This evening on the blog, we move to the top ten of my personal favorite 25 pictures of the past generation, from 1990 to now. Not an easy task for sure, but clearly all of these ten titles (top five coming tomorrow) are masterpieces in my book. Let’s get to it:
10. Seven (1995)
David Fincher’s run of terrific movies began with this gut wrenching serial killer tale with Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and a deliciously sadistic Kevin Spacey. The final act of these proceedings represent some of the most intense moments on film I’ve ever witnessed.
9. Up (2009)
Over the last 20 years, the creme de la creme of family entertainment has come from Pixar with the Toy Story franchise, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Inside Out, and so on. To me, their absolute high point is Up. I wrote a post on the blog before discussing the sequence which shows the main character’s romance with his wife throughout her life. It’s one of the most beautifully constructed and emotional montages I’ve ever seen, period.
8. The Social Network (2010)
Back to David Fincher again and here we have his brilliant tale of the founding of Facebook that I contend will stand as one of the most important pictures to explain the time we live in.
7. Almost Famous (2000)
Cameron Crowe’s autobiographical tale of his youth spent at Rolling Stone magazine is one of the ultimate feel good experiences filled with great music and performances. The bus scene set to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” is perfect and one of the best examples ever put to film about music advancing the story line.
6. Groundhog Day (1993)
In a career filled with amazing performances, Bill Murray is at his apex in this uproarious and also touching tale of one very long day. It is easily my favorite comedy of the last many years.
And that’ll do it for today and the top five will hit the blog tomorrow!
Onto part three of my personal top 25 motion pictures of the past 25 years and we’re at numbers 15-11. Here they are:
15. Fargo (1996)
The Coen Brothers have been responsible for so many fabulous movies over the last 30 plus years. This violent charcoal black comedy that earned highly deserved Oscars for Frances McDormand and its screenplay is the best one of the bunch.
14. The Fugitive (1993)
There’s been a whole lot of action thrillers based on old TV series, but nothing like this one. Andrew Davis’s thrilling adaptation of the 1960s show with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect example of this genre at its absolute peak.
13. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
David O. Russell has arguably been putting out the finest films of this ongoing decade and Playbook is the highlight with grade A performances from Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert De Niro in a career resurgent part. The last scene of the movie is perfect.
12. Nixon (1995)
Whether or not it’s historically accurate is a legit argument. What’s not is that Oliver Stone’s take on the Nixon life and presidency is a brilliantly made story of the corruption of power. It tackles the subject on a level close to that of Citizen Kane and Anthony Hopkins is marvelous as the 37th POTUS.
11. Heat (1995)
Michael Mann teaming with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino for a sprawling L.A. based crime thriller. It’s even better than it sounds and the coffee shop scene that pits its generation’s two signature actors together for the first time is movie lover heaven.
And there you have it… we’ll enter the Top Ten tomorrow folks!
Today we arrive at part two of my personal top 25 movies of the last generation – 1990 to now and that covers numbers 20-16. Let’s get right to it, shall we?
20. There Will Be Blood (2007)
From master director Paul Thomas Anderson comes this riveting tale of oil and greed at the turn of the 20th century. It features a towering and Oscar winning performance from Daniel Day-Lewis.
19. The Player (1992)
Robert Altman made some incredible pictures in the 1970s and had a career resurgence in the 90s and his pitch black comedy about Hollywood and its superficiality is the best example of it.
18. Kill Bill – Vol I and II (2003/2004)
OK, maybe I cheated a bit here with this actually being two movies, but Quentin Tarantino’s genre hopping master work stands (almost) at the top of his filmography.
17. Being John Malkovich (1999)
Spike Jonze has been making singularly unique films for nearly two decades now and Malkovich is his most rewarding. There’s simply nothing like it and I mean that in a very great way.
16. The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese finally earned his Oscar (though he’d been snubbed plenty of times before) for this twisty and deliciously fun and violent crime thriller with a killer cast that included DiCaprio, Damon, Wahlberg, and Nicholson.
With 2015 nearly over, we can take a look at the beginning of the 1990s through today and see an entire generation of films represented. It caused your trusty movie blogger to think about what my personal favorite 25 pictures have been over that time period and that’s a daunting task. I chose to make the list anyway and, truth be told, it’s a list that could literally fluctuate from day to day.
For one thing, it certainly wouldn’t be accurate to say I’ve seen every acclaimed film from 1990-2015 (and there’s still more to come). Yet I certainly feel confident I’ve viewed enough to make a solid listing and if it changes, I’ll gladly update this.
