus’ to the previous article: Overdependence on AI Art.

That article explored a response to a reader’s question and one challenge identified in a particular risk was determining how to objectively define what ‘good’ is within the context of ideal art that should be protected.

For further context please see the previous article.

Here is a breakdown of the five potential ways ‘good’ could have been defined using movies as an example. For the purposes of this, the ‘greatest’ movies of all time will be given and compared to see where inconsistencies and/or discrepancies may occur. These five ways are not exhaustive, they are just the initial five given as an example:

Makes the most money is better (total revenue).
Makes the most money relative to its cost is better (% rate of return).
What the public votes for a higher score on a review website is better.
An industry insider group of experts tells you what is better because they understand it better than the public.
A different industry group that knows better than the above tells you what is better.

First, example lists.

The ten highest grossing movies of all time adjusted for inflation are:

#1 Gone with the Wind (1939): ~$4.45 billion

#2 Avatar (2009): ~$4.05 billion

#3 Titanic (1997): ~$3.77 billion

#4 Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): ~$3.65 billion

#5 Avengers: Endgame (2019): ~$3.35 billion

#6 The Sound of Music (1965): ~$3.05 billion

#7 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): ~$2.99 billion

#8 The Ten Commandments (1956): ~$2.82 billion

#9 Doctor Zhivago (1965): ~$2.68 billion

#10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): ~$2.64 billion

For % return on investment (ROI) things can get a bit harder to find.

Six of the films with some of the highest recorded ROI are:

#1 Deep Throat (1972): 90,014% ROI minimum

~$25,000 budget, grossed over $25 million. Its actual gross revenue is unknown but even the most conservative estimates make this X-rated movie highly likely to be the most profitable movie of all time to-date.

#2 Paranormal Activity (2007): 89,000% ROI

~$15,000 - $215,000 budget depending on if one includes post-production, grossed over $193 million.

#3 The Blair Witch Project (1999): 414,000% ROI?

~$35,000-$60,000 production. Post production estimates unknown, potentially up to $500,000 total. Grossed ~$248 million. Difficult to determine exact number, easily one of the top 10 most profitable movies of all time, possibly top 3.

#4 Enter the Dragon (1973): 47,000% ROI

~$850,000 budget, grossed over $400 million.

#5 Super Size Me (2004): 34,000% ROI

~$65,000 budget, grossed over $22 million.

#6 Mad Max (1979): 33,200% ROI

~$300,000 budget, grossed ~$99.8 million.

#7 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): 18,000% ROI

~$140,000 budget, grossed ~$26.6 million.

#8 Clerks (1994): 14,300% ROI

~$27,000 budget, grossed $3.9 million.

#9 Fritz the Cat (1972): 12,900% ROI

~$700,000 budget, grossed $90 million.

#10 Napoleon Dynamite (2004): 11,425% ROI

~$400,000 budget, grossed $46.1 million.

Voted the Greatest by the Public (IMDB). This is out of a max score of 10:

#1 The Shawshank Redemption (1994): 9.3

#2 The Godfather (1972): 9.2

#3 The Dark Knight (2008): 9.1

#4 The Godfather Part II (1974): 9.0

#5 12 Angry Men (1957): 9.0

#6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): 9.0

#7 Schindler’s List (1993): 9.0

#8 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): 8.9

#9 Pulp Fiction (1994): 8.8

#10 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966): 8.8

The best according to an industry insider group.

Films that hold a record # of Academy Awards. (There are several ties):

#1 Ben Hur (1959): 11 Awards

#1 Titanic (1997): 11 Awards

#1 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): 11 Awards

#4 West Side Story (1961): 10 Awards

#5 Gigi (1958): 9 Awards

#5 The Last Emperor (1987): 9 Awards

#5 The English Patient (1996): 9 Awards

#8 (There is an 8-way tie here with all 8 movies having won 8 awards). They are:

Gone With The Wind (1939), From Here to Eternity (1953), On The Waterfront (1954), My Fair Lady (1964), Gandhi (1982), Amadeus (1984), Cabaret (1972), Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

Best According to a different insider group.

Sight and Sound Greatest Film of all Time Directors Poll (2022).

Note: There were also ties here, and this top ten list has eleven entries:

#1 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

#2 Citizen Kane (1941)

#3 The Godfather (1972)

#4 Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

#4 Tokyo Story (1953)

#6 Vertigo (1958)

#6 8½ (1963)

#8 Mirror (1975)

#9 Close-up (1989)