Editing 1920s (section)

===Film===
{{Main|1920s in film}}
[[File:Ben_Hur_A_Tale_of_the_Christ_(1925).webm|thumbtime=2|thumb|''[[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film)|Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ]]'' (full movie displayed) was the highest-grossing movie of the 1920s by some metrics.]]
[[Silent film]]s were popular in this decade, with the highest-grossing film of this decade being either 1925 American [[Silent film|silent]] [[Epic film|epic]] [[Adventure film|adventure]]-[[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] ''[[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film)|Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ]]'' or the 1925 American [[Silent film|silent]] [[War film|war]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] ''[[The Big Parade]]'', depending on the metrics used: ''Ben-Hur'' grossed more during its initial release, but ''The Big Parade'' ultimately grossed more via re-releases.
* '''Oscar winners:''' ''[[Wings (1927 film)|Wings]]'' (1927–1928), ''[[The Broadway Melody]]'' (1928–1929), ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (1929–1930)
* First feature-length [[motion picture]] with a [[soundtrack]] (''[[Don Juan (1926 film)|Don Juan]]'') is released in 1926. First part-talkie (''[[The Jazz Singer]]'') released in 1927, first all-talking feature (''[[Lights of New York (1928 film)|Lights of New York]]'') released in 1928 and first all-color all-talking feature (''[[On with the Show (1929 film)|On with the Show]]'') released in 1929.
* The first animated short film by [[Walt Disney]] is released in 1928, featuring [[Mickey Mouse]]. ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'' was the first sound cartoon to attract widespread notice and popularity.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="margin:auto; margin:auto;"
|+[[List of highest-grossing films|High-grossing films]] by year of release<ref>{{cite web |title=Yearly Box Office |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/?view2=worldwide&view=releasedate&p=.htm |access-date=January 6, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Movie Index By Year |website=The Numbers |publisher=Nash Information Services. LLC |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies |access-date=January 6, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Dirks (year)">{{cite web |last=Dirks |first=Tim |website=[[Filmsite.org]] |publisher=[[AMC Networks|American Movie Classics]] |title=All-Time Box-Office Hits By Decade and Year |url=http://www.filmsite.org/boxoffice2.html |access-date=January 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Worldwide gross
! scope="col" | Budget
! scope="col" | Reference(s)
|-
! scope="row" |[[1920 in film|1920]]
|''[[Way Down East]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|5000000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}} ({{nts|4000000|prefix=$}}){{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|800000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Variety (1932)" group="#">{{cite news|date=June 21, 1932|title=Biggest Money Pictures|page=1|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}} Cited in {{cite web|title=Biggest Money Pictures|url=http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/7_v_32_4.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708155503/http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/7_v_32_4.htm|archive-date=July 8, 2011|access-date=July 14, 2011|publisher=Cinemaweb}}</ref><ref name="Solomon (2011)" group="#">{{cite book|last=Solomon|first=Aubrey|title=The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935: A History and Filmography|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0-7864-6286-5}}
* ''Way Down East'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zospQ7o5u0oC&pg=PA52 52]. "D.W. Griffith's ''Way Down East'' (1920) was projected to return rentals of $4,000,000 on an $800,000 negative. This figure was based on the amounts earned from its roadshow run, coupled with its playoff in the rest of the country's theaters. Griffith had originally placed the potential film rental at $3,000,000 but, because of the success of the various roadshows that were running the $4,000,000 total was expected. The film showed a profit of $615,736 after just 23 weeks of release on a gross of $2,179,613."
* ''What Price Glory?'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zospQ7o5u0oC&q=What%20Price%20Glory%20hit%20the%20jackpot%20with%20massive%20world%20rentals%20of%20%242%2C429%2C000%2C%20the%20highest%20figure%20in%20the%20history%20of%20the%20company.%20Since%20it%20was%20also%20the%20most%20expensive%20production%20of%20the%20year%20at%20%24817%2C000%20the%20profit%20was%20still%20a%20healthy%20%24796%2C000&pg=PA122 112]. "What Price Glory hit the jackpot with massive world rentals of $2,429,000, the highest figure in the history of the company. Since it was also the most expensive production of the year at $817,000 the profit was still a healthy $796,000..."
