True Box Office Hits before 1980

[enzo1988]

First of all, I hope you will excuse me for my bad English.

First of all, I hope you will excuse me for my bad English. But I think it is time to reach a consensus on the most viewed movies (based on admissions) between 1915 and 1930. I have been researching this topic for many years. Box Office Mojo is very well in data questión from 1980 to the present. But before 1980 it has inflated, erroneous and insuffient data. That's why I'd like you to help me with this topic. I will expose (according to the time that I have) data that I have been found. And I hope you can correct me. Because I'm sure more than one will be wrong.

 

At the moment I will expose the data that I could save from this blog before it was privatized and disappeared a short time later.

 

http://boxofficechampions.wordpress.com

 

To see if with luck and your help we can get to discover what were the movies (in its initial run) that really exceeded 30 million admissions.

 

TOTAL ADMISSION TICKETS OF THE 1910s and of 1920s

Rank	Film – Actors	Year	Tickets
1	THE BIRTH OF A NATION Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh	1915	66.000.000
2	HEARTS OF THE WORLD D.W. Griffith, David Lloyd George	1918	41.052.632
3	THE BIG PARADE John Gilbert, Renée Adorée	1925	37.931.785
4	WAY DOWN EAST Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess	1920	37.142.857
5	THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Theodore Roberts, Charles de Rochefort	1923	34.739.917
6	THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry	1921	34.545.455
7	BEN-HUR Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman	1925	33.915.807
8	THE COVERED WAGON J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson	1923	33.300.000

 

TOTAL ADMISSION TICKETS OF THE 1930s

Rank	Film – Actors	Year	Tickets
1	GONE WITH THE WIND Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh	1939	61.521.739*
2	SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS Animated	1937	36.000.000*
3	MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON James Stewart, Jean Arthur	1939	30.434.783
4	SAN FRANCISCO Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald	1936	30.286.944

 

TOTAL ADMISSION TICKETS OF THE 1940s

 

Rank	Film – Actors	Year	Tickets
1	THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES Fredric March, Myrna Loy	1946	64.570.000
2	DUEL IN THE SUN Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten	1946	64.570.000
3	THIS IS THE ARMY George Murphy, Joan Leslie	1943	57.248.276
4	SAMSON AND DELILAH Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature	1949	50.000.000
5	SERGEANT YORK Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan	1941	49.085.680
6	FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman	1943	48.965.517
7	GONE WITH THE WIND Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh [Re-issue]*	1939	48.709.630*
8	THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman	1945	45.714.286
9	THE JOLSON STORY Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes	1946	43.428.571
10	GOING MY WAY Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald	1944	40.625.000
11	MRS. MINIVER Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon	1942	39.925.993
12	BOOM TOWN Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy	1940	38.220.125
13	YANKEE DOODLE DANDY James Cagney, Joan Leslie	1942	34.960.600
14	WELCOME STRANGER Bing Crosby, Joan Caulfield	1947	34.857.143
15	RANDOM HARVEST Ronald Colman, Greer Garson	1942	34.559.267
16	BLUE SKIES Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby	1946	32.571.429
17	THE SONG OF BERNADETTE Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford	1943	32.420.690
18	MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien	1944	32.076.263
19	THE YEARLING Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman	1946	31.816.114
20	LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde	1945	31.457.143
21	THE EGG AND I Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray	1947	31.428.571
22	SINCE YOU WENT AWAY Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones	1944	30.779.725
23	CASABLANCA Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman	1942	30.705.022
24	UNCONQUERED Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard	1947	30.000.000

 

And then data that I have been able to discover from filmographies of this blog (based on web archive captures).

