Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales)

This article ranks the best action movies of all-time based on inflation-adjusted domestic gross box office sales, according to Boxoffice, the official publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners.

The ten biggest action movies of all-time have collectively earned more than $7 billion and 32 Academy Awards. Five of these films are rated PG, three PG-13, one G, and one R. The work of George Lucas and, in particular, the Star Wars franchise has dominated the genre.

Listed below for each of the best action movies of all-time are inflation-adjusted gross box office sales, directors, producers, writers, main casts, ratings, running times, distributors, and number of Academy Awards earned.

After reading "Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales)," return here to read "Best Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales) ," "Best Animated Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales)," "Best_Comedy_Movies_of_All_Time_(Box_Office_Sales)," "Best Drama Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales)," and "Best Romance Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales)."

1. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Star Wars (1977)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $1.34 billion
Director: George Lucas
Producer: Gary Kurtz
Writer: George Lucas
Main Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, Peter Cushing, Alec Guiness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew
Rating: PG
Running time: 2 hours, 1 minute
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Academy Awards: 7

2. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Avatar (2009)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $796 million
Director: James Cameron
Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau
Writer: James Cameron
Main Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, Sigourney Weaver
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Academy Awards: 3

3. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Ben-Hur (1959)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $782 million
Director: William Wyler
Producer: Sam Zimbalist
Writer: Karl Tunberg
Main Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haga Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Frank Thring, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe
Rating: G
Running time: 3 hours, 32 minutes
Distributor: MGM
Academy Awards: 11

4. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Star Wars: Episode V -The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $763 million
Director: Irvin Kershner
Producers: George Lucas, Gary Kurtz, Rick McCallum
Writers: George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett
Main Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz
Rating: PG
Running time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Academy Awards: 2

5. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Star Wars: Episode VI -Return of the Jedi (1983)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $733 million
Director: Richard Marquand
Producers: George Lucas, Rick McCallum,Howard Kazanijan
Writers: George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan
Main Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, James Earl Jones, Sebastian Shaw, Frank Oz
Rating: PG
Running time: 2 hours, 14 minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Academy Awards: 1

6. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $678 million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Producers: Frank Marshall, George Lucas, Howard Kazanjian
Writers: George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Main Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliot
Rating: PG
Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Academy Awards: 5

7. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $670 million
Director: George Lucas
Producers: Rick McCallum, George Lucas
Writer: George Lucas
Main Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, Ahmed Best
Rating: PG
Running time: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Academy Awards: 0

8. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): The Dark Knight (2008)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $584 million
Director: Christopher Nolan
Producers: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan
Main Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gythenhaal, Morgan Freeman
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 2 hours, 32 minutes
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Academy Awards: 2

9. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $549 million
Director: Martin Brest
Producers: Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckenheimer
Writers: Daniel Petrie, Danilo Bach
Main Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff
Rating: R
Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Academy Awards 0

10. Best Action Movies of All Time (Box Office Sales): Spider-Man (2002)

Adjusted gross box office sales: $547 million
Director: Sam Raimi
Producers: Laura Ziskin, Ian Bryce, Grant Curtis, Avi Arad, Stan Lee
Writer: David Koepp
Main Cast: Tobey Maguire, Wilhelm Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 2 hours, 1 minutes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Academy Awards 1

Source(s):

" All Time Domestic Gross (Adjusted) ," BOXOFFICE.COM
" Search ," IMDb
" The Official Academy Awards Database ," The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences