Culture & Media
Film, music, art, language and history, ranked on the records and figures behind them.
45 lists in this topic.
Top 13 Artists With the Most Billboard Hot 100 Number-One Singles
The Beatles hold the record with 20 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, one more than Mariah Carey's 19; four artists tied at 10 round out this top 13.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games of All Time
The ten best-selling Nintendo Switch games, ranked by Nintendo's own sales figures as of June 30, 2026: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe leads at 71.53 million units.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Video Game Franchises of All Time
The ten best-selling video game series of all time, ranked by the latest publisher-reported unit sales: from Mario's 907.7 million down to Final Fantasy's 212 million at number ten.
cultureTop 10 Most Spoken Languages by Native Speakers
The world's most widely spoken mother tongues, ranked by first-language (L1) speakers in Ethnologue's 2026 edition.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Book Series of All Time
The ten best-selling book series of all time, from Harry Potter's 600 million copies to Nancy Drew's 200 million, ranked by estimated copies sold worldwide.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Books of All Time
The ten best-selling individual books of all time, from A Tale of Two Cities to The Da Vinci Code, ranked by estimated copies sold, excluding religious and political texts.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Manga Series of All Time
One Piece leads with 600 million copies in circulation (Shueisha, March 2026), twice the 300 million reported for Golgo 13 in second place.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Music Albums of All Time
The ten best-selling albums of all time worldwide, from Michael Jackson's Thriller at an estimated 70 million copies, ranked by claimed sales from Wikipedia's list of best-selling albums.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Music Singles of All Time
The ten singles with claimed sales of at least 20 million copies, from Xiao Zhan's digital single Spotlight and Bing Crosby's White Christmas to We Are the World, ranked by claimed worldwide sales.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Video Games of 2025
The ten best-selling video games in the United States in 2025 by dollar sales, per Circana. Battlefield 6 finished #1, the first annual win for the series, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 fell to fifth.
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Actors of All Time
Zoe Saldana led the lead-role box office ranking at $15.47 billion as of January 14, 2026, just ahead of Scarlett Johansson, in a top ten dominated by Marvel, Avatar and Fast & Furious stars.
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Animated Films of All Time
The ten highest-grossing animated films at the worldwide box office, led by Ne Zha 2 with $2.22 billion, in nominal US dollars as of October 2026.
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Concert Tours of All Time
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour leads at $2.08 billion, ahead of Coldplay's Music of the Spheres ($1.52 billion) and The Weeknd's still-running After Hours til Dawn ($1.07 billion).
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Films of 2025
Ne Zha 2 led the year's worldwide box office at about $2.22 billion, ahead of Zootopia 2 ($1.87 billion) and Avatar: Fire and Ash ($1.49 billion), with four films past $1 billion.
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time
The ten highest-grossing media franchises of all time, from Pokémon to Hello Kitty, ranked by estimated total revenue across merchandise, box office, games, publishing and home entertainment.
cultureTop 10 Largest Aquariums in the World by Water Volume
The ten largest public aquariums in the world by total water volume, from China's record-holding Chimelong Spaceship to Aqua Planet Jeju in South Korea.
cultureTop 10 Largest Churches and Cathedrals in the World by Interior Area
The ten church buildings with the largest interior floor area, led by St. Peter's Basilica (25,616 m²) and Brazil's Aparecida cathedral (25,000 m²).
historyTop 10 Largest Empires in History by Land Area
The ten largest empires in history by peak land area, per Rein Taagepera's estimates — from the British Empire's 35.5 million km² in 1920 to the United States' 9.5 million km² in 1900.
cultureTop 10 Largest Fast-Food Chains by Number of Locations
The ten largest fast-food chains in the world by number of locations at the end of 2025, from Mixue Ice Cream & Tea to Burger King.
cultureTop 10 Largest Fast-Food Chains in the World by Annual Revenue
The ten largest fast-food chains in the world by 2025 systemwide sales, from McDonald's at $139.4 billion to Popeyes at $7.8 billion.
cultureTop 10 Largest Libraries in the World by Collection Size
The ten largest libraries in the world by self-reported collection size, from the British Library and Library of Congress to Germany's National Library.
cultureTop 10 Longest-Running Broadway Shows of All Time
The ten longest-running productions in Broadway history, ranked by total regular performances as of October 18, 2026.
