The fact that the NY Times gave a nod towards adjusting for inflation before they declared Star Wars the winner is huge:
In an astounding display of cultural and commercial domination on a global scale — one with little precedent in the history of Hollywood — the Walt Disney Company’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” earned roughly $517 million in worldwide ticket sales, smashing multiple box office records, even after accounting for inflation.
It was the largest opening weekend in North America, with $238 million in ticket sales. To put that figure into perspective, consider that “Avatar” (2009), which analysts consider to be the highest-grossing film in history, with $3.1 billion in global ticket sales, took in $85 million over its first three days in domestic release; the previous record-holder for a December opening was “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012) with $87.5 million.
via www.nytimes.com
However, it is not clear from the second paragraph if these are real dollars. We can only declare victory when the currency number has a parenthetical. For example, "...with $238 (2015 dollars) million in ticket sales."