What we have here is my personal best breakdown of my 25 pictures I keep going back to. That I just can’t quit (Brokeback Mountain didn’t make the cut, by the way). Obviously this is entirely subjective. Movies I wrote down that didn’t make the list are ones that I truly love and or admire from comedies like Dumb and Dumber, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, The Big Lebowski, There’s Something About Mary, The 40 Yr. Old Virgin, and Superbad. Disney classic Beauty and the Beast, which is way at the top of my traditional animated material from the studio. Same goes for Pixar’s Toy Story franchise. Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Inglourious Basterds, and Django Unchained. Fincher’s The Game. Genre standard bearers like Scream, The Matrix, and Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Best Picture winners Unforgiven and No Country for Old Men. American Psycho. Glengarry Glen Ross. Black Swan. Nightcrawler. Captain Phillips. American Sniper. Lost in Translation. Casino. Traffic. The Sixth Sense. The Usual Suspects. L.A. Confidential. Inception. And this is what didn’t make it.
So let’s get to what did, my friends! We’ll do this in five installments counting down from #25 to #1. Here we go:
25. Drive (2011)
Director Nicolas Winding Refn’s ultra violent art house crime pic is a triumph of mood and music with magnificent performances from Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, and Albert Brooks. More than most others, Drive stayed with me and I find myself going back to it frequently. Is it in acquired taste? Yes and definitely mine.
24. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
This is the only documentary of many I could have considered for inclusion, including Hoop Dreams, Man on Wire, and so on. Yet no documentary floored me like Capturing the Friedmans, which tells the truth is stranger than fiction tale of family members accused of child molestation. It’s riveting, heart wrenching stuff that I found myself endlessly recommending to friends.
23. Fight Club (1999)
I wasn’t crazy about David Fincher’s Fight Club when I saw it in the theater circa October 1999. Since then, I’ve come around and been able to recognize it for the timely masterpiece that it is.
22. Casino Royale (2006)
It’s my second favorite James Bond flick ever after only 1963’s From Russia with Love. It brilliantly cast Daniel Craig in the role of 007 and stands as an absolute classic in the canon of the British super spy franchise.
21. Minority Report (2002)
Many movie fans simply thought this Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise futuristic action thriller was solid. I thought it was amazing from the moment I set eyes on it and it says a lot about the current state of our world and its security. It’s Spielberg’s best work since the early 1980s in my opinion.
And there you have it! I’ll have 20-16 up very soon…
Last week on the blog, we took a trip down nostalgia lane recounting the top ten summer movies from 20 years ago and other notable pictures and flops from that season. This evening, we go back a decade and have a look at what had moviegoers buzzing way back in 2005.
That summer’s top hit was the one we expected it to be as it marked the end of one trilogy that was considered disappointing. Yet it’s a performer in the middle of the pack that started one of the most beloved recent trilogies in recent film history.
Let’s go back in time, my friends:
10. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Domestic Gross: $109 million
As Judd Apatow prepares to release his fifth feature with Trainwreck on Friday, this is where it started with him as this critically acclaimed comedy rocketed Steve Carell into movie stardom.
9. Fantastic Four
Domestic Gross: $154 million
Critics may not have dug it (27% on Rotten Tomatoes) but the adaptation of the famed Marvel Comic with Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis scored with audiences enough to warrant a 2007 sequel. A new franchise reboot hits theaters this August.
8. The Longest Yard
Domestic Gross: $158 million
Adam Sandler took over the Burt Reynolds role in this remake of the 1974 prison football comedy with Chris Rock and Reynolds himself costarring.
7. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Domestic Gross: $186 million
The action comedy from director Doug Liman earned plenty of headlines due to the real life romance between stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and hefty box office came along with it. The couple will reunite onscreen again in this fall’s By the Sea.
6. Madagascar
Domestic Gross: $193 million
With no Pixar film on the docket, Dreamworks Madagascar was the top animated feature of the summer and has since spawned two sequels and a spin-off.
5. Batman Begins
Domestic Gross: $205 million
It’s hard to remember now, but Chris Nolan’s reboot of the Dark Knight’s world did quite well, but wasn’t a mega ton blockbuster like its 2008 and 2012 sequels would be. Still, it immediately wiped the bad taste out of the mouth of audiences left by Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin from eight summers ago. Of course, this began the trilogy that has become the gold standard in superhero flicks.
