The full ranking
Star Wars rewrote the rules, Jaws invented the summer blockbuster, and Bruce Lee conquered the world. The box office champions of the New Hollywood decade, ranked by worldwide gross.
Star Wars (1977)
George Lucas's $11 million space opera grossed roughly $775 million worldwide and changed the movie business forever. The highest-grossing film of the 1970s and the seed of a $10 billion franchise.
Jaws (1975)
Spielberg's shark thriller invented the summer blockbuster, taking in nearly $483 million worldwide on a $12 million budget. Audiences stayed out of the water all summer.
The Exorcist (1973)
William Friedkin's horror landmark grossed roughly $428 million worldwide and terrified a generation. Still the standard against which every possession movie is measured.
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Bruce Lee's final completed film earned an estimated $400 million worldwide on a budget of just $850,000, one of the most profitable movies ever made. It turned kung fu into a global phenomenon.
Grease (1978)
The highest-grossing movie musical of its era at roughly $388 million worldwide. Travolta and Olivia Newton-John made Rydell High immortal on a $6 million budget.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Spielberg's awestruck UFO epic took in about $341 million worldwide. Five notes and a mashed-potato mountain became pop culture scripture.
Superman (1978)
Christopher Reeve made the world believe a man could fly, to the tune of just over $300 million worldwide. No Superman film topped it globally until 2006.
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Burt Reynolds, a black Trans Am, and 400 cases of Coors generated an estimated $300 million worldwide on a $4.3 million budget. The second-biggest movie of 1977, behind only Star Wars.
The Godfather (1972)
Coppola's mob masterpiece grossed about $270 million worldwide on a $7 million budget and briefly stood as the highest-grossing film ever made. It won Best Picture and redefined American cinema.
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Tony Manero, a white suit, and the Bee Gees pulled in more than a quarter billion dollars worldwide. Disco's defining movie, with a soundtrack that sold even better.
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