The following is a list of highest-grossing science fiction films of all time. Superhero films often have some science-fiction elements but are not included here, as they have their own list of highest-grossing superhero films.

Highest-grossing sci-fi films The following is a list of the highest-grossing science fiction films of all time. The top 12 are among the highest-grossing films of all time.

Rank Film Year Worldwide gross 1 Avatar 2009 $2,923,706,026 2 Avatar: The Way of Water 2022 $2,334,484,620 3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 $2,068,223,624 4 Jurassic World 2015 $1,671,537,444 5 Avatar: Fire and Ash 2025 $1,485,999,890 6 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 $1,332,539,889 7 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018 $1,308,467,944 8 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 2011 $1,123,794,079 9 Transformers: Age of Extinction 2014 $1,104,054,072 10 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2019 $1,074,144,248 11 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016 $1,056,057,273 12 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999 $1,046,386,656 13 Lilo & Stitch 2025 $1,038,027,526 14 Jurassic Park 1993 $1,037,535,230 15 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie 2026 $1,013,045,939 16 Jurassic World Dominion 2022 $1,004,004,592 17 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 2005 $905,595,947 18 Jurassic World Rebirth 2025 $869,146,189 19 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2013 $865,011,746 20 Hi, Mom 2021 $841,674,419 21 Inception 2010 $836,836,967 22 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009 $836,303,693 23 Independence Day 1996 $817,400,891 24 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 $792,910,554 25 Star Wars 1977 $775,398,007 26 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 2014 $755,356,711 27 Interstellar 2014 $733,202,212 28 Gravity 2013 $723,192,705 29 Dune: Part Two 2024 $714,844,358 30 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2014 $710,644,566 31 Transformers 2007 $709,709,780 32 The Wandering Earth 2019 $699,856,699 33 The Hunger Games 2012 $694,394,724 34 Project Hail Mary 2026 $684,041,145 35 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 2015 $658,344,137 36 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 2002 $653,779,970 37 The Martian 2015 $630,162,235 38 Men in Black 3 2012 $624,026,776 39 The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997 $618,638,999 40 The Wandering Earth 2 2023 $615,023,132 41 Ready Player One 2018 $607,874,422 42 Transformers: The Last Knight 2017 $605,425,157 43 War of the Worlds 2005 $603,873,119 44 Men in Black 1997 $589,390,539 45 I Am Legend 2007 $585,410,052 46 Armageddon 1998 $553,709,788 47 The Day After Tomorrow 2004 $552,639,571 48 Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back 1980 $538,375,067 49 WALL-E 2008 $527,404,782 https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0910970/?ref_=bo_cso_table_60 50 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 $518,841,619 https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0103064/?ref_=bo_cso_table_68

Highest-grossing with inflation

Because of the long-term effects of inflation, notably the significant increase of movie theater ticket prices, the list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to later films. The unadjusted list, while commonly found in the press, is therefore largely meaningless for comparing films widely separated in time, as many films from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases. To compensate for the devaluation of the currency, some charts make adjustments for inflation, but not even this practice fully addresses the issue, since ticket prices and inflation do not necessarily parallel one another. For example, in 1970, tickets cost $1.55 or about $6.68 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars; by 1980, prices had risen to about $2.69, a drop to $5.50 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars. Ticket prices have also risen at different rates of inflation around the world, further complicating the process of adjusting worldwide grosses.

Another complication is release in multiple formats for which different ticket prices are charged. One notable example of this phenomenon is Avatar, which was also released in 3D and IMAX: almost two-thirds of tickets for that film were for 3D showings with an average price of $10, and about one-sixth were for IMAX showings with an average price over $14.50, compared to a 2010 average price of $7.61 for 2D films. Social and economic factors such as population change and the growth of international markets also have an effect on the number of people purchasing theater tickets, along with audience demographics where some films sell a much higher proportion of discounted children's tickets, or perform better in big cities where tickets cost more.

The measuring system for gauging a film's success is based on unadjusted grosses, mainly because historically this is the way it has always been done because of the practices of the film industry: the box-office receipts are compiled by theaters and relayed to the distributor, which in turn releases them to the media. Converting to a more representative system that counts ticket sales rather than gross is also fraught with problems because the only data available for older films are the sale totals. As the motion picture industry is highly oriented towards marketing currently released films, unadjusted figures are always used in marketing campaigns so that new blockbuster films can much more easily achieve a high sales ranking, and thus be promoted as a "top film of all time", so there is little incentive to switch to a more robust analysis from a marketing or even newsworthy point of view.

