This Was the Highest-Grossing Movie the Year You Were Born

There used to be a charming tradition of buying a newspaper on the day a baby was born (so they could catch up with the happenings in the world as soon as possible). Jokes aside, this tradition was a nice time capsule to look back and see what was happening in the world when you arrived.

One interesting aspect to look back on is popular movies the year you were born, as they change with the times and reflect our evolving tastes. With the help of The Numbers, Box Office Mojo, and IMDb, we’ve gathered a list of the highest-grossing movies from 1933 to 2000. Here is the highest-grossing movie from the year you were born.

Note: The box office sums are not adjusted for inflation, and a few years are missing because of a lack of data. 

Box-office Gross: $10 million

Release Date: March 2, 1933

When "King Kong" was released in cinemas, it was a spectacle never before seen on screen. The pre-Code monster movie, about a giant prehistoric ape wreaking havoc in New York City, grossed $90,000 during its opening weekend — the then biggest ever at the time. It was also the debut appearance of the then-recently built Empire State Building.

Box-office Gross: $2.5 million  

Release Date: Feb. 22, 1934

While Columbia was reluctant about the success of what was virtually the first-ever romantic comedy, featuring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, and released it without much enthusiasm, "It Happened One Night" quickly became a sensation and the studio’s biggest hit up to that point. It was the first movie to perform an Oscar "grand slam," winning the top five Academy Award categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.

Box-office Gross: $3.2 million 

Release Date: Sept. 6, 1935

"Top Hat" — the fourth of ten movies Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers starred in together — tells the story of a dancer falling in love with an actress. The classic Hollywood musical broke attendance records at New York's Radio City Music Hall by earning $245,000 in its second week and became RKO's biggest box-office hit of the 1930s.

Box-office Gross: $184 million 

Release Date: Dec. 21, 1937

Walt Disney, who at the time specialized in short animated films, took the biggest gamble of his career when he decided to create the first animated feature film based on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." It cost $1.4 million, and Disney took out a mortgage on his house. 

While naysayers dubbed it "Disney’s Folly," it became such a box-office success that the Disney Studios in Burbank, California, were built with its profits. It held the record for the highest-grossing animated film for 55 years.

Box-office Gross: $4 million 

Release Date: May 24, 1938

Starring Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," tells the story of a bandleader's rise to fame against the backdrop of World War I. It was 20th Century Fox's highest-grossing film of the 1930s. 

Box-office Gross: $390.5 million

Release Date: Dec. 15, 1939

Starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, "Gone With The Wind" went through a tumultuous and scandalous production and post-production. But it definitely paid off, as the sweeping Civil War romance held the record for the top-grossing movie for decades. It was also nominated for 13 Oscars, winning ten.

Box-office Gross:  $84.3 million

Release Date: Feb. 9, 1940

After the smashing success of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Disney adapted another classic fairy tale, this time an Italian story, into a film. It was yet another gamble, as the original budget for "Pinocchio" was $500,000, but ultimately cost $2.5 million, making it one of the most expensive films made at the time. 

Box-office Gross: $16.4 million

Release Date: Sept. 27, 1941

Gary Cooper won his first Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Alvin York, a Tennessee farmer turned World War I hero, in the biographical film "Sergeant York." It was the top-grossing film of 1941 and remains one of the biggest box office hits when adjusted for inflation.

Box-office Gross: $268 million

Release Date: Aug. 13, 1942

Walt Disney's personal favorite of all his animated features, "Bambi" tells the story of an orphaned fawn, and his animal friends. It was a massive commercial success, grossing $268 million against a budget of $858,000.

Box-office Gross: $19.5 million

Release Date: Aug. 14, 1943

Based on Irving Berlin's successful stage show of the same name, the 1943 musical "This Is the Army" tells the story of a wounded WWI soldier who becomes a producer and stages a show for the troops. The movie was a smash hit, grossing over $19 million and Warner Bros. donated all the profits to the Army Emergency Relief Fund.