 

1951

QUO VADIS Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr

44.911.932

1952 THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH James Stewart, Charlton Heston 1 6 52.830.189

1955

MISTER ROBERTS Henry Fonda, James Cagney

1

5

37.770.000

1955

GUYS AND DOLLS Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra

1

8

30.554.111

1956

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner

1

14

136.800.0

1956

THE KING AND I Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr

1

4

34.000.000

1957

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Alec Guinness, William Holden

1

7

68.780.000

1957

SAYONARA Marlon Brando, Miiko Taka

1

5

42.000.000

1959 BEN-HUR Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins 1 33 145.067.012 

1959

OPERATION PETTICOAT Cary Grant, Tony Curtis

1

3

36.555.118

1959

SOME LIKE IT HOT Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis

1

7

31.873.863

1959

PILLOW TALK Doris Day, Rock Hudson

1

7

30.078.431

1961

WEST SIDE STORY Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer

1

13

56.943.681

1961 EL CID Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren 3 34.782.609 

1962

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness

1

4

59.788.339

1962

THE LONGEST DAY John Wayne, Robert Mitchum

1

4

50.285.714

1963

HOW THE WEST WAS WON James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds

1

12

49.253.842

1964

GOLDFINGER Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe

1

7

49.457.432

2

1965

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Omar Sharif, Julie Christie

1

13

120.700.990

1965

THUNDERBALL Sean Connery, Claudine Auger

1

9

56.676.107

3

1967

BONNIE AND CLYDE Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway

2

38.000.000

1967

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi

1

6

32.314.487

7

1972

THE GODFATHER Marlon Brando, Al Pacino

1

26

101.500.000

1973

AMERICAN GRAFFITI Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard

4

62.291.723

1974 EARTHQUAKE Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner 2 38.342.240 

1976

KING KONG Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange

1

5

34.661.972

3

 

	STAR WARS – Admission Tickets Analysis
YEAR	RELEASE			TICKETS
1977	First Run	1	20	87.892.377
1978	Re-Issue	1	1	32.799.145
1979	Re-Issue	1	1	9.193.625

 

1978

SUPERMAN Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder

1

11

57.358.127

1978

HEAVEN CAN WAIT Warren Beatty, Julie Christie

2

42.222.000

1979

KRAMER VS. KRAMER Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep

1

10

47.797.876

1979

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy

1

44.621.514

1979

ALIEN Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt

1

3

32.441.058

1979

APOCALYPSE NOW Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando

3

30.263.078

 

Missing titles will send them out when you can. Based on data from other sources (or mine estimates).

[enzo1988]

I offer you new additions. Some based on my estimates. Other blog excerpts: 
https://boxofficemadness.wordpress.com/ (this blog is the closest thing to boxofficechampions that
can be found today, in fact it has very similar and very consistent data). Other by user Walt Disney. 
And the last ones of Box Office Mojo (that sometimes I agree).

 

1953

THE ROBE (1953) 60 m (millions of admissions) *

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) 47,46 m ***

SHANE (1952) 32,90 m *

 

1954

WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)  58,13 *

THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)  42,13 m *

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) 35,55 m **

THE GLENN MILLER STORY (1954) 31,11 m **

 

1955

BATTLE CRY 34,80 m *

OKLAHOMA 31,55 m *

LADY AND THE TRAMP 31,48 m *

 

1956

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS 88 m **

GIANT  56 m **

 

1957

PEYTON PLACE  46 m **

 

1958

SOUTH PACIFIC 73,60 m *

AUNTIE MAME  38,89 m *

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF 35,14 m **

 

1959

THE SHAGGY DOG 30,58 m *

 

1960

SPARTACUS 40,39 m **

PSYCHO 38,47 m *

EXODUS 32,67 m **

THE ALAMO 31,05 m **

 

1961

101 DALMATIANS 39,49 m *

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE 41,07 m *

THE PARENT TRAP 35,70 m *

THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR 32,17 m *

 

1963

CLEOPATRA 61,17 m **

TOM JONES 43,39 m *

IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD  44,25 m *

 

1964

MARY POPPINS 55,91 m *

THE CARPETBAGGERS 33,33 **

 

1965

THE SOUND OF MUSIC 135,57 m *

 

1966

HAWAII 31,10 m *

 

1967

THE GRADUATE 79,68 m *

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER  43,25 m ****

THE DIRTY DOZEN 36,51 m *

TO SIR WITH LOVE 34,69 *

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS 33,33 m **

 

1968

FUNNY GIRL 40 m ****

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 35,77 m *

THE ODD COUPLE 33,28 m *

THE LOVE BUG 32,23 *

BULLITT 31,61 m *

 

1969

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 44,82 m *

MIDNIGHT COWBOY 31,53 m ****

 

* My estimations

** From boxofficemadness

*** From user Walt Disney

**** From Box Office Mojo

 

 

As I said before, I only consider initial releases. (With exceptions such as "Gone wtith the wind" or
"Star Wars" that had initial re-releases so close (that sometimes there are only months or even
days of distance) of their initial run that many consider it as one.