artTop 10 Most Expensive Artworks Ever Sold (Public and Private)
The ten highest known prices paid for artworks at auction or in private sales, in nominal U.S. dollars, led by Leonardo's Salvator Mundi at $450.3 million.
cultureTop 10 Most-Funded Kickstarter Campaigns of All Time
The ten highest-funded Kickstarter campaigns of all time, ranked by total pledged, led by eufyMake's E1 UV printer at $46.8 million.
cultureTop 10 Most Spoken Languages in the World by Total Speakers
The world's ten most widely spoken languages, ranked by total speakers including both native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers, based on Ethnologue data.
cultureTop 10 Most-Visited Theme Parks in the World
The 10 most-visited theme parks worldwide in 2024, ranked by annual attendance in the 2024 TEA Global Experience Index.
cultureTop 10 Most-Watched TV Broadcasts in US History
The ten US telecasts with the largest Nielsen average audiences, all Super Bowls, led by Super Bowl LIX's 127.7 million viewers in 2025.
cultureTop 15 Songs With the Most Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" holds the all-time record with 24 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, ahead of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" at 22, as of the chart dated October 17, 2026.
cultureTop 10 Artists With the Most Grammy Awards Won
Beyoncé sits atop the all-time Grammy leaderboard with 35 career wins, ahead of a tight pack of conductors, producers, and hip-hop and jazz greats.
cultureTop 10 Artists With the Most Grammy Nominations of All Time
Beyoncé's 99 nominations lead the all-time ranking of the most GRAMMY-nominated artists, from Quincy Jones to John Williams.
cultureTop 10 Most-Streamed Songs on Spotify of All Time
The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" sits atop Spotify's all-time chart with 5.597 billion streams — ranked here by cumulative plays per track.
cultureTop 10 Most Expensive Films by Production Budget of All Time
The ten most expensive films ever made, ranked by net production cost in US dollars, mostly from audited UK company filings.
mediaTop 10 Most-Watched Super Bowls by US TV Audience
The ten Super Bowls with the largest average US audience, ranked by Nielsen-measured viewers across TV and streaming.
cultureTop 10 Chess Players by FIDE Rating in the World
The ten highest-rated active chess players on FIDE's September 2026 list, led by Magnus Carlsen at 2823, 31 points clear of the field.
cultureTop 10 Esports Tournaments by Prize Pool of All Time
The ten richest single esports tournaments ever staged, ranked by total prize pool - and seven of them are the same Dota 2 event.
historyTop 10 Largest Battleships by Displacement in the World
Japan's Yamato and Musashi top the ranking at 72,809 tonnes fully loaded — nearly 15,000 tonnes heavier than America's Iowa-class ships, the largest battleships the US ever built.
historyTop 10 Longest-Reigning Monarchs in History
From Louis XIV's 72-year reign to Maya kings and an Egyptian pharaoh — the ten longest verified reigns of sovereign monarchs, ranked by exact days on the throne.
educationTop 10 Oldest Universities in the World
From a 9th-century Moroccan madrasa to medieval Europe's pioneering law schools, these ten universities have taught continuously for the better part of a millennium.
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Film Directors by Worldwide Box Office
Steven Spielberg and James Cameron have each directed close to $11 billion of box office — here are the ten biggest earners behind the camera.
cultureTop 10 Films That Won the Most Academy Awards
The ten films that have won the most Academy Awards in history, ranked by total Oscars — from the record-breaking three-way tie at the top.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Video Games of All Time
The ten single video-game titles that have sold the most copies worldwide, from Minecraft's record-setting 400 million down.
artTop 10 Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold at Auction
The ten highest prices ever paid for a painting at public auction, from Leonardo's record-shattering $450M "Salvator Mundi" on down.
cultureTop 10 Best-Selling Albums in the US (RIAA Certified)
The 10 highest-certified albums in US history by RIAA-certified units, led by the Eagles' hits set — the first album ever certified 40x Platinum.
artTop 10 Most-Visited Art Museums
The Louvre held its crown as the planet's busiest art museum in 2025, but a Korean newcomer stormed into the global top three.
cultureTop 10 Highest-Grossing Films of All Time
The ten films that have earned the most money at the worldwide box office, ranked by nominal (unadjusted) lifetime theatrical gross.