Why Was Gone With The Wind The Highest Grossing Film For 25
Years?
-Note:
all cash values are from after inflation is taken into account-
One of
the main reasons as to why Gone With The Wind was the highest grossing
film (HGF) of all time for 25 years (without considering current inflation
rates, in which case it’s the HGF of all time currently) is because of it’s
ability to gain ‘classic’ status, and between it’s initial release to the end of
it’s 25 years as being the HGF of all time, it had an additional 3 re-releases
(1947, 1951 and 1961). These re-releases show that Gone With The Wind gained it’s classic status, and was well
received by audiences outside of Depression-era America.
The fact that it’s also a historical romance - both genres being
popular throughout the history of film - also means it would attract audiences
at each re-release.
While it may be the HGF of all time after inflation, this is mostly because of it’s 8 re-releases that span a total of 60 years. In it’s initial release, it made only $506,000,000 in the U.S.A., so the remaining $2.8 billion came from it’s 8 re-releases.