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Domestic Gross: $206 million
Tim Burton’s retelling of Roald Dahl’s classic book starred Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. It may not have the beloved status as 1971’s offering with Gene Wilder, but it made the studio very happy with its massive earnings.
3. Wedding Crashers
Domestic Gross: $209 million
The sleeper hit of the season paired Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson and helped invigorate (along with #10 Virgin) the R-rated comedy. The two would appear again in the considerably less successful The Internship eight years later.
2. War of the Worlds
Domestic Gross: $234 million
Steven Spielberg directed Tom Cruise in this version of H.G. Wells renowned sci-fi novel and crowds turned out in droves so much that it’s Mr. Cruise’s highest grossing domestic earner of all time.
1. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Domestic Gross: $380 million
Sith easily took the crown for the summer’s champion and it concluded George Lucas’s second trilogy that received mixed reactions from critics and audiences… and that’s putting it kindly. This third episode is widely considered an improvement over Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Of course, we’ll see what JJ Abrams manages to do this December when Episode 7 is released… in case you hadn’t heard.
And now, some other notable pictures outside the top ten:
13. March of the Penguins
Domestic Gross: $77 million
This little French documentary that could astonished box office watchers with its magnificent stateside gross. Bottom line: people dig penguins.
18. Cinderella Man
Domestic Gross: $61 million
Critics mostly lauded Ron Howard’s Depression era boxing tale with Russell Crowe and Renee Zellwegger, but it under performed at the box office at the time of its release (not quite enough to put it in the total flop column though).
20. Crash
Domestic Gross: $54 million
Paul Haggis’s L.A. set racial drama came out of nowhere to score solid business. It went on to win Best Picture, which was a surprise over front runner Brokeback Mountain, which came out in the fall.
And now for the flops…
Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell headlined Nora Ephron’s Bewitched, based on the 1960s TV comedy. Audiences and critics reacted with ambivalence and the $85 million budgeted pic managed just $63 million domestically.
Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom captured none of the director’s Gladiator magic and it earned $47 million against its reported $130 million budget.
Michael Bay had found huge success with the Bad Boys movies, The Rock, and Armageddon, but his science fiction tale The Island with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannson sputtered with a mere $35 million (rumored budget: $126M).
And, finally, Jamie Foxx was coming off Oscar glory in Ray but his action thriller Stealth was grounded with a $32 million gross against its $76M budget.
And that’ll do it, ladies and gentlemen, for our look back at the summer offerings of 2005. I hope you enjoyed and rest assured you’ll see posts next summer tapping our nostalgia for 1996 and 2006!
We are now smack dab in the middle of the 2015 summer movie season and we’ve seen our share of massive hits (hello Jurassic World) and big flops (goodbye Tomorrowland). As has become tradition on this blog, I will now take a look back at the same season from 20 years ago – giving you the top ten hits of that summer plus other notable pictures and the flops that also populated the calendar. I’ll be following up shortly with a post about the summer of 2005, one decade ago.
One thing that stands out for the summer of 1995 is that an astonishing four of the five eventual Best Picture nominees for that year came out in the summer. This is unheard of due to the fact that, typically, Oscar bait is released in the fall months. All four of those movies will be discussed in this post.
And now – let us revisit the titles that got us in the theaters during the hot months in 1995 (and some that didn’t).
10. Braveheart
Domestic Gross: $75 million
The 10th highest grosser of the season also happens to be the one that would go onto win Best Picture at the Oscars and earn director/star Mel Gibson a gold statue for his work behind the camera. The medieval war epic would win a total of five Oscars and mark a high point in Gibson’s filmography.
9. Congo
Domestic Gross: $81 million
Two summers earlier, an adventure film based on a Michael Crichton novel came out. It was called Jurassic Park and the rest is history. Expectations for the Crichton based Congo were high and it came from Spielberg protege Frank Marshall. Its $81 million gross was on the low end of expectations and critics were not kind (22% on Rotten Tomatoes).
8. Dangerous Minds
Domestic Gross: $84 million
One of the sleeper hits of the season was this urban classroom drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer. Now I could certainly attach a clip of the film or its trailer, but let’s be honest. The reason we remember this movie is three words: “Gangsta’s Paradise, Coolio!” Enjoy…
7. Waterworld
Domestic Gross: $88 million
The Kevin Costner adventure is widely considered to be the Heaven’s Gate of its decade. The production was a disaster with cost overruns (a budget of $172 million, which was crazy at the time) and highly mixed critical reaction. Also, like Gate, its reputation has improved over time. Yet in the summer of 1995, it was considered the season’s big belly flop.