[Jiffy]

TOTAL BOX OFFICE GROSS: $5,737,846,000 (Adjusted in 2016 USD)

Damn okay Olivia de Havilland...

[enzo1988]

1970

LOVE STORY 66,49 m *

AIRPORT 64,82 m ****

M*A*S*H 42,19 m *

PATTON 39,83 ****

 

1971

BILLY JACK 56,09 m *

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 41,85 m *

THE FRENCH CONNECTION 31,33 m ****

 

1972

THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE 48,73 m *

WHAT’S UP, DOC? 38,82 m ****

 

1973

THE STING 81,65 m *

THE EXORCIST 81,17 m *

 

1974

THE TOWERING INFERNO 56,58 m *

THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK 46,88 m *

BLAZING SADDLES 45,63 m *

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN 42,08 m *

 

1975

JAWS 100,50 m *

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 55,06 m ****

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST 53,68 m ****

 

1976

ROCKY 55,04 m ****

A STAR IS BORN 35,87 m *

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN 33,14 m ****

 

1977

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 65,92 m *

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER 57,48 m *

SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT 56,83 m ****

THE GOODBYE GIRL 37,53 m *

 

1978

GREASE 70,86 m ****

NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL 51,32 m ****

JAWS 2 43,98 m *

EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE 38,32 m *

HOOPER 30 m *

 

1979

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR 34,43 m ****

ROCKY II 33,93 m ****

 

 

When I have time I will look to correct some data that could be wrong maybe.

Maybe surprise the data from movies like "The exorcist" or "Jaws". But it is for

the reason that they had re-releases that have been ignored by many. And in

fact it is difficult to find information. For example "Jaws" was re-released in

(when it had been months out of theaters) 1976 and 1979.

[Catty]

I think The Exorcist was re-released in 1979 - snuck in to see it with my friends - scarred me for life!!😱😱

[enzo1988]

Films that maybe not surpassed 30 millions in his initial release

1936

SAN FRANCISCO (was re-issued in 1948)

 

1942

CASABLANCA (was re-issued in 1949)

 

1961

THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR (was re-issued in 1967 and 1975)

 

Corrections

1939

GONE WITH THE WIND 59,50 m (from user Arlo)

 

1940

BOOM TOWN 33,28 m (was re-issued in 1947)

 

1943

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS 46,34 m (was re-issued in 1945)

 

1946

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 59,42 m (was re-issued in 1954)

DUEL IN THE SUN 57,14 m (was re-issued in 1954)

 

1949

SAMSON AND DELILAH 42,65 m (was re-issued in 1959)

 

1951

QUO VADIS 40,56 m (was re-issued in 1964)

 

1954

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA 40 m

 

1956

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 131 m

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS 80 m

 

1959

BEN-HUR 132,94 m (was re-issued in 1969)

 

1961

WEST SIDE STORY 47,10 m (was re-issued in 1968 and 1971)

THE PARENT TRAP 30,32 (was re-issued in 1968)

 

1962

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 42,82 m (was re-issued in 1971 and 1989)

 

1973

AMERICAN GRAFFITI 56,13 m (was re-issued in 1978)

 

1974

THE TOWERING INFERNO 59,18 m

EARTHQUAKE 42,62 m

 

1977

STAR WARS 120,68 m

 

Here you have the corrections. 

You can all participate or correct. I'm sure I was wrong in some film.

[enzo1988]

3 hours ago, Catty said:

I think The Exorcist was re-released in 1979 - snuck in to see it with my friends - scarred me for life!!😱😱

Exactly. In 1979 was re-issued.

