Many were thrilled when American Sniper became the top-grossing domestic film of 2014, coming in at $350 million.  It sounds like an impressive achievement, but it’s not.

Over time, both the inflation in ticket prices and an ever-increasing population have distorted our perceptions of what a good movie gross is.  The first part of this problem has been addressed by sites such as Box Office Mojo, who have adjusted historical movie grosses for ticket inflation.  The second half of the story gets incorporated here.

The list of the top 200 inflation- and population-adjusted (i.e., per capita 2015 dollars) movies of all time follows at the end of this article.

Getting excited over just $350 million in a movie gross needs to be tempered against what is without doubt the most impressive gross of all time: Gone with the Wind.  Released in 1939, Gone with the Wind grossed $1.64 billion in today’s dollars.  That equates to $12.54 per capita at the time, an astonishing level of support across society – for what is arguably one of the best films in history.  The American Film Institute (AFI) ranks it the sixth best American film ever.

Gone with the Wind’s normalized movie gross lead is truly amazing.  In second place stands Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) at $6.87 per capita in 2015 dollars, or about half of the first-place showing.  Snow White also makes the AFI’s top-100 ranking, at #34.

The remainder of the top 10 per capita grosses are all fine movies (save, perhaps, E.T.) and deserve the financial support they received at the time: #3, Star Wars (1977); #4, The Ten Commandments (1956); #5, The Sound of Music (1965); #6, Doctor Zhivago (1965); #7, Fantasia (1941); #8, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982); #9, Jaws (1975); and #10, Ben-Hur (1959).

In the top 20 per capita grosses, there are only three films made in 1980 or later -- E.T., Titanic (#14, 1997), and The Empire Strikes Back (#17, 1980).  This should be telling the movie executives something.

In fact, the most striking illustration of the movie industry’s progressive failings comes from the following graph showing the inflation-normalized per capita movie gross rank versus the year of release.  If you are middle-aged or older and one of those who thinks the top grossing movies of each year aren’t nearly as good as they as used to be (and they are getting progressively worse), you are right.  And the vast majority of the public agrees with you.

It’s bizarre that the executives in Hollywood continue to fund and produce the junk they do.  They are leaving money on the table.  Many of the great films of all time were by far the highest grossing movies when properly normalized for ticket inflation and population growth.

Unlike the music industry, where there has always been an inverse correlation between quality and sales, the film industry sees quality rewarded at the box office turnstiles.  One quarter of the top 100 per capita grossing films of all time also appear in the AFI’s list of the best films of all time.

Critics will say that the public won’t pay to watch the long epic films of quality anymore.  Nonsense.  The only film released after 1982 in the top 30 gross rank is Titanic – James Cameron’s three-and-a-half-hour 1997 masterpiece.

The public will also still pay to see biblical epics such as The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, but then, of course, you would need to find an actor remotely in the league of Charlton Heston for on-screen presence, and a solid screenplay as well.  Nothing remotely close has appeared in recent decades, which is reflected in the poor box office performance of the pretenders (see, e.g., the terrible 2014 film Noah starring Russell Crowe, which grossed only $100 million, placing it #32 for that year behind such “classics” as Mr. Peabody & Sherman).

Films define the political culture.  If we want a good culture, then someone is going to have to find a way to get good films produced and distributed again.  On that note, here is the list of the top 200 ticket inflation-adjusted per capita film grosses of all time (values in per capita 2015 dollars):

