I've always wondered, even after adjusting for inflation wouldn't it make sense to adjust for population as well?<p>In 1939 the population of the US was only 130millon, and a large portion was rural, which meant they had poorer access to theaters. This makes the returns of Gone with the Wind that much more impressive (although of course TVs/misc. entertainment devices didn't exist, which compete against movies.)<p>Perhaps a good way to measure the success a of a movie would be the percentage of the population that has seen it.