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Arts & Entertainment

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

By
Christina Austin
Christina Austin
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By
Christina Austin
Christina Austin
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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
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