Ranking Academy Award Best Picture Winners By Adjusted Box Office Gross

By Wesley Eversole March 12, 2023

When it comes to ranking the ninety-four films that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, there are several different criteria that can be used. These include both critic rankings and fan rankings. However, I believe the most objective way to measure a film's success is to look at how it fared in the one area that matters-how much money it made. That is why this list ranks the Academy Award winners for Best Picture based on its box office gross adjusted for inflation. I will list the films below, along with each film's adjusted box office gross and a link to the sources I am using.

Gone With The Wind ($1,850,581,586)
The Sound Of Music ($1,303,502,105)
Titanic ($1,240,054,754)
Ben-Hur ($896,965,723)
The Sting ($815,508,963)
The Godfather ($722,009,337)
Forrest Gump ($719,398,403
Around The World In 80 Days ($591,123,218)
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King ($563,900,522)
My Fair Lady ($549,469,026)
The Greatest Show On Earth ($548,900,000)
West Side Story ($512,423,765)
Lawrence Of Arabia ($507,156,155)
Rocky ($503,524,267)
The Best Years Of Our Lives ($503,158,333)
The Bridge On The River Kwai ($497,669,333)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest ($491,131,934)
Dances With Wolves ($399,775,763)
Rain Man ($396,046,902)
Kramer vs. Kramer ($393,563,130)
Patton ($364,456,792)
Platoon ($324,180,340)
Gladiator ($318,490,077)
Terms Of Endearment ($300,783,477)
Midnight Cowboy ($288,527,455)
The French Connection ($286,647,473)
The Silence Of The Lambs ($284,104,236)
A Beautiful Mind ($269,095,480)
Chicago ($258,956,383)
The Godfather Part II ($232,871,740)
Driving Miss Daisy ($230,666,991)
American Beauty ($228,113,692)
Unforgiven ($223,132,424)
Out Of Africa ($215,556,689
Schindler's List ($211,189,275)
The Deer Hunter ($191,486,509)
Ordinary People ($186,255,492)
The Departed ($184,071,785)
Chariots Of Fire ($183,523,800)
Shakespeare In Love ($181,445,299)
Slumdog Millionaire ($174,028,745)
The King's Speech ($161,120,447)
Braveheart ($158,726,328)
The English Patient ($158,350,331)
Annie Hall ($156,922,276)
Argo ($155,008,445)
Gandhi ($153,309,600)
Million Dollar Baby ($143,457,759)
Amadeus ($135,992,719)

Note: The following Best Picture winners did not rank among the 1,000 highest grossing films when adjusting for inflation. I have listed them below in the order that they won Best Picture.