Box-office Gross:  $16.3 million 

Release Date: May 3, 1944

Starring Bing Crosby, "Going My Way" tells the story of a charming priest who gives a group of young kids direction in life. The movie earned $16.3 million on its initial run and won seven Oscars, including Best Picture.

Box-office Gross: $21.3 million

Release Date: Dec. 7, 1945

"The Bells of St. Mary's" was equally successful as its predecessor "Going My Way," if not more so, having grossed $21.3 million. Adding Ingrid Bergman to the cast as a nun, the film was a box office hit and received eight Academy Award nominations.

Box-office Gross: $63.7  million 

Release Date: Nov. 12, 1946

Walt Disney's "Song of the South" is a mix of live-action and animation, telling the story of a young boy and his newfound friend, a formerly enslaved man who lives on a plantation in the post-Civil War Era South. The movie was quite the money maker, grossing  $63,7  million. But it was also considered incredibly racist and was never released on a home video format.  

Box-office Gross: $16 million

Release Date: Jan. 1, 1947

Based on Kathleen Winsor's best-selling novel, "Forever Amber" follows the life of Amber St. Clair, a beautiful and ambitious young woman going about her life in 17th-century England's royal court. The movie was very expensive and took years to produce, but it was worth it. In its first week, the movie played in 451 theaters in the U.S. and grossed over $700,000. By its second week, it had grossed over $1.5 million.

Box-office Gross: $10 million 

Release Date: Nov. 4, 1948

Olivia de Havilland portrays Virginia Cunningham, a young woman confined in a psychiatric ward in "The Snake Pit," released in 1948. The psychological drama grossed over $4 million worldwide on a budget of $1.6 million and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning one for Best Sound Recording.

Box-office Gross: $28 million 

Release Date:  Oct. 31, 1949

Cecil B. DeMille's grand biblical epic film adapts the story of Samson (Victor Mature), who was a strongman whose power lies in his uncut hair, and his love for Delilah (Hedy Lamarr), who ultimately betrays him by cutting his hair. It grossed over $28 million worldwide and was a massive box-office success and the highest-grossing film of its time.

Box-office Gross: $263.5 million

Release Date: Feb. 15, 1950

When Disney started production of "Cinderella," the studio was experiencing so many financial woes that only fairytale-like magic could save it. And it kind of did.

Disney's animated adaptation of the classic tale of a beautiful young woman who has been wronged by her stepmother and wins the Prince's heart with the help of a fairy godmother was a smash success and a box-office hit. It grossed $263.5 million in its initial release and was the studio's biggest hit since "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Box-office Gross:  $30 million

Release Date:  Feb. 23, 1951

"Quo Vadis" is a historical epic about Roman commander Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor), who falls in love with a Christian woman, Lygia (Deborah Kerr), during Emperor Nero's (Peter Ustinov) reign. It was a massive commercial success and is credited with single-handedly saving MGM from the brink of bankruptcy.

Box-office Gross:  $36 million

Release Date:  Jan 10, 1952

Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" takes viewers behind the scenes of circus life, featuring Betty Hutton as Holly, Cornel Wilde as The Great Sebastian, Charlton Heston as Brad Braden, and James Stewart.

With a budget of $4 million, the film was quite the investment for Paramount Pictures. But it paid off handsomely, grossing $36 million worldwide and becoming the year's highest-grossing film.

Box-office Gross: $87 million

Release Date: Feb. 5, 1953

Disney's animated adaptation of J.M. Barrie's classic play and novel about a boy who never grows up was a great commercial success, grossing over $87 million in its initial release.

Box-office Gross: $30 million

Release Date: April 27, 1954

Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, 1954's "White Christmas" tells the story of two former World War II soldiers who team up as a song-and-dance act and fall in love with a sister duo. 

In its initial release, the movie raked in $30 million worldwide and was a massive critical and commercial hit. 