6. Crimson Tide
Domestic Gross: $91 million
This Tony Scott directed submarine action thriller struck a chord with audiences and critics. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman costarred with an impressive supporting cast that included Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, and Steve Zahn.
5. Die Hard with a Vengeance
Domestic Gross: $100 million
Bruce Willis’s third go round as John McClane costarred Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons. It couldn’t quite match the $117M take of the 1990’s Die Hard 2, but the franchise would spawn two more entries years later.
4. Casper
Domestic Gross: $100 million
Despite mixed critical reaction, this live action version of America’s favorite friendly ghost starring Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman and lots of special effects was quite the family hit.
3. Pocahontas
Domestic Gross: $141 million
While not coming close box office wise to what Disney accomplished the previous summer with The Lion King, families still turned this retelling of the Pocahontas tale into a nice hit for the studio.
2. Apollo 13
Domestic Gross: $172 million
Ron Howard’s true life space epic starring Tom Hanks earned a Best Picture nomination and the admiration of audiences and critics alike, giving its star his fourth summer blockbuster in a row after A League of their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, and Forrest Gump.
1. Batman Forever
Domestic Gross: $184 million
The third flick in the Caped Crusader franchise marked the end of the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton era and the beginning of the Joel Schumacher version of the series. While Forever (which cast Val Kilmer as the title character and Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones as villains The Riddler and Two Face) held bragging rights for the season’s largest grosser, it would all crumble two summers later when the disastrous Batman and Robin sunk the franchise until Chris Nolan rescued it.
And now – some other notable pictures from the summer of 1995 that didn’t make the top ten:
13. Nine Months
Domestic Gross: $69 million
This Hugh Grant comedy didn’t make much of an impression in the critical community, but audiences turned out partly because of the media swarm surrounding its star’s tabloid status involving picking up a prostitute.
14. Babe
Domestic Gross: $63 million
George Miller’s talking pig tale not only became one of the season’s sleeper hits, it also managed an unexpected Oscar nod for Best Picture.
16. Clueless
Domestic Gross: $56 million
Alicia Silverstone became a household name in this Valley Girl comedy which spawned endless catchphrases.
31. The Usual Suspects
Domestic Gross: $23 million
This indie thriller with its shocking ending started the career of director Bryan Singer and earned Kevin Spacey an Oscar for Supporting Actor.
32. Il Postino
Domestic Gross: $21 million
This Italian import was an art house favorite and is the fourth summer release in 1995 to nab a Best Picture nomination. If you’re wondering, the fifth was Ang Lee’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, which came out in the fall.
And now, the flops of summer 1995:
Steven Seagal’s Under Siege 2: Dark Territory managed only $50 million at the domestic box office, not coming close to the $83M earned by its predecessor.
It may have been a hit kids show, but the film version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers sputtered with only $38 million.
While Braveheart had audiences in period piece action movie approval mode, the Richard Gere/Sean Connery King Arthur retelling First Knight flopped with just $37 million.
Comic book fans soundly rejected Sylvester Stallone’s wrong headed Judge Dredd to the tune of a paltry $34 million take.
Two films attempting to capitalize on the virtual reality craze at the time did virtually no box office business. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe’s Virtuosity and Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Mnemonic made $24M and $19M, respectively.
Finally, while crowds loved that Babe pig, another family tale about the same animal – Gordy – came in 52nd for the summer earning just $3.9M. That’s not exactly bringing home the bacon! (I’m sorry)
And that’ll do it for my recap of the summer of 1995, folks! I’ll have 2005 up later this week…
This weekend, director David Fincher’s latest film Gone Girl posted his largest box office debut among his ten pictures he’s made over the past two decades plus.
The 52 year old actually his start in the world of music videos and his long list of credits includes Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Express Yourself”, Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun”, Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence”, Michael Jackson’s “Who Is It?”, George Michael’s “Freedom 90”, The Rolling Stones’ “Love is Strong”, and Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”.
Fincher would get his big break in film with a beloved sci-fi franchise, though his entry failed to meet audience expectations and his directorial career was looking shaky. Three years later, an unexpected hit would arise and since then, Fincher’s never looked back. And by doing so, he’s provided audiences with some of the greatest and often darkest entertainment in cinema for 20 years.
In honor of his 10th effort, I decided to take on the very difficult task of ranking every Fincher flick from 10-1. Let me make one thing clear… there’s not one of these films that you shouldn’t watch if you haven’t already… he’s that good.
Here we go!
10. Alien 3 (1992)
Not nearly as bad as its reputation, Alien 3 does certainly suffer in comparison to Alien and Aliens, but it gives viewers a first taste of Fincher’s distinct visual style. The shoot of Alien 3 was a notoriously difficult one and Fincher was brought in at the last minute after several others dropped out. The result is uneven, but still worthwhile.
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The first of his pictures to receive Oscar attention is actually the only Fincher feature I would call slightly overrated. Stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are solid and the visuals are undeniably remarkable, but it’s overlong and not as involving as it should be.
8. Panic Room (2002)
This might be a conventional home invasion thriller if not for Fincher’s splendid technical work, a forceful lead performance by Jodie Foster, and an unexpectedly great turn by Dwight Yoakam as a demented burglar.
7. GoneGirl (2014)
Fincher followed up Tattoo by taking on another celebrated novel and the results were quite pleasing. Like Mara in Tattoo, Rosamund Pike received an Oscar nod in this thriller that would make Hitchcock proud.
6. Zodiac (2007)
The true life police procedural focusing on the mysterious Zodiac killer is right up Fincher’s alley with a sturdy lead performance from Jake Gyllenhall and Robert Downey Jr. beginning his remarkable comeback as an alcoholic reporter. The murder scenes are disturbing in ways only its director can pull off.
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Many were skeptical that Fincher could pull off adapting this beloved book, but he accomplished that and then some here. Rooney Mara earned an Oscar nod and a sequel is still rumored with Fincher participating.
4. The Game (1997)
It might be implausible when you rewatch it over and over, but it doesn’t much matter. The mind warp of a thriller starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn is one helluva ride.
3. Fight Club (1999)
Fincher’s most polarizing effort has a lot to say about its generation, materialism, and conformity. It took me a second viewing to realize this a pitch black comedy… and it’s an astonishing one with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton shining in their roles.
2. Seven (1995)
This is the picture where Fincher truly emerged after the disappointment of Alien 3… and did he ever. The last 30 minutes, I would argue, is possibly the most intense segment of a movie. Ever.
1. The Social Network (2010)
When it was announced that the wonderful David Fincher was making a movie about the founding of Facebook, cinema lovers were confused and highly suspicious that he’d gone off the rails. Turned out he made one of the most important films of our era. Lesson: don’t doubt Mr. Fincher.
And there you have it! Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on his best works and, as I said, if you haven’t seen all of these titles – you should.
Oh… and I forgot to mention he also directed a number of Paula Abdul videos, including “Straight Up”. So here’s that!
We’ve reached the five highest grossing actors in the history of film this evening and the culmination of my five part series. Hope you’ve enjoyed it! For a reminder of the men and women who makes up numbers 25-6 – you can peruse them at the following links:
Franchises: The 48 HRS, Beverly Hills Cop, Nutty Professor, Doctor Dolittle, and Shrek series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Shrek 2 – $441 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 13. Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, Coming to America, The Nutty Professor, Mulan, Doctor Dolittle, The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Shrek, Dr. Dolittle 2, Daddy Day Care, Shrek 2, Dreamgirls, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After.
Lowest Grossing Picture: The Adventures of Pluto Nash – $4 million
4. Harrison Ford
Career Earnings: $3.8 billion
Franchises: The Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jack Ryan series. Mr. Ford also appeared in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and The Expendables 3.
Highest Grossing Picture: Star Wars – $461 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 13. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Fugitive, Clear and Present Danger, Air Force One, What Lies Beneath, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Cowboys&Aliens, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
Lowest Grossing Picture: Crossing Over – $455,000
3. Samuel L. Jackson
Career Earnings: $4 billion
Franchises: The Iron Man, Avengers, Captain America, Star Wars, and XXX series.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Avengers – $623 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 19. Coming to America, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, A Time to Kill, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, XXX, S.W.A.T., The Incredibles, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Other Guys, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Django Unchained, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Lowest Grossing Picture: Meeting Evil – $525 (you read that right… five hundred twenty five dollars…)
2. Morgan Freeman
Career Earnings: $4.1 billion
Franchises: The Dark Knight series. Bruce Almighty/Evan Almighty
Highest Grossing Picture: The Dark Knight – $534 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 16. Driving Miss Daisy, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Unforgiven, Seven, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Bruce Almighty, Million Dollar Baby, Batman Begins, Evan Almighty, Wanted, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Now You See Me, The LEGO Movie, Lucy.
