Every year, thousands of new films are made. Some are successful, and some are not. Films are expensive to make. It is important for filmmakers to make their money back. If a movie is a flop, it might be the last movie they make!
How do we measure if a film is successful? We can look at the financial success. To do that, we look at how much money it made. We can look at two different figures. The gross profit is how much the movie made overall. The net profit is how much the movie made after other costs. Other costs might be paying actors, staff, and filming costs.
The opening weekend is important for a movie. The box office takes a lot of money, it is a good sign.
In 1939, a movie called Gone with the Wind was released. Gone with the Wind grossed $393 million USD. That sounds like a lot. But compared to other movies, that is quite normal.
But in 1939, one dollar was not the same as it is now. We can adjust to show how much $393 million USD would mean today. Today, that is equal to $3.4 billion USD! That makes Gone with the Wind the highest-grossing movie in history.
But the film that really earned the most was Avengers: End Game, in 2019. It grossed more than $2.796 billion USD.
Looking at how much money a movie makes isn't always reliable. Some people bootleg movies. The movie does not earn money when people do this.
We can measure a movie's success in other ways. We can look at how many awards it wins. The Oscars are famous awards given to films. A number of films are nominated. Then a group of around 8,000 people vote for their favourite.
Oscars are given for lots of reasons. Actors can win. Movies can win. A soundtrack can win. Costumes can win.
In 1997, Titanic won 11 Oscars. It won best picture, best director, best sound, and many more. It has the most Oscars won by a movie. Two other movies share the title.
It is common for a movie to suffer backlash. In 2003, Titanic received the title of "the worst movie of all time". Even the best movies are not safe from criticism!
But what do the viewers think? IMDb allows people to vote for their favourite movies. According to them, the top three movies ever are: The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Godfather (1972), and Shawshank Redemption (1994).
But really, the only thing that matters is if you like the movie or not. Everybody has a different opinion. Go out and decide for yourself!