Box-office Gross: $93.6 million 

Release Date: June 22, 1955

Lady, a refined Cocker Spaniel, befriends Tramp, a street-smart mutt, and they go on romantic adventures together in Disney's 1955 animated feature "Lady and the Tramp." It was a great financial success, grossing over $93 million in its initial release.

Box-office Gross: $122.7 million

Release Date: Oct. 5, 1956

DeMille's final directorial effort and most successful work, "The Ten Commandments," dramatizes the biblical story of Moses. The movie was incredibly expensive to make, costing around $13 million, but it was also a box-office king, grossing $122.7 million in its initial release.

Box-office Gross: $44,9 million

Release Date:  Dec. 18, 1957

Based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" tells the story of British soldiers forced to build a bridge in Burma after being captured by the Japanese during World War II. The movie was not only a smash financial success, grossing $44.9 million, but it also won seven Academy Awards.

Box-office Gross:  $36.8 million

Release Date: March 19, 1958

Based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical of the same name, the movie centers around the romantic entanglements of U.S. Navy nurse Nellie Forbush( Mitzi Gaynor) and French plantation owner Emile de Becque (Rossano Brazzi). It grossed $36.8 million and was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Box-office Gross: $74 million

Release Date:  Nov. 18, 1959

Starring Charlton Heston in the titular role, the epic historical drama follows the life of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince betrayed and sent into slavery by his Roman friend Messala. 

It was one of the most expensive films ever made at the time. It grossed over $74 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1959, and won 11 Academy Awards, a record only surpassed by Titanic some three decades later.

Box-office Gross: $60 million

Release Date: Oct. 7, 1960

Stanley Kubrick's take on a historical epic, "Spartacus," tells the story of the legendary gladiator who led a slave rebellion against the Roman Empire.

In typical Kubrick fashion, the movie's production was riddled with drama and challenges, with a whopping budget of $12 million.

But it was a massive commercial success, grossing over $60 million worldwide and winning four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Peter Ustinov.

Box-office Gross: $215.8 million 

Release Date: Jan. 25, 1961

Adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel, "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" tells the story of Pongo and Perdita, two Dalmatian parents who set out to rescue their 99 puppies from the villainous Cruella de Vil. Disney's animated feature became an instant box-office darling, grossing $215.8 million worldwide.

Box-office Gross: $50.1 million 

Release Date: Oct. 4, 1962

Based on Cornelius Ryan's 1959 nonfiction book, "The Longest Day," the film starring John Wayne, tells the events of D-Day from both the Allied and German points of view. It premiered in France in September and in the United States in October and became a massive box office hit and one of the highest-grossing black-and-white films.

Box-office Gross: $57.7 million

Release Date: June 12, 1963

Elizabeth Taylor portrays Cleopatra, the young queen of Egypt, and her relationships with Mark Antony (Richard Burton) and Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) in the 1963 epic historical drama "Cleopatra." 

While the film cost $44 million to make and nearly bankrupted the studio, it was a box-office hit both domestically and globally, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the decade.

Box-office Gross:  $103.1 million 

Release Date:  Aug. 26, 1964

Based on the story by P.L. Travers — who was so reluctant to sell the rights that they made a movie about it — "Mary Poppins" is a musical fantasy film about a magical nanny (Julie Andrews) who changes the lives of the Banks family in London. The movie was an instant success, grossing $103 million worldwide, and it became Disney's highest-grossing film at the time. Nevertheless, P.L. Travers hated the adaptation and cried out of embarrassment at the premiere.

Box-office Gross: $286.2 million

Release Date: March 2, 1965

"The Sound of Music" tells the story of Maria (Julie Andrews), a governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) in Austria, eventually helping them flee the Nazis. Made with a budget of $8.2 million, the musical became the number-one film at the box office after just four weeks of release and the highest-grossing film of 1965.

Box-office Gross: $34.9 million 

Release Date: Sept. 28, 1966

"The Bible: In The Beginning..." featuring an ensemble cast, including Richard Harris and Ava Gardner, brings to the big screen the first 22 chapters of the Book of Genesis, telling stories from the Creation to Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. It was not a critic's favorite, but it grossed over $34 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing film of the year.