Despite the inherent difficulties in accounting for inflation, several attempts have been made. Estimates depend on the price index used to adjust the grosses, and the exchange rates used to convert between currencies can also affect the calculations, both of which can have an effect on the ultimate rankings of an inflation adjusted list. Gone with the Wind—first released in 1939—is generally considered to be the most successful film, with Guinness World Records in 2014 estimating its adjusted global gross at $3.4 billion. Estimates for Gone with the Winds adjusted gross have varied substantially: its owner, Turner Entertainment, estimated its adjusted earnings at $3.3 billion in 2007, a few years earlier than the Guinness estimate; other estimates fall either side of this amount, with one putting its gross just under $3 billion in 2010, while another provided an alternative figure of $3.8 billion in 2006. Which film is Gone with the Winds nearest rival depends on the set of figures used: Guinness had Avatar in second place with $3 billion, while other estimates saw Titanic in the runner-up spot with first-run worldwide earnings of almost $2.9 billion at 2010 prices.

+ Rank Title Year 1 Avatar $ 2009 2 Star Wars $ 1977 3 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $ 1982 4 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $ 20155 Avatar: The Way of Water $2022

Box office ticket sales

The following is a list of sci-fi films that sold more than 70 million tickets.

Film Year Tickets () Territories included Avatar2009356,600,000WorldwideStar Wars1977338,400,000WorldwideE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982WorldwideAvatar: The Way of Water2022258,100,000WorldwideStar Wars: The Force Awakens2015WorldwideJurassic World2015WorldwideJurassic Park1993WorldwideJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom2018WorldwideStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace1999WorldwideStar Wars: The Last Jedi2017WorldwideStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back1980129,984,978United States, Europe, Japan, SeoulAvatar: Fire and Ash2025127,500,000WorldwideStar Wars: Return of the Jedi1983126,255,825United States, Europe, Japan, SeoulIndependence Day1996124,051,234Americas, Europe, Japan, KoreaHi, Mom2021China, Taiwan, SwitzerlandRogue One: A Star Wars Story2016WorldwideJurassic World Dominion2022111,500,000WorldwideThe Wandering Earth2019China, United States, CanadaAmphibian Man1962100,000,000Soviet UnionStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith200598,302,094WorldwideMen in Black1997USA, Canada, Europe, East Asia, BrazilBack to the Future198590,184,478USA, Europe, Japan, South KoreaRampage201883,000,000WorldwideGhostbusters198482,375,218USA, Canada, Europe, SeoulMoon Man202274,628,237ChinaClose Encounters of the Third Kind197774,596,637WorldwideMen in Black 3201273,500,000Worldwide

Timeline of highest-grossing films Star Wars is the only franchise to hold it on multiple occasions doing so twice in 1977 and 1999, while Steven Spielberg is the only director to hold it on multiple occasions doing so twice in 1983 and 1993.

Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Avatar all became the highest grossing films of all time upon the release. Avatar briefly lost it in 2019 to Avengers: Endgame before taking it back with a 2021 re-issue.

+ Timeline of the highest-grossing film records Title Year Record-setting gross 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea1954$28,200,000 Planet of the Apes 1968$32,600,000 2001: A Space Odyssey 1970$138,000,000–190,000,000 Star Wars 1978$410,000,000/$268,500,000 Alt URL. Star Wars: "Domestic Rentals: $127.0; Foreign Rentals: $141.5; Production Cost: $13.0 (Initial Release – Unadjusted $s in Millions of $s)." 1982$530,000,000 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1983 $619,000,000–664,000,000. "Steven Spielberg, by far the most successful director of the decade, had the highest-grossing movie with 1982's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, which grossed over $664 million in worldwide box office on initial release." 1985 $701,000,000 Jurassic Park 1993 $914,691,118Jurassic Park Total: Original release: 2011 re-release: As of 2010: . "Production Cost: $70.0 (Unadjusted $s in Millions of $s) ... Jurassic Park was a smash at the box office, bringing in $920 million in worldwide box office and spawning two sequels." Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999 $924,317,558Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Total: Original release: Avatar 2010 $ $ 2021 $2,847,397,339 2022 $2,923,706,026

Highest-grossing film franchises The following is a list of highest-grossing sci-fi film franchises and film series of all time. The top four are among the highest-grossing franchises of all time. Star Wars sits top with a total gross of $10.3B, while Avatar has the best average of any science fiction series at $2.25B.

+ Highest-grossing sci-fi film franchises and film series +

Highest grossing films by year