what was the biggest box office hit of all time before Star Wars?

Answer 1

All-Time Worldwide Boxoffice
Rank Title Worldwide Box Office
1. Titanic (1997) $1,835,300,000
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1,129,219,252
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $1,045,254,338
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $968,657,891
5. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $922,379,000
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $921,600,000
7. Jurassic Park (1993) $919,700,000
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) $892,194,397
9. Shrek 2 (2004) $880,871,036
10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $866,300,000
11. Finding Nemo (2003) $865,000,000
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $860,700,000
13. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) $848,462,555
14. Independence Day (1996) $811,200,000
15. Spider-Man (2002) $806,700,000
16. Star Wars (1977) $797,900,000
17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) $789,458,727
18. Spider-Man 2 (2004) $783,577,893
19. The Lion King (1994) $783,400,000
20. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $756,700,000
21. The Da Vinci Code (2006) $749,536,138
22. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) $738,809,845
23. The Matrix Reloaded (2003) $735,600,000
24. Forrest Gump (1994) $679,400,000
25. The Sixth Sense (1999) $661,500,000
26. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) $653,200,000
27. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $648,200,000
28. The Incredibles (2004) $624,037,578
29. Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) $623,829,763
30. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) $614,300,000
31. The Passion of the Christ (2004) $604,370,943
32. War of the Worlds (2005) $591,377,056
33. Men in Black (1997) $587,200,000
34. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $572,700,000
35. Armageddon (1998) $554,600,000
36. King Kong (2005) $547,051,260
37. Mission: Impossible II (2000) $545,300,000
38. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $533,800,000
39. Home Alone (1990) $533,800,000
40. Monsters, Inc. (2001) $528,900,000
41. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) $527,939,919
42. Ghost (1990) $517,600,000
43. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) $516,800,000
44. Aladdin (1992) $501,900,000
45. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) $494,800,000
46. Twister (1996) $494,700,000
47. Toy Story 2 (1999) $485,700,000
48. Troy (2004) $481,228,348
49. Saving Private Ryan (1998) $479,300,000
50. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) $471,856,431
51. Jaws (1975) $470,600,000
52. Pretty Woman (1990) $463,400,000
53. Bruce Almighty (2003) $458,900,000
54. The Matrix (1999) $456,300,000
55. Gladiator (2000) $456,200,000
56. Shrek (2001) $455,100,000
57. Mission: Impossible (1996) $452,500,000
58. Pearl Harbor (2001) $450,400,000
59. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) $449,360,014
60. Ocean's Eleven (2001) $444,200,000
61. Cars (2006) $443,569,180
62. The Last Samurai (2003) $435,400,000
63. Tarzan (1999) $435,200,000
64. Meet the Fockers (2004) $432,667,575
65. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) $427,936,103
66. Men in Black II (2002) $425,600,000
67. Die Another Day (2002) $424,700,000
68. Dances with Wolves (1990) $424,200,000
69. Cast Away (2000) $424,000,000
70. The Matrix Revolutions (2003) $424,000,000
71. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) $423,200,000
72. The Mummy Returns (2001) $418,700,000
73. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) $418,200,000
74. The Mummy (1999) $413,300,000
75. Batman (1989) $413,200,000
76. Rain Man (1988) $412,800,000
77. The Bodyguard (1992) $410,900,000
78. Signs (2002) $407,900,000
79. Madagascar (2005) $406,800,000
80. X2 (2003) $406,400,000
81. Mission: Impossible III (2006) $395,382,309
82. Gone with the Wind (1939) $390,500,000
83. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) $390,500,000
84. Superman Returns (2006) $387,947,055
85. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) $383,900,000
86. Grease (1978) $379,800,000
87. Beauty and the Beast (1991) $378,300,000
88. Ice Age (2002) $378,300,000
89. Godzilla (1998) $375,800,000
90. What Women Want (2000) $370,800,000
91. The Fugitive (1993) $368,700,000
92. Hitch (2005/I) $367,600,000
93. True Lies (1994) $365,200,000
94. Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) $365,000,000
95. Notting Hill (1999) $363,000,000
96. Jurassic Park III (2001) $362,900,000
97. There's Something About Mary (1998) $360,000,000