[TalismanRing]

1956

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 131 m

 

1959

BEN-HUR 132,94 m (was re-issued in 1969)

 

Insane numbers

[setna]

On 9/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, enzo1988 said:

First of all, I hope you will excuse me for my bad English.

First of all, I hope you will excuse me for my bad English. But I think it is time to reach a consensus on the most viewed movies (based on admissions) between 1915 and 1930. I have been researching this topic for many years. Box Office Mojo is very well in data questión from 1980 to the present. But before 1980 it has inflated, erroneous and insuffient data. That's why I'd like you to help me with this topic. I will expose (according to the time that I have) data that I have been found. And I hope you can correct me. Because I'm sure more than one will be wrong.

 

At the moment I will expose the data that I could save from this blog before it was privatized and disappeared a short time later.

 

http://boxofficechampions.wordpress.com

 

To see if with luck and your help we can get to discover what were the movies (in its initial run) that really exceeded 30 million admissions.

 

TOTAL ADMISSION TICKETS OF THE 1910s and of 1920s

Rank	Film – Actors	Year	Tickets
1	THE BIRTH OF A NATION Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh	1915	66.000.000
2	HEARTS OF THE WORLD D.W. Griffith, David Lloyd George	1918	41.052.632
3	THE BIG PARADE John Gilbert, Renée Adorée	1925	37.931.785
4	WAY DOWN EAST Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess	1920	37.142.857
5	THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Theodore Roberts, Charles de Rochefort	1923	34.739.917
6	THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry	1921	34.545.455
7	BEN-HUR Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman	1925	33.915.807
8	THE COVERED WAGON J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson	1923	33.300.000

 

TOTAL ADMISSION TICKETS OF THE 1930s

Rank	Film – Actors	Year	Tickets
1	GONE WITH THE WIND Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh	1939	61.521.739*
2	SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS Animated	1937	36.000.000*
3	MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON James Stewart, Jean Arthur	1939	30.434.783
4	SAN FRANCISCO Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald	1936	30.286.944

 

TOTAL ADMISSION TICKETS OF THE 1940s

 

Rank	Film – Actors	Year	Tickets
1	THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES Fredric March, Myrna Loy	1946	64.570.000
2	DUEL IN THE SUN Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten	1946	64.570.000
3	THIS IS THE ARMY George Murphy, Joan Leslie	1943	57.248.276
4	SAMSON AND DELILAH Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature	1949	50.000.000
5	SERGEANT YORK Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan	1941	49.085.680
6	FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman	1943	48.965.517
7	GONE WITH THE WIND Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh [Re-issue]*	1939	48.709.630*
8	THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman	1945	45.714.286
9	THE JOLSON STORY Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes	1946	43.428.571
10	GOING MY WAY Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald	1944	40.625.000
11	MRS. MINIVER Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon	1942	39.925.993
12	BOOM TOWN Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy	1940	38.220.125
13	YANKEE DOODLE DANDY James Cagney, Joan Leslie	1942	34.960.600
14	WELCOME STRANGER Bing Crosby, Joan Caulfield	1947	34.857.143
15	RANDOM HARVEST Ronald Colman, Greer Garson	1942	34.559.267
16	BLUE SKIES Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby	1946	32.571.429
17	THE SONG OF BERNADETTE Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford	1943	32.420.690
18	MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien	1944	32.076.263
19	THE YEARLING Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman	1946	31.816.114
20	LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde	1945	31.457.143
21	THE EGG AND I Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray	1947	31.428.571
22	SINCE YOU WENT AWAY Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones	1944	30.779.725
23	CASABLANCA Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman	1942	30.705.022
24	UNCONQUERED Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard	1947	30.000.000

 

And then data that I have been able to discover from filmographies of this blog (based on web archive captures).