1. Gone with the Wind (1939): $12.54 per capita 2015 dollars

2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): $6.87

3. Star Wars (1977): $6.57

4. The Ten Commandments (1956): $6.30

5. The Sound of Music (1965): $5.95

6. Doctor Zhivago (1965): $5.19

7. Fantasia (1941): $5.05

8. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982): $4.97

9. Jaws (1975): $4.82

10. Ben-Hur (1959): $4.47

11. 101 Dalmatians (1961): $4.42

12. The Exorcist (1973): $4.24

13. Pinocchio (1940): $4.14

14. Titanic (1997): $4.03

15. Bambi (1942): $3.84

16. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945): $3.64

17. The Empire Strikes Back (1980): $3.51

18. The Graduate (1967): $3.50

19. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921): $3.44

20. The Sting (1973): $3.42

21. Sleeping Beauty (1959): $3.32

22. The Robe (1953): $3.32

23. Mary Poppins (1964): $3.31

24. Return of the Jedi (1983): $3.27

25. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): $3.16

26. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): $3.13

27. Thunderball (1965): $3.13

28. Around the World in 80 Days (1956): $3.11

29. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952): $3.09

30. The Godfather (1972): $3.05

31. The Jungle Book (1967): $3.01

32. Duel in the Sun (1946): $2.93

33. Sergeant York (1941): $2.93

34. Cleopatra (1963): $2.88

35. Jurassic Park (1993): $2.87

36. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): $2.83

37. Grease (1978): $2.81

38. Goldfinger (1964): $2.81

39. Love Story (1970): $2.77

40. The Lion King (1994): $2.75

41. Lady and the Tramp (1955): $2.73

42. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999): $2.63

43. Airport (1970): $2.62

44. Avatar (2009): $2.57

45. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): $2.57

46. House of Wax (1953): $2.56

47. My Fair Lady (1964): $2.54

48. American Graffiti (1973): $2.52

49. Rear Window (1954): $2.51

50. West Side Story (1961): $2.47

51. Ghostbusters (1984): $2.45

52. Forrest Gump (1994): $2.43

53. Swiss Family Robinson (1960): $2.42

54. Lawrence of Arabia (1962): $2.41

55. Blazing Saddles (1974): $2.40

56. The Towering Inferno (1974): $2.33

57. Peter Pan (1953): $2.31

58. Beverly Hills Cop (1984): $2.31

59. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963): $2.31

60. The Caine Mutiny (1954): $2.21

61. Home Alone (1990): $2.20

62. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978): $2.18

63. M.A.S.H. (1970): $2.13

64. The Poseidon Adventure (1972): $2.12

65. Smokey and the Bandit (1977): $2.10

66. Superman (1978): $2.09

67. Independence Day (1996): $2.09

68. Batman (1989): $2.07

69. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): $2.07

70. Rocky (1976): $2.05

71. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): $2.05

72. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): $2.02

73. Back to the Future (1985): $2.02

74. Tootsie (1982): $1.99

75. The Dark Knight (2008): $1.99

76. Marvel's The Avengers (2012): $1.98

77. Shrek 2 (2004): $1.97

78. Spider-Man (2002): $1.96

79. Psycho (1960): $1.92

80. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): $1.84

81. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967): $1.77

82. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006): $1.76

83. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): $1.75

84. Young Frankenstein (1974): $1.73

85. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): $1.73

86. Finding Nemo (2003): $1.72

87. The Sixth Sense (1999): $1.68

88. Ghost (1990): $1.67

89. Spider-Man 2 (2004): $1.67

90. Aladdin (1992): $1.66

91. The Passion of the Christ (2004): $1.66

92. Twister (1996): $1.65

93. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993): $1.65

94. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005): $1.63

95. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): $1.63

96. Men in Black (1997): $1.63

97. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989): $1.63

98. Top Gun (1986): $1.62

99. Funny Girl (1968): $1.62

100. Earthquake (1974): $1.60

101. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001): $1.59

102. Patton (1970): $1.58

103. Gremlins (1984): $1.57

104. Crocodile Dundee (1986): $1.56

105. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). $1.56

106. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): $1.56

107. Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979): $1.55

108. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982): $1.53

109. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002): $1.51

110. What's Up, Doc? (1972): $1.50

111. Saturday Night Fever (1977): $1.50

112. Rocky III (1982): $1.49

113. The Dark Knight Rises (2012): $1.49

114. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): $1.49

115. Beauty and the Beast (1991): $1.46

116. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985): $1.45

117. Rain Man (1988): $1.44

118. On Golden Pond (1981): $1.44

119. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): $1.43

120. Dances with Wolves (1990): $1.42

121. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): $1.42

122. Monsters, Inc. (2001): $1.41

123. A Star Is Born (1976): $1.40

124. Three Men and a Baby (1987): $1.40

125. Toy Story 2 (1999): $1.39

126. The Fugitive (1993): $1.39

127. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000): $1.38

128. Superman II (1981): $1.38

129. 9 to 5 (1980): $1.37

130. Pretty Woman (1990): $1.37

131. Toy Story 3 (2010): $1.37

132. Shrek (2001): $1.35

133. Saving Private Ryan (1998): $1.35

134. Stir Crazy (1980): $1.35

135. Toy Story (1995): $1.34

136. Fatal Attraction (1987): $1.33

137. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992): $1.32

138. Porky's (1982): $1.32

139. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $1.32

140. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) $1.32

141. The Hunger Games (2012): $1.31

142. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013           $1.31

143. The Matrix Reloaded (2003): $1.31

144. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): $1.31

145. Batman Forever (1995): $1.29

146. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002): $1.27

147. Armageddon (1998): $1.27

148. Shrek the Third (2007): $1.26

149. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988): $1.26

150. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991): $1.26

151. Frozen (2013): $1.26

152. Iron Man 3 (2013): $1.25

153. Transformers (2007): $1.25

154. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011): $1.25

155. Batman Returns (1992): $1.24

156. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005): $1.24

157. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005): $1.24

158. Mission: Impossible (1996): $1.23

159. Meet the Fockers (2004): $1.22

160. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989): $1.22

161. Apollo 13 (1995): $1.22

162. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007): $1.21

163. Cast Away (2000): $1.21

164. Despicable Me 2 (2013): $1.20

165. The Firm (1993): $1.19

166. Iron Man (2008): $1.18

167. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999): $1.18

168. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008): $1.18

169. Liar Liar (1997): $1.18

170. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002): $1.17

171. The Incredibles (2004): $1.17

172. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): $1.15

173. Mission: Impossible II (2000): $1.15

174. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007): $1.14

175. Rush Hour 2 (2001): $1.14

176. Bruce Almighty (2003): $1.13

177. Air Force One (1997): $1.12

178. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004): $1.11

179. Signs (2002): $1.11

180. Alice in Wonderland (2010): $1.10

181. There's Something About Mary (1998): $1.10

182. American Sniper (2014): $1.10

183: Furious 7 (2015): $1.09

184. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): $1.07

185. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): $1.05

186. Up (2009): $1.04

187. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): $1.04

188. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002): $1.04

189. Iron Man 2 (2010): $1.03

190. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009): $1.03

191. Cars (2006): $1.01

192. Night at the Museum (2006): $1.01

193. War of the Worlds (2005): $1.00

194. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010): $0.99

195. I Am Legend (2007): $0.99

196. The Hangover (2009): $0.98

197. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): $0.98

198. Skyfall (2012): $0.98

199. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010): $0.97

200. Inception (2010): $0.97