By these rules, Gone with the Wind likely wins.

But it's still not a good comparison because of other factors. First off, movie theaters didn't used to compete with television, cable, video games, DVDs, streaming, or social media for your free time. The industry was also a lot smaller, meaning there were fewer high profile movies dividing up that whole pie. The lack of practical home video also meant popular films like Gone with the Wind would get frequently re-issued and continue racking up ticket sales.

It is essentially impossible to accurately compare the popularity of any two movies separated by more than a decade or two.