Box-office Gross: $205.3 million

Release Date: Oct. 18, 1967

The final project of Walt Disney, who died during the movie's production, "The Jungle Book" is loosely based on the 1894 book "Mowgli" by Rudyard Kipling and tells the story of a feral kid's adventures in the jungle. It grossed $205 million globally and was Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film in the United States.

Box-office Gross: $58.7 million

Release Date: Sept. 19, 1968

Based on the Broadway musical, "Funny Girl" was the film debut for Barbra Streisand, portraying Fanny Brice, a quirky performer who rises to the ranks of Ziegfeld Follies. The movie was a huge success, grossing $58 million worldwide and earning Streisand an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Box-office Gross: $102.1 million

Release Date: Oct. 24, 1969

Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" follows the adventures of two witty outlaws, Butch Cassidy and his partner, the Sundance Kid. The movie was a massive commercial success, grossing over $102 million worldwide against a $6 million budget.

Box-office Gross: $136.3 million

Release Date: Dec. 16, 1970

Based on Erich Segal's novel, the 1970 film "Love Story" tells the story of Oliver Barrett IV, a well-to-do young man, and Jenny Cavilleri, a woman from a blue-collar background, who fall in love and go through tragedy and illness together. The movie was made with a budget of $2.2 million, and it became the king of that year's box office, grossing $136 million globally.

Box-office Gross: $98 million

Release Date: Jan. 1, 1971

"Billy Jack," starring Tom Laughlin, tells the story of a mixed-race ex-Green Beret martial artist. It took home $98 million and was the highest-grossing movie of the year.

Box-office Gross: $268.5 million

Release Date: March 15, 1972

Francis Ford Coppola adapted Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" for the big screen with a $6 million budget. The epic saga of the Corleone crime family, led by patriarch Vito Corleone, features Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, and Diane Keaton in the main cast. It was not only the top-grossing movie of the year but also saved Paramount Pictures from bankruptcy. One might say Coppola made them an offer they luckily didn't refuse.

Box-office Gross: $428.2 million

Release Date: Dec. 26, 1973

Based on a novel by William Peter Blatty, who also wrote the screenplay, "The Exorcist" tells the story of a demon-possessed teen girl. It grossed $482 million in its initial year and it was the first horror film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

Box-office Gross: $119 million 

Release Date: Feb. 7, 1974

The release of "Blazing Saddles" made studio executives quite anxious, as the Mel Brooks-directed comedy about a Black sheriff in a racist town was considered controversial at the time. However, the movie became a massive hit, grossing $119.5 million on a $2.6 million budget.

Box-office Gross:  $471 million

Release Date: June 20, 1975

When "Jaws" opened on June 20, 1975, over 67 million people in the U.S. went to see it, making it the first summer blockbuster. The second directorial project of Steven Spielberg, the movie tells the story of a great white shark terrorizing a suburban beach town. It became the highest-grossing movie of all time up to that point.  

Box-office Gross: $225 million

Release Date: Nov. 21, 1976

A year before the release of "Rocky," Sylvester Stallone had $106 in the bank, a pregnant wife, no car, and was planning to sell his dog because he could not feed him. He got offered $350,000 for the rights of a script he created about an underdog boxer who gets a rare chance to fight a heavyweight champion, but he refused unless he was in the lead. After much ado, the studio accepted Stallone's conditions and "Rocky" became the top-grossing movie of the year, even though it was released in November. 

Box-office Gross: $775 million

Release Date: May 25, 1977

The director of the epic space opera set in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas, was so skeptical of the movie's success that he went to Hawaii on vacation the weekend of its release. Little did he know, "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" would be a smashing success, raking in $775 million worldwide.

It became the first movie to make over $300 million at the domestic box office and the first to cross $500 million worldwide in its initial release. It also became a cultural phenomenon and a multi-billion-dollar franchise.