* ''Cavalcade'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zospQ7o5u0oC&pg=PA170 170]. "The actual cost of ''Cavalcade'' was $1,116,000 and it was most definitely not guaranteed a success. In fact, if its foreign grosses followed the usual 40 percent of domestic returns, the film would have lost money. In a turnaround, the foreign gross was almost double the $1,000,000 domestic take to reach total world rentals of $3,000,000 and Fox's largest profit of the year at $664,000."
* ''State Fair'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zospQ7o5u0oC&pg=PA170 170]. "''State Fair'' did turn out to be a substantial hit with the help of Janet Gaynor boosting Will Rogers back to the level of money-making star. Its prestige engagements helped raked in a total $1,208,000 in domestic rentals. Surprisingly, in foreign countries unfamiliar with state fairs, it still earned a respectable $429,000. With its total rentals, the film ended up showing a $398,000 profit."</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1921 in film|1921]]
|''[[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|5000000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}} ({{nts|4000000|prefix=$}}){{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|600000|prefix=$}}–{{nts|800000}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref group="#">{{harvnb|Hall|Neale|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ro0hASPfC68C&pg=PA53 53]}}. "''The Four Forsemen of the Apocalypse'' was to become Metro's most expensive production and one of the decade's biggest box-office hits. Its production costs have been estimated at "something between $600,000 and $800,000." ''Variety'' estimated its worldwide gross at $4&nbsp;million in 1925 and at $5&nbsp;million in 1944; in 1991, it estimated its cumulative domestic rentals at $3,800,000."</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1922 in film|1922]]
|''[[Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|2500000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|930042.78|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref group="#">{{cite book|last=Brownlow|first=Kevin|title=The parade's gone by ..|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1968|isbn=978-0-520-03068-8|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wCD5EH64Qw8C&pg=PA255 255]|quote=The negative cost was about $986,000, which did not include Fairbanks' own salary. Once the exploitation and release prints were taken into account, ''Robin Hood'' cost about $1,400,000—exceeding both ''Intolerance'' ($700,000) and the celebrated "million dollar movie" ''Foolish Wives''. But it earned $2,500,000.}}</ref><ref group="#">{{cite book|last=Vance|first=Jeffrey|title=Douglas Fairbanks|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=2008|isbn=978-0-520-25667-5|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=e3DVBxGQ95YC&pg=PA146 146]|quote=The film had a production cost of $930,042.78—more than the cost of D.W. Griffith's ''Intolerance'' and nearly as much as Erich von Stroheim's ''Foolish Wives'' (1922).}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1923 in film|1923]]
|''[[The Covered Wagon]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|5000000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|800000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Time (1925)" group="#">{{cite magazine|date=July 6, 1925|title=Business: Film Exports|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,728553,00.html|url-status=dead|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105030518/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,728553,00.html|archive-date=November 5, 2010|access-date=July 12, 2011|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Birchard (2009)" group="#">{{Cite book|last=Birchard|first=Robert S.|title=Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood|publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8131-3829-9}}
* ch. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h8I1dEf7GqIC&pg=PT104 45. The Ten Commandments] (1923). "Cost: $1,475,836.93; Gross: $4,169,798.38"
* ch. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h8I1dEf7GqIC&pg=PT138 56. The Sign of the Cross]. "Cost: $694,064.67; Gross: $2,738,993.35 (to 1937)"
* ch. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h8I1dEf7GqIC&pg=PT177 68. Samson and Delilah]. "Cost: $3,097,563.05"
* ch. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h8I1dEf7GqIC&pg=PT181 69. The Greatest Show on Earth]. "Cost: $3,873,946.50; Gross receipts: $15,797,396.36 (to December 29, 1962)"
