With the explosion of THE DARK KNIGHT in theatres this year, we've finally had a box office contender that had a decent shot at TITANIC's all time box office record. The Caped Crusader will ultimately not get there, but it has definitely re-shuffled the top 10 all-time list, now officially dethroning STAR WARS from the number 2 spot. As of last weekend, THE DARK KNIGHT is only the second film to cross 500 million at the domestic US box office.

The newly formed top 10 are listed below:

1 Titanic $600,788,188 (1997)
2 The Dark Knight $507,933,000 (2008) * still counting
3 Star Wars $460,998,007 (1977)
4 Shrek 2 $441,226,247 (2004 )
5 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial $435,110,554 (1982)
6 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace $431,088,301 (1999)
7 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $423,315,812 (2006)
8 Spider-Man $403,706,375 (2002)
9 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith $380,270,577 (2005)
10 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377,027,325 (2003)

George Lucas can still take some comfort from the fact that three of his six Star Wars films are still in the top 10 all time box office list.

James Cameron is still King of the World with Titanic sitting at the top of the tree and not likely to be sunk any time soon.

Another interesting fact in this list is that apart from Titanic and Spielberg's E.T., all the films in the top 10 are either sequels or franchise starters. That is an interesting fact and says a lot about the way Hollywood selects its projects to pursue. With current trends continuing, only a superhero movie, a sequel or some other type of known franchise will have the most chance of entering this illustrious top 10 list.