Box Office
These are the top 60+ highest-grossing film adaptations of all time. As of mid-November, 2012, eight of the top ten, 16 of the top 20, and well over 50 of the top 100 highest-grossing films are adaptations. Figures shown are worldwide theatrical (box office) receipts, rounded to the nearest million.
Note that most successful films earn three to four times more from DVD sales than they do from ticket sales. Rank indicates the film’s box office standing among all films (including non-adaptations), followed by its rank among adaptations (A). The “+” sign, found next to some totals, indicates the film is still in release. (Updated November 13, 2012.)
| MOVIE | CODE | RANK | BOX OFFICE | SOURCE MATERIAL |
| Titanic | HIS | 2 / 1A | $2,185,000,000 | The sinking of the Titanic |
| Marvel’s The Avengers | COM | 3 / 2A | $1,512,000,000 | Various Marvel comics |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 |
NOV | 4 / 3A | $1,328,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows |
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon |
GAM | 5 / 4A | $1,124,000,000 | Transformers toys |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
NOV | 6 / 5A | $1,120,000,000 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| The Dark Knight Rises | COM | 7 / 6A | $1,081,000,000+ | Batman series |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest |
THM | 8 / 7A | $1,066,000,000 | POTC theme park ride |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides |
THM | 10 / 8A | $1,044,000,000 | POTC theme park ride |
| Alice in Wonderland (2010) | NOV | 12 / 9A | $1,024,000,000 | Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass |
| The Dark Knight | COM | 13 / 10A | $1,005,000,000 | Batman series |
| Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone |
NOV | 14 / 11A | $975,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone |
| Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End |
THM | 15 / 12A | $963,000,000 | POTC theme park ride |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 |
NOV | 16 / 13A | $956,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
NOV | 18 / 14A | $940,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
NOV | 19 / 15A | $934,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers |
NOV | 20 / 16A | $926,000,000 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers |
| Shrek 2 | NOV | 21 / 17A | $920,000,000 | Shrek! |
| Jurassic Park | NOV | 23 / 18A | $915,000,000 | Jurassic Park |
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
NOV | 24 / 19A | $897,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
| Spider-Man 3 | COM | 25 / 20A | $891,000,000 | Spider-Man series |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
NOV | 27 / 21A | $879,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
NOV | 28 / 22A | $871,000,000 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen |
GAM | 31 / 23A | $836,000,000 | Transformers toys |
| Spider-Man | COM | 33 / 24A | $822,000,000 | Spider-Man series |
| Shrek the Third | NOV | 35 / 25A | $799,000,000 | Shrek! |
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
NOV | 36 / 26A | $797,000,000 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
| Spider-Man 2 | COM | 39 / 27A | $784,000,000 | Spider-Man series |
| The Da Vinci Code | NOV | 42 / 28A | $758,000,000 | The Da Vinci Code |
| Shrek Forever After | NOV | 43 / 29A | $753,000,000 | Shrek! |
| The Amazing Spider-Man | COM | 44 / 30A | $752,000,000+ | Spider-Man series |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe |
NOV | 45 / 31A | $745,000,000 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe |
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon |
NOV | 48 / 32A | $710,000,000 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon |
| Transformers | GAM | 49 / 33A | $710,000,000 | Transformers toys |
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 | NOV | 50 / 34A | $705,000,000 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn |
| The Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
NOV | 51 / 35A | $698,000,000 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
| Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol | TVS | 52 / 36A | $695,000,000 | Mission: Impossible |
| The Hunger Games | NOV | 53 / 37A | $686,000,000 | The Hunger Games |
| Forrest Gump | NOV | 54 / 38A | $677,000,000 | Forrest Gump |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl |
THM | 59 / 39A | $654,000,000 | POTC theme park ride |
| Men in Black 3 | COM | 65 / 40A | $624,000,000 | Men in Black series |
| Iron Man 2 | COM | 66 / 41A | $624,000,000 | Iron Man series |
| Jurassic Park: The Lost World | NOV | 68 / 42A | $619,000,000 | The Lost World |
| The Passion of the Christ | REL | 69 / 43A | $612,000,000 | The Bible (New Testament) |
| Mama Mia! | SNG | 70 / 44A | $610,000,000 | Mama Mia! |
| Casino Royale | NOV/MOV | 72 / 45A | $599,000,000 | Casino Royale |
| War of the Worlds | NOV | 73 / 46A | $592,000,000 | The War of the Worlds |
| Tangled | MLF | 74 / 47A | $591,000,000 | Rapunzel |
| Men In Black | COM | 75 / 48A | $589,000,000 | Men in Black series |
| Quantum of Solace | NOV | 76 / 49A | $586,000,000 | James Bond series |
| I Am Legend | NOV/MOV | 77 / 50A | $585,000,000 | I Am Legend/Omega Man |
| Iron Man | COM | 78 / 51A | $585,000,000 | Iron Man series |
| Night at the Museum | NOV | 80 / 52A | $574,000,000 | The Night at the Museum |
| The Smurfs | COM/TVS | 81 / 53A | $564,000,000 | The Smurfs series |
| Puss in Boots | MLF | 83 / 54A | $555,000,000 | Puss in Boots |
| King Kong (2005) | MOV | 85 / 55A | $550,000,000 | King Kong (1933) |
| Mission Impossible II | TVS | 86 / 56A | $546,000,000 | Mission: Impossible |
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | NOV/STO | 88 / 57A | $544,000,000 | Sherlock Homes novels and short stories |
| Skyfall | NOV | 93 / 58A | $530,000,000+ | James Bond series |
| The Simpsons Movie | TVS | 94 / 59A | $527,000,000 | The Simpsons |
| Sherlock Holmes | NOV/STO | 96 / 60A | $524,000,000 | Sherlock Homes novels and short stories |
| Aladdin | MLF | 101 / 59A | $504,000,000 | Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (from One Thousand and One Nights) |
| Troy | POEM | 103 / 60A | $497,000,000 | The Iliad |
CODES indicate the type of source material on which the films were based: ART (article in magazine, newspaper, etc.); BLG (blog); COM (comic book / graphic novel); HIS (historic event); MLF (myth / legend / faery tale); MOV (movie remake / spinoff); MOVs (movie short); NFB (nonfiction book); NOV (novel); RAD (radio show); SNG (song); STO (short story); GAM (game / toy); THM (theme park / theme park ride); TRU (true-life story); TVS (television series).
To get a better idea of a film’s total earnings (including DVD sales), multiply the figure shown by 3.5–but remember, this does not include earnings from merchandising or other rights sales and licensing (which can also exceed box office). You’ll find links to the basic widescreen DVDs at right; if a special edition is priced within $2 of the basic DVD, the special edition is linked instead. (Currently playing catch-up with the DVD links.)
As used on this site, “adaptation” includes screen stories / screenplays based on books (fiction and nonfiction), short stories, plays, comic books, magazine articles, true-life stories, historical events, myths and legends, faery tales, previous films and film shorts, tv series, theme park rides, games, toys, blogs, songs—pretty much anything adaptable. Sequels and prequels are not considered adaptations of the preceding film, unless the first film in the series was an adaptation. Remakes of earlier films are considered adaptations.