Box-office Gross: $388 million

Release Date: June 16, 1978

The 1978 musical about two teens falling in love in the 1950s, resonated deeply with audiences. It became the top-grossing movie of the year and the highest-earning musical of all time.

Box-office Gross: $210 million

Release Date: June 29, 1979

Released in 1979, "Moonraker" was the eleventh film in the James Bond series and cost $30 million, nearly as much as all the previous films in the series combined. Luckily, the spy film featuring Roger Moore as James Bond on a mission to space, where he stops a global genocide plot, was quite the success. It was the top-grossing movie of the year and the highest-grossing Bond film for 16 years until it was surpassed by "GoldenEye" in 1995.

Box-office Gross: $548 million

Release Date: May 21, 1980

George Lucas didn't want to share the rights for the second entry in the Star Wars trilogy and bankrolled $18 million to produce "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" by getting a loan and using the profits from its highly successful predecessor, "Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)." Three months after the movie's release, Lucas was laughing all the way to the bank, having recovered his investment many times over.

Box-office Gross: $390 million

Release Date: June 12, 1981

Studio executives were not particularly thrilled about the release of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as pre-release polls showed no interest from moviegoers, who were more enthusiastic about the upcoming release of "Superman II." But to their pleasant surprise, the adventure flick about a globetrotting archaeologist, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), hired by the U.S. government to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, was a massive success, bringing in $390 million worldwide and playing in some theaters for over a year.

Box-office Gross: $663.4 million

Release Date: June 11, 1982

"E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," a tale about a boy befriending a lost alien and helping him return home, grossed $663 million worldwide and became a cultural phenomenon. 

Box-office Gross:  $475 million

Release Date: May 25, 1983

The final installment of the original "Star Wars" trilogy "Return of the Jedi" was so incredibly hyped that it grossed $23 million domestically in its opening weekend breaking the record as the biggest opening weekend gross in history. 

Box-office Gross: $333 million

Release Date:  May 23, 1984

The second installment in the series, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is a prequel to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," featuring Harrison Ford  as Indiana Jones on a quest to help an Indian village children from a nearby cult. The movie was released in May 23, 1984 and was the top grossing movie of the year raking in $333 million worldwide. 

Box-office Gross: $381 million

Release Date: July 3, 1985

After being rejected by more than 40 times by a number of studios which did not think a movie about a time-traveling teenager (Michael J. Fox)  and his kooky scientist friend (Christopher Lloyd) was raunchy enough to compete with the comedies of the era, "Back to the Future" was finally secured by Universal Studio. 

The movie was an instant critical and commercial success, earning $381 million worldwide at the box office.

Box-office Gross: $353.8 million

Release Date: May 16, 1986

"Top Gun," starring Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young United States Navy student, had a slow opening weekend and received mixed critical reviews. However, a month after its release, the number of theaters showing the movie increased by 45 percent, leading to huge box office success, grossing $357 million globally against a $15 million budget.

Box-office Gross: $320 million

Release Date: Sept. 18, 1987

A delusional woman (Glenn Close) obsessively stalks a married man (Michael Douglas), with whom she had a one-night stand, in the psychological thriller "Fatal Attraction." The movie based on the 1980 short film "Diversion," was a smashing commercial success raking in $320 million and scoring six Academy Award nominations.

Box-office Gross: $320 million

Release Date: Dec. 16, 1988

Tom Cruise portrays Charlie Babbitt, a selfish yuppie lawyer who discovers his estranged late father left his fortune to Charlie's autistic savant brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), whom he never knew existed, in the 1988 drama "Rain Man." 

The success of the movie was doubted by many, including the main cast who jokingly called it "Two Schmucks in a Car." And it started as a disappointment during its opening weekend with a meager $6 million in revenue. 

However, moviegoers spread the word about this great feature, and it steadily climbed to the number one spot, becoming the top box office hit of the year.