 

1951

QUO VADIS Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr

44.911.932

1952 THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH James Stewart, Charlton Heston 1 6 52.830.189

1955

MISTER ROBERTS Henry Fonda, James Cagney

1

5

37.770.000

1955

GUYS AND DOLLS Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra

1

8

30.554.111

1956

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner

1

14

136.800.0

1956

THE KING AND I Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr

1

4

34.000.000

1957

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Alec Guinness, William Holden

1

7

68.780.000

1957

SAYONARA Marlon Brando, Miiko Taka

1

5

42.000.000

1959 BEN-HUR Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins 1 33 145.067.012 

1959

OPERATION PETTICOAT Cary Grant, Tony Curtis

1

3

36.555.118

1959

SOME LIKE IT HOT Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis

1

7

31.873.863

1959

PILLOW TALK Doris Day, Rock Hudson

1

7

30.078.431

1961

WEST SIDE STORY Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer

1

13

56.943.681

1961 EL CID Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren 3 34.782.609 

1962

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness

1

4

59.788.339

1962

THE LONGEST DAY John Wayne, Robert Mitchum

1

4

50.285.714

1963

HOW THE WEST WAS WON James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds

1

12

49.253.842

1964

GOLDFINGER Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe

1

7

49.457.432

2

1965

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Omar Sharif, Julie Christie

1

13

120.700.990

1965

THUNDERBALL Sean Connery, Claudine Auger

1

9

56.676.107

3

1967

BONNIE AND CLYDE Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway

2

38.000.000

1967

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi

1

6

32.314.487

7

1972

THE GODFATHER Marlon Brando, Al Pacino

1

26

101.500.000

1973

AMERICAN GRAFFITI Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard

4

62.291.723

1974 EARTHQUAKE Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner 2 38.342.240 

1976

KING KONG Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange

1

5

34.661.972

3

 

	STAR WARS – Admission Tickets Analysis
YEAR	RELEASE			TICKETS
1977	First Run	1	20	87.892.377
1978	Re-Issue	1	1	32.799.145
1979	Re-Issue	1	1	9.193.625

 

1978

SUPERMAN Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder

1

11

57.358.127

1978

HEAVEN CAN WAIT Warren Beatty, Julie Christie

2

42.222.000

1979

KRAMER VS. KRAMER Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep

1

10

47.797.876

1979

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy

1

44.621.514

1979

ALIEN Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt

1

3

32.441.058

1979

APOCALYPSE NOW Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando

3

30.263.078

 

Missing titles will send them out when you can. Based on data from other sources (or mine estimates).

 

I really love the idea of this topic, i´m here for this kind of great statistic documents, great job!!!

[enzo1988]

I'm going to examine some titles that maybe are a bit swollen. Let's start with 1979.

 

-Kramer vs. Kramer

Rentals: $59,986,335

Gross: $106,260,000

No re-issues

 

$106,260,000 : 2.60 * = 40,86 millions of admissions

Taking into account that it premiered in december of 1979 and the real boom was during 1980.

 

-Star Trek 

Rentals: $35,000,000 *

Gross: $82,258,456

No re-issues

 

32,77 millions of admissions as indicated by mojo. 

 

* Some sources say that made 56 millions of rentals. But i think it must be a swolle figure. There are similar cases like "My Fair lady". 

 

Edited October 1, 2018 by enzo1988

[enzo1988]

1974

 

-Young Frankenstein (Initial Run)

Rentals: $30,000,000 

Gross: $61,194,000 *

Tickets: 30,597,000 *

 

Re-Issue in 1977

Rentals: $8,000,000 

Gross: $16,318,000 *

Tickets: 7,317,000 *

 

Re-Issue in 1979

Rentals: $4,297,000 

Gross: $8,765,000 *

Tickets: 3,492,000 *

 

Total Rentals: 42,297,000

Total Gross: $86,277,000 

Total Tickets: 41,406,000 *

 

* Estimations

 

-Blazing Saddles

 

This title is one of the most complicated. His total gross is $119,500,000. But this movie has 2 succesful re-issues. The first in 1976 with $13,850,000 rentals and in 1979 with $8,000,000 rentals. 

 

If we rest these re-issues (estimating the grosses) we have an initial gross of $75,800,000 in 1974. With 40,534,000 tickets sold. 

 

But it was reported that in 1974 was have $16,500,000 rentals in his initial run. Less than half of the $47,800,000 total income that is said to reach. Something's not right. 

