Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace
Domestic lifetime gross: (adjusted for inflation, 2014): $989,737,100
Famous quote: “Be good.” — E.T.
It's the first Spielberg film on the list but hardly the last (he has seven). And it totally makes sense that E.T. would be his most popular because it's basically The Wizard of Oz in reverse. Think about it: A 3-foot-tall munchkin lands on Earth, where he's befriended by a trio of locals (and their little dog) who help him phone to no-place-like-home until, at the end, where does E.T. go in his spaceship? That's right -- over the rainbow. "I never thought of that before," said Spielberg a few years ago when the theory was presented to him. "Do you mind if I steal that?"