98. Planet of the Apes (2001) $358,900,000
99. The Flintstones (1994) $358,500,000
100. Toy Story (1995) $358,100,000
101. Minority Report (2002) $358,000,000
102. A Bug's Life (1998) $357,900,000
103. The Exorcist (1973) $357,500,000
104. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $356,500,000
105. Basic Instinct (1992) $352,700,000
106. Batman Begins (2005) $352,000,000
107. The World Is Not Enough (1999) $352,000,000
108. GoldenEye (1995) $351,500,000
109. Ocean's Twelve (2004) $351,331,634
110. Back to the Future (1985) $350,600,000
111. Se7en (1995) $350,100,000
112. Hannibal (2001) $349,200,000
113. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) $349,200,000
114. Deep Impact (1998) $348,600,000
115. Dinosaur (2000) $347,800,000
116. Pocahontas (1995) $347,100,000
117. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) $346,600,000
118. Top Gun (1986) $344,800,000
119. I, Robot (2004) $342,795,350
120. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) $340,400,000
121. National Treasure (2004) $337,605,002
122. Catch Me If You Can (2002) $337,400,000
123. American Beauty (1999) $336,000,000
124. Batman Forever (1995) $335,000,000
125. Apollo 13 (1995) $334,100,000
126. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) $333,000,000
127. Back to the Future Part II (1989) $332,000,000
128. The Rock (1996) $330,500,000
129. Fantastic Four (2005) $329,295,569
130. Rush Hour 2 (2001) $329,100,000
131. Crocodile Dundee (1986) $328,000,000
132. The Perfect Storm (2000) $327,000,000
133. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) $325,500,000
134. Schindler's List (1993) $321,200,000
135. The Mask (1994) $320,900,000
136. Fatal Attraction (1987) $320,100,000
137. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) $319,700,000
138. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $316,400,000
139. Over the Hedge (2006) $315,019,340
140. Air Force One (1997) $315,000,000
141. As Good as It Gets (1997) $313,300,000
142. A Beautiful Mind (2001) $312,100,000
143. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) $309,600,000
144. Ransom (1996) $308,700,000
145. Runaway Bride (1999) $307,900,000
146. Chicago (2002) $306,400,000
147. Liar Liar (1997) $306,300,000
148. Shark Tale (2004) $306,162,022
149. 101 Dalmatians (1996) $304,200,000
150. Mulan (1998) $303,500,000
151. Hook (1991) $300,800,000
152. Rocky IV (1985) $300,400,000
153. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) $300,400,000
154. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) $300,000,000
155. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) $300,000,000
156. Chicken Little (2005) $298,181,507
157. Stuart Little (1999) $297,600,000
158. Look Who's Talking (1989) $297,100,000
159. Meet the Parents (2000) $295,500,000
160. X-Men (2000) $294,100,000
161. Ghost Busters (1984) $291,600,000
162. Doctor Dolittle (1998) $290,100,000
163. Superman (1978) $289,400,000
164. Shakespeare in Love (1998) $289,100,000
165. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) $289,000,000
166. Coming to America (1988) $288,800,000
167. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) $286,900,000
168. Saturday Night Fever (1977) $285,400,000
169. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) $284,700,000
170. Speed (1994/I) $283,200,000
171. Batman Returns (1992) $282,800,000
172. Wedding Crashers (2005) $282,718,368
173. Casper (1995) $282,300,000
174. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) $279,600,000
175. American Pie 2 (2001) $276,400,000
176. What Lies Beneath (2000) $275,500,000
177. Van Helsing (2004) $275,025,245
178. The Polar Express (2004) $274,871,234
179. Jerry Maguire (1996) $273,600,000
180. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) $272,700,000
181. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) $272,549,130
182. The Nutty Professor (1996) $269,300,000
183. The Green Mile (1999) $268,700,000
184. Bambi (1942) $268,000,000
185. Scooby-Doo (2002) $267,600,000
186. xXx (2002) $267,200,000
187. Indecent Proposal (1993) $266,600,000
188. Jumanji (1995) $264,600,000
189. The Fifth Element (1997) $263,600,000
190. Lilo & Stitch (2002) $262,700,000
191. The Firm (1993) $262,300,000
192. Bad Boys II (2003) $261,900,000
193. Total Recall (1990) $261,400,000
194. Scary Movie (2000) $259,900,000
195. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) $259,200,000
196. Charlie's Angels (2000) $258,500,000
197. The Full Monty (1997) $256,900,000
198. Erin Brockovich (2000) $256,500,000
199. The Village (2004) $255,395,633
200. Waterworld (1995) $255,200,000
201. Cliffhanger (1993) $255,000,000
202. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) $254,400,000
203. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) $252,500,000
204. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) $251,600,000
205. You've Got Mail (1998) $250,700,000
206. Hercules (1997) $250,600,000
207. The Truman Show (1998) $249,200,000
208. Babe (1995) $249,000,000
209. Unbreakable (2000) $248,900,000
210. Dumb & Dumber (1994) $246,200,000
211. Robots (2005) $245,600,000
212. Rush Hour (1998) $245,200,000
213. Enemy of the State (1998) $245,100,000
214. The Godfather (1972) $244,900,000
215. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) $244,100,000
216. Back to the Future Part III (1990) $243,700,000
217. 8 Mile (2002) $242,300,000
218. Hulk (2003) $241,700,000
219. Face/Off (1997) $241,600,000
220. The Blair Witch Project (1999) $240,500,000
221. 'Crocodile' Dundee II (1988) $239,600,000
222. Out of Africa (1985) $239,500,000
223. Love Actually (2003) $239,200,000
224. Die Hard 2 (1990) $237,700,000
225. A Few Good Men (1992) $237,300,000
226. Batman & Robin (1997) $237,200,000
227. Dead Poets Society (1989) $235,900,000
228. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) $234,400,000
229. Eraser (1996) $234,400,000
230. Big Daddy (1999/I) $233,500,000
231. The Mask of Zorro (1998) $233,400,000
232. Bean (1997) $232,000,000
233. Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) $231,710,455
234. The English Patient (1996) $231,700,000
235. Sister Act (1992) $231,600,000
236. American Wedding (2003) $230,700,000
237. Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) $230,500,000
238. The Ring (2002) $230,100,000
239. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001) $230,000,000
240. Constantine (2005) $229,500,000
241. Vita è bella, La (1997) $228,900,000
242. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) $228,203,020
243. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) $227,900,000
244. Something's Gotta Give (2003) $227,500,000
245. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) $227,300,000
246. Brother Bear (2003) $226,029,248
247. Good Will Hunting (1997) $225,800,000
248. Space Jam (1996) $225,400,000
249. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) $224,000,000
250. Con Air (1997) $223,100,000
251. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) $222,700,000
252. The Little Mermaid (1989) $222,300,000
253. Presumed Innocent (1990) $221,300,000
254. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) $221,300,000
255. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) $220,078,393
256. Elf (2003) $219,700,000
257. The Prince of Egypt (1998) $218,400,000
258. Flightplan (2005) $218,306,988
259. The Terminal (2004) $217,845,279
260. Wild Wild West (1999) $217,700,000
261. Twins (1988/I) $216,600,000
262. Ghostbusters II (1989) $215,400,000
263. The Patriot (2000) $215,300,000
264. The Bourne Identity (2002) $213,500,000
265. Pulp Fiction (1994) $212,900,000
266. Vertical Limit (2000) $212,300,000
267. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) $212,300,000
268. Disclosure (1994) $212,000,000
269. Entrapment (1999) $211,700,000
270. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) $210,326,386
271. The Others (2001) $209,700,000
272. End of Days (1999) $209,300,000
273. Wo hu cang long (2000) $209,000,000
274. Jaws 2 (1978) $208,900,000
275. Red Dragon (2002) $208,600,000
276. Kingdom of Heaven (2005) $208,300,000
277. Collateral (2004) $208,003,492
278. Clear and Present Danger (1994) $207,500,000
279. Million Dollar Baby (2004) $207,400,000
280. Miss Congeniality (2000) $207,000,000
281. The Jungle Book (1967/I) $205,800,000
282. JFK (1991) $205,400,000
283. Traffic (2000) $204,800,000
284. Braveheart (1995) $204,000,000
285. Moonraker (1979) $202,700,000
286. Kindergarten Cop (1990) $202,000,000
287. Sleepy Hollow (1999) $202,000,000
288. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) $201,900,000
289. American Pie (1999) $201,700,000
290. Philadelphia (1993) $201,300,000
291. Vanilla Sky (2001) $201,000,000

Answer 2

Before Star Wars the box office champ was Jaws.

Answer 3

I believe, Jaws the movie which started the summer box office hits since it came out in 1975.

Answer 4

If you're counting the numer of people who have seen the movie, it's probably Gone With the Wind.
You can't compare $ from 1939 when it cost like a quarter to see a show with movies that now cost $9 and more.
GWTW was a smash when it opened and was rereleased numerous times. I saw it in a theater in 1966 and the theater was full!

Answer 5

I agree with Green Star.

Answer 6

It was actually Gone With the Wind.

Answer 7

I believe 'Jaws' was the 'original' summer blockbuster movie...

Answer 8

gone with the wind

Answer 9

jaws

Answer 10

jaws