Edited October 3, 2018 by enzo1988

[enzo1988]

1972

 

-"What's up, Doc?" Less than 30 millions of tickets.

It was re-issued in 1975 (and in 1973 according imdb).

 

-The Godfather 78,64 millions

It is a fact that "The Godfather" was for a brief period of time the highest grossing film of all time. 
But if we refer to the rentals (which ranged between 81.50 million and 85.70 million dollars). I believe that in late 1972 
"Gone with the wind" (with their multiple re-issues) and "The sound of music" had higher grosses than "The Godfather". 
But not too much. The distance between them was minimal.  And in fact I think that maybe these high incomes confuse 
the analysts. As the total gross of its initial release appears in all sources as $ 133,698,921. 
Which gives us a total of 78,646,400 tickets.Even so a very respectable figure.

Case similar to that of Batman (1989) who made 150 million in income but his total collection was 250 million. Not 300 million.

Most of the time the rentals suppose the 45-50% of the total gross. But it's not always like this. 
There are cases in which they assume up to 60% like "Batman" and "The Godfather".

[enzo1988]

1969

 

-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 48,59 m *

It was re-issued successfully in 1974 with $16,653,000 rentals. 

[enzo1988]

1968

 

-"2001: A Space Odyssey" Less than 30 millions of tickets.

It was re-issued in 1971 and 1972. 

Edited October 5, 2018 by enzo1988

[Joel M]

Really interesting stuff. Is there a way to find about re-releases of the older movies? Because those insane numbers for 10 commandmends, Ben Hur, Dr. Zhivago look very sketchy.

[enzo1988]

1967

 

-The Graduate 71,75 m *

It was re-isued in 1972 with rentals of 5,20 millions.

[enzo1988]

1 hour ago, Joel M said:

Really interesting stuff. Is there a way to find about re-releases of the older movies? Because those insane numbers for 10 commandmends, Ben Hur, Dr. Zhivago look very sketchy.

Thanks, Joel M. In the sources that I mentioned in the thread there are data of re-issues. I also collect informations from books, forum and old websites. This site is also very useful: 

 

https://ameblo.jp/ayumi-niwano/entry-12249286244.html

 

And the numbers of "The ten commandments", "Ben Hur" and 2Dr. Zhivago" are not so insane. I will investigate a little more about them. Keep in mind that they were the "Titanics" of his time.  

[enzo1988]

1965

 

-Dr. Zhivago 87,44 m*

It was re-issued in 1971. One of the most complicated cases. 

A true worldwide hit. Although the rentals or gross overseas never published i verified that in Europe, Australia and Japan attracted more than 70 million of spectators. 

 

[enzo1988]

1964

 

-My Fair Lady 60 m *

Hard case. Due to this reason that is explained in the book "The Hollywood Story" of Joel Waldo. 

 

These figures are estimates only and are occasionally revised, years later, as happened with My Fair Lady (WB, 1964), which was reduced from rentals of $32  million to $12 million ten years after it was first released.

 

But at the end of 1997 Variety published a ranking of all time rental-champs and "My Fair Lady" was with 34 millions. So who was wrong? What is the real number? I don't know. But the trigger to opt for the 30 millions of rentals (as the 2-4 millions more alredy belong to re-issues in 1971 and 1973) has been his career in charts of the season 1964/1965. 15 weeks in number one. And more of 40 weeks in the top 10. Such a career like this supposes a lot more than 26 million tickets (in case there have been 12 millions rentals). 

 

-Mary Poppins 61,72 m *

Maybe it got some more tickets in his initial run. But with the Disney movies is very difficult to reach an exact approximation with so much re-issues. Mary Poppins was the perfect finale for Walt Disney before his death. 5 oscars. And at the end of 1965 was at number 5 in all-time chart (in domestic rentals). And "My Fair Lady" at number 6.

 

In fact, both films were practically tied in terms of revenue in USA and overseas. But I've always liked "Mary Poppins" more. Let's hope that the sequel is up to the original. 

 

   

 

[enzo1988]

1962

 

-How the west was won 52,53 m *

From user Walt Disney