More recently produced and shown movies tend to have higher gross earnings, because of the larger global audience they have and the higher cost of tickets nowadays.  A compilation made by the Internet Movie Database or IMDB shows that the top 10 films of all time based on their gross earnings worldwide are the following:

1.Avatar (2009) with gross earnings of US$2.8 billion
2.Titanic (1997) $1.8 billion
3.The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1.1 billion
4.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $1 billion
5.Alice in Wonderland (2010) $1 billion
6.Toy Story 3 (2010) $1 billion
7.The Dark Knight (2008) $1 billion
8.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $968 million
9.Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) $958 million
10.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) $937 million

Meanwhile, a separate list of the ten most popular film in the US based on ticket sales (unadjusted for Inflation) are:

1.Avatar (2009)
2.Titanic (1997)
3.The Dark Knight (2008)
4. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
5.Shrek 2 (2004)
6. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
7.Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
8.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
9.Toy Story 3 (2010)
10.Spider-Man (2002)

Adjusted for inflation, the top ten Hollywood movies watched in the United States are:

1. Gone With the Wind (1939)
2. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
3.The Sound of Music (1965)
4. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5.The Ten Commandments (1956)
6.Titanic (1997)
7. Jaws (1975)
8.Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9.The Exorcist (1973)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)