* ch. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h8I1dEf7GqIC&pg=PT185 70. The Ten Commandments] (1956). "Cost: $13,272,381.87; Gross receipts: $90,066,230.00 (to June 23, 1979)"</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1924 in film|1924]]
|''[[The Sea Hawk (1924 film)|The Sea Hawk]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|3000000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|700000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Time (1925)" group="#" />
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" |[[1925 in film|1925]]
|''[[The Big Parade]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|18000000|prefix=$}}–{{nts|22000000}}{{ref|Rentals|R}} 
({{nts|{{#expr:4990000+1141000}}|prefix=$}}){{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|382000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="May (2005)" group="#">{{Citation|last=May|first=Richard P.|title=Restoring The Big Parade|date=Fall 2005|journal=The Moving Image|volume=5|issue=2|pages=140–146|doi=10.1353/mov.2005.0033|issn=1532-3978|quote=...earning somewhere between $18&nbsp;and&nbsp;$22&nbsp;million, depending on the figures consulted|s2cid=192076406}}</ref><ref group="#">{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Patrick|title=Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats|publisher=[[Abbeville Publishing Group]]|year=1991|isbn=978-1-55859-236-0|edition=4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jdjsQY5qkbEC&q=%22samson+and+delilah%22+worldwide+million+rentals 30]|quote=The top grossing silent film was King Vidor's ''The Big Parade'' (US 25), with worldwide rentals of $22&nbsp;million.}}</ref><ref group="#">{{harvnb|Hall|Neale|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jhvrSwOOsRgC&pg=PA58 58–59]}}. "Even then, at a time when the budget for a feature averaged at around $300,000, no more than $382,000 was spent on production...According to the Eddie Mannix Ledger at MGM, it grossed $4,990,000 domestically and $1,141,000 abroad."</ref>
|-
|''[[Ben-Hur (1925 film)|Ben-Hur]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|10738000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}} ({{nts|9386000|prefix=$}}){{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|3967000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Ben-Hur (1925)" group="#">{{cite web|title=Ben-Hur (1925) – Notes|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/35/ben-hur#notes|access-date=December 19, 2017|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref><ref name="HallNeale163" group="#">{{harvnb|Hall|Neale|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jhvrSwOOsRgC&pg=PA163 163]. "MGM's silent ''Ben-Hur'', which opened at the end of 1925, had out-grossed all the other pictures released by the company in 1926 combined. With worldwide rentals of $9,386,000 on first release it was, with the sole possible exception of ''The Birth of a Nation'', the highest-earning film of the entire silent era. (At a negative cost of $3,967,000, it was also the most expensive.)"}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1926 in film|1926]]
|''[[For Heaven's Sake (1926 film)|For Heaven's Sake]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|2600000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}} {{ref|For Heaven's Sake|FH}}
| align="right" |{{nts|150000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Variety (1932)" group="#" /><ref group="#">{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Frank|title=For Heaven's Sake (1926) – Articles|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/410794/for-heavens-sake|access-date=January 15, 2012|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1927 in film|1927]]
|''[[Wings (1927 film)|Wings]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|3600000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|2000000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Variety (1932)" group="#" /><ref group="#">{{harvnb|Finler|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rvVhEJmbfrsC&q=wings+%242+million&pg=PA188 188]}}. "At a cost of $2&nbsp;million ''Wings'' was the studio's most expensive movie of the decade, and though it did well it was not good enough to earn a profit."</ref><ref name="Jolson" group="#">''The Jazz Singer'' and ''The Singing Fool''
