• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & Entertainment

Here Are the 5 Most Successful ‘Best Picture’ Winners In Academy Award History

By
Christina Austin
Christina Austin
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Christina Austin
Christina Austin
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 27, 2016, 11:00 AM ET
87th Annual Academy Awards - Backstage And Audience
Christopher Polk—Getty Images

Since the very first Academy Awards back in 1929, hundreds of films have been nominated for the coveted Best Picture category. While all of the nominees are certainly critically acclaimed, only a handful turn out to be top-grossers domestically and abroad. Of the eight Best Picture nominees this year, The Martian brought in the most at the box office by a landslide—it almost doubled The Revenant’s ticket sales, which was the second-highest grosser.

Fortune consulted Box Office Mojo to round up the worldwide highest-grossing Best Picture winners in the history of the Oscars. You may be surprised that the highest-grossing film also happens to be the oldest one on the list.

All numbers have been adjusted to account for inflation.

Gone With the Wind (1939): $6.8 billion

Gone with the Wind movie still
Courtesy of Warner Home Video

This Civil War-era drama took home eight Oscars, including Best Actress (Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara) and Best Director (Victor Fleming).

Titanic (1997): $3.23 billion

TITANIC 3D
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

This film is tied with All About Eve for the most Oscar nominations, 14, for a single film.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003): $1.44 billion

LOTR return of the king movie still
Courtesy of New Line Cinema

There have only been two sequels in the history of the Oscars to win Best Picture—Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Godfather Part 2.

The King’s Speech (2010): $450 million

King's Speech movie still
Courtesy of the Weinstein Company

Colin Firth won the award for Best Actor for his portrayal of King George VI in this film.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): $406 million

Slumdog Millionaire movie still
Courtesy of Warner Bros.

This film won eight of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Director (Danny Boyle) and Best Original Score.

About the Author
By Christina Austin
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Arts & EntertainmentMovies
Connecticut cashes in on Hallmark Movie status to drive kitschy Christmas tourism boom
By Susan Haigh and The Associated PressDecember 14, 2025
7 hours ago
Peter Greene
Arts & EntertainmentObituary
Peter Greene, ‘Pulp Fiction’ actor famous for ‘Zed’s dead’ line, dies at 60
By The Associated PressDecember 14, 2025
12 hours ago
Van Dyke
Arts & Entertainmentcinema
‘A hundred years is not enough’: Dick Van Dyke celebrates 100th birthday, hungry for more
By The Associated PressDecember 14, 2025
12 hours ago
Sarandos
Arts & EntertainmentM&A
It’s a sequel, it’s a remake, it’s a reboot: Lawyers grow wistful for old corporate rumbles as Paramount, Netflix fight for Warner
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 13, 2025
2 days ago
Sarandos
CommentaryAntitrust
Netflix, Warner, Paramount and antitrust: Entertainment megadeal’s outcome must follow the evidence, not politics or fear of integration
By Satya MararDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
Sam Altman
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
‘We’re not just going to want to be fed AI slop for 16 hours a day’: Analyst sees Disney/OpenAI deal as a dividing line in entertainment history
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 11, 2025
3 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976—today it’d be worth up to $400 billion
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
40% of Stanford undergrads receive disability accommodations—but it’s become a college-wide phenomenon as Gen Z try to succeed in the current climate
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Uncategorized
Transforming customer support through intelligent AI operations
By Lauren ChomiukNovember 26, 2025
18 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
More financially distressed farmers are expected to lose their property soon as loan repayments and incomes continue to falter
By Jason MaDecember 13, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The Fed just ‘Trump-proofed’ itself with a unanimous move to preempt a potential leadership shake-up
By Jason MaDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.