Lowest Grossing Picture: 10 Items or Less – $83,000
1. Tom Hanks
Career Earnings: $4.2 billion
Franchises: The Toy Story series. The Da Vinci Code/Angels&Demons
Highest Grossing Picture: Toy Story 3 – $415 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 18. Big, A League of their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, You’ve Got Mail, Toy Story 2, The Green Mile, Cast Away, Road to Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, The Polar Express, The Da Vinci Code, Angels&Demons, Toy Story 3, Captain Phillips.
Lowest Grossing Picture: Every Time We Say Goodbye – $278,000
**A blogger’s note: With Samuel L. Jackson’s involvement in the Avengers universe, do not be surprised to see him vault to #1 once the Avengers sequel is released next summer.
We have arrived at the Top Ten in my list of the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time this evening. If you missed my first three parts covering numbers 25-11, you can find them here and here and here:
Onto the top ten with the final five coming tomorrow:
10. Robert Downey, Jr.
Career Earnings: $3 billion
Franchises: The Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, and Avengers series
Highest Grossing Picture: The Avengers – $623 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 8. Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes, Iron Man 2, Due Date, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Avengers, Iron Man 3.
Lowest Grossing Picture: Hugo Pool – $13,000
9. Johnny Depp
Career Earnings: $3 billion
Franchises: The Pirates of the Caribbean series
Highest Grossing Picture: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $423 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 8. Sleepy Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Alice in Wonderland, Rango, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Lowest Grossing Picture: Arizona Dream – $112,000
8. Robin Williams
Career Earnings: $3.1 billion
Franchises: The Night at the Museum and Happy Feet series
Highest Grossing Picture: Night at the Museum – $250 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 13. Good Morning, Vietnam, Hook, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, The Birdcage, Good Will Hunting, Patch Adams, Robots, Happy Feet, Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
Lowest Grossing Picture: The Secret Agent – $106,000
7. Bruce Willis
Career Earnings: $3.1 billion
Franchises: The Die Hard, Look Who’s Talking, The Expendables, and Red series. Mr. Willis also appeared in the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Sixth Sense – $293 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 10. Look Who’s Talking, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, Over the Hedge, Live Free or Die Hard, The Expendables, G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Lowest Grossing Picture: Lay the Favorite – $20,000
6. Tom Cruise
Career Earnings: $3.3 billion
Franchises: The Mission: Impossible series
Highest Grossing Picture: War of the Worlds – $234 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 17. Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview with the Vampire, Mission: Impossible, Jerry Maguire, Mission: Impossible II, Vanilla Sky, Minority Report, The Last Samurai, Collateral, War of the Worlds, Mission: Impossible III, Tropic Thunder, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Edge of Tomorrow.
We’ve returned to my Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time list and part three, covering numbers 15-11. If you missed the first two entries, you may find them here:
Franchises: The X-Men, Lord of the Rings, and Hobbit series
Highest Grossing Picture: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – $377 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 10. X-Men, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, X2: X-Men United, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Lowest Grosser: Emilie – $5,800
14. Robert De Niro
Career Earnings: $2.9 million
Franchises: The Fockers series and Analyze This/Analyze That
Highest Grossing Picture: Meet the Fockers – $279 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 6. Analyze This, Meet the Parents, Shark Tale, Meet the Fockers, Little Fockers, Silver Linings Playbook.
Lowest Grosser: Killing Season – $39,000
13. Michael Caine
Career Earnings: $2.9 billion
Franchises: The Dark Knight series. Mr. Caine also appeared in sequels Jaws 4: The Revenge, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Cars 2, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Dark Knight – $534 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Miss Congeniality, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception, Cars 2, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, The Dark Knight Rises, Now You See Me.
Lowest Grosser: Around the Bend – $193,000
12. Cameron Diaz
Career Earnings: $2.9 billion **Blogger’s note: highest ranking female on list
Franchises: The Shrek series. Charlie’s Angels/Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Highest Grossing Picture: Shrek 2 – $441 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 11. The Mask, My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, Charlie’s Angels, Shrek, Vanilla Sky, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Bad Teacher.
Lowest Grosser: Head Above Water – $32,000
11. Gary Oldman
Career Earnings: $3 billion
Franchises: The Harry Potter and Dark Knight franchises. Mr. Oldman also appeared in sequels Hannibal, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Dark Knight – $534 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 12. Air Force, Hannibal, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Batman Begins, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Dark Knight, A Christmas Carol, Kung Fu Panda 2, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Dark Knight Rises, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Lowest Grosser: We Think the World of You – $20,000
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