Box-office Gross: $474 million

Release Date: May 24, 1989

Harrison Ford returned in the title role of the swashbuckling archaeologist Indiana Jones in the third installment of the by-then famous franchise in 1989. This time, Indy is searching for his father (Sean Connery), who is also an archaeologist and has disappeared while on the hunt for the Holy Grail. The movie was the box office winner of 1989, bringing in $474 million in its initial release.

Box-office Gross: $506 million

Release Date: July 13, 1990

Young Demi Moore plays a widow grieving her late husband (Patrick Swayze), who comes back to life and tries to communicate with her with the help of a spiritual medium (Whoopi Goldberg) in the 1990 supernatural romance flick "Ghost." The movie was released in the summer of 1990 and raked in $506 million against a modest budget of $23 million. It also earned five Oscar nominations, winning two for Best Supporting Actress for Goldberg and Best Original Screenplay.

Box-office Gross: $520 million

Release Date: July 2, 1991

Following the great commercial success of its predecessor "The Terminator," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" saw Arnold Schwarzenegger reprise his role as the Terminator, sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from an evil Terminator. 

The sequel was a smashing success, exceeding the profits of the original, grossing $520 million against a $102 million budget.

Box-office Gross: $504 million

Release Date: Nov 11, 1992

Based on an Arabic folktale from "One Thousand and One Nights," "Aladdin" is a 1992 animated movie by Disney that tells the story of a street urchin who befriends a genie that helps him win the heart of a princess. It became a box office success the moment it was released and became the first animated movie to reach the half-billion-dollar mark, raking in $504 million worldwide.

Box-office Gross: $912.6 million

Release Date: June 11, 1993

Right before Michael Crichton was about to publish his novel about an ill-fated park where dinosaurs are brought back to life, Steven Spielberg and Universal Pictures offered him around $2 million for the rights and fees to adapt it. In the summer of 1993, "Jurassic Park" hit cinemas and broke box office records on its first weekend, earning $47 million. It went on to make more than $900 million worldwide and became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. It's a good thing that Crichton was smart enough to demand a substantial percentage of the gross from the start.

Box-office Gross: $763 million

Release Date: June 15, 1994

Disney's animated musical is considered a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. It was a critical and commercial success right upon its release. It was the highest-grossing movie of 1994 and the highest-grossing movie of all time for almost a decade until it was surpassed by Finding Nemo in 2003.

Box-office Gross: $366 million

Release Date:  May 19, 1995

The third installment of the action thriller follows John McClain (Bruce Willis) on a quest to stop a German terrorist (Jeremy Irons) from robbing the Federal Reserve Building in Manhattan. While critics were not extraordinarily pleased, the movie was a commercial success, raking in $366 million in its initial release.

Box-office Gross: $817 million

Release Date: July 2, 1996

A movie about aliens blowing up landmarks, and Will Smith being humanity's only hope, "Independence Day" was released on the same day the film's story begins. It was incredibly hyped and raked in $817 million worldwide, making it the box office champion of 1996.

Box-office Gross: $1.8 billion

Release Date: Dec. 19, 1997

With a budget exceeding $200 million, James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster "Titanic" cost more than it did to build the original ship, which would have been $150 million in 1997 dollars. It was well worth it, as the romantic epic ranks as the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time, behind three other movies directed by Cameron. It also took home 11 Academy Awards, matching the title previously held only by "Ben-Hur."

Box-office Gross: $554 million

Release Date: July 1, 1998

With a star-studded cast and a ridiculous plot involving NASA recruiting blue-collar drillers to save the planet from an asteroid the size of Texas, "Armageddon" was despised by critics but was a commercial success nonetheless. It grossed $554 million worldwide against a $140 million budget.

Box-office Gross: $924 million

Release Date: May 19, 1999

Released almost 16 years after the premiere of Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace was the first installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Starring Liam Nelson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman, the movie was insanely hyped and grossed $924 million on its initial release. 

Box-office Gross: $546 million

Release Date: May 24, 2000

While not as critically acclaimed as its predecessor, the second installment of the action spy flick "Mission Impossible" was a commercial behemoth, grossing $546 million worldwide.