* {{citation|last=Block|first=Hayley Taylor|title=The Jazz Singer|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vpbuSXSSqdkC&pg=PA113 113]|year=2010|quote=The film brought in $2.6&nbsp;million in worldwide rentals and made a net profit of $1,196,750. Jolson's follow-up Warner Bros. film, ''The Singing Fool'' (1928), brought in over two times as much, with $5.9 in worldwide rentals and a profit of $3,649,000, making them two of the most profitable films in the 1920s.}} In: {{harvnb|Block|Wilson|2010}}.</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |[[1928 in film|1928]]
|''[[The Singing Fool]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|5900000|prefix=$}}{{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|388000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Jolson" group="#" /><ref name="Crafton" group="#">{{cite book|last=Crafton|first=Donald|title=The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926–1931|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1999|isbn=978-0-520-22128-4|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KFB_oT-jupQC&pg=PA549 549]–552|quote=''The Singing Fool'': Negative Cost ($1000s): 388}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" |[[1929 in film|1929]]
|''[[The Broadway Melody]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|4400000|prefix=$}}–{{nts|4800000}}{{ref|Rentals|R}}
| align="right" |{{nts|379000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref group="#">{{citation|last=Birchard|first=Robert S.|title=The Broadway Melody|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vpbuSXSSqdkC&pg=PA121 121]|year=2010|quote=It earned $4.4&nbsp;million in worldwide rentals and was the first movie to spawn sequels (there were several until 1940).}} In: {{harvnb|Block|Wilson|2010}}.</ref><ref name="bradley" group="#">{{Cite book|last=Bradley|first=Edwin M.|title=The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-7864-2029-2|orig-year=1st. pub. 1996}}
* ''The Singing Fool'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Rg-UBJaPD-sC&pg=PA12 12]. "Ego aside, Jolson was at the top of his powers in ''The Singing Fool''. The $150,000 Warner Bros. paid him to make it, and the $388,000 it took to produce the film, were drops in the hat next to the film's world gross of $5.9&nbsp;million. Its&nbsp;$3.8-million gross in this country set a box-office record that would not be surpassed until Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937)."
* ''The Broadway Melody'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Rg-UBJaPD-sC&pg=PA24 24]. "''The Broadway Melody'' with a negative cost of $379,000, grossed $2.8&nbsp;million in the United States, $4.8&nbsp;million worldwide, and made a recorded profit of $1.6&nbsp;million for MGM."
* ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Rg-UBJaPD-sC&q=%22gold%20diggers%20of%20broadway%22%20worldwide 58]. "It grossed an impressive $2.5&nbsp;million domestically and nearly $4&nbsp;million worldwide."</ref>
|-
|''[[Sunny Side Up (1929 film)|Sunny Side Up]]''
| align="right" |{{nts|3500000|prefix=$}}{{ref|USgross|*}}{{ref|Rentals|R}} {{ref|Sunny Side Up|SS}}
| align="right" |{{nts|600000|prefix=$}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Solomon (1988)" group="#">{{cite book|last=Solomon|first=Aubrey|title=Twentieth Century-Fox: a corporate and financial history|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8108-4244-1|series=Filmmakers series|volume=20|orig-year=First published 1988}}<!--If page links die, try [https://books.google.com/books?id=w70iAAAAMAAJ&q=%22on+the+surface%22+%22world+rentals%22+%248]-->
* ''Sunny Side Up'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WIZwZOz8LHsC&pg=PA10 10]. "''Sunny Side Up'', a musical starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, showed domestic rentals of $3.5&nbsp;million, a record for the company."
* ''Forever Amber'': p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WIZwZOz8LHsC&q=%22on+the+surface%22+%22world+rentals%22+%248 66]. "On the surface, with world rentals of $8&nbsp;million, ''Forever Amber'' was considered a hit at distribution level."
* ''The French Connection''

:: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WIZwZOz8LHsC&pg=PA167 167]. "The ''Planet of the Apes'' motion pictures were all moneymakers and Zanuck's record would have immediately improved had he stayed through the release of ''The French Connection'', which took in rentals of approximately $75&nbsp;million worldwide."
:: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=w70iAAAAMAAJ&q=%22french+connection%22 256]. "$3,300,00".
</ref><ref group="#">{{harvnb|Block|Wilson|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vpbuSXSSqdkC&pg=PA46 46]}}. "Production Cost: $0.6 (Unadjusted $s in Millions of $s)."</ref>
|}
{{clear}}