Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time: Nos. 10-6

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.

Lowest Grossing Picture: Losin’ It – $1 million

Top Five coming tomorrow, everyone!

Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time: Nos. 15-11

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:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/09/top-25-highest-grossing-actors-of-all-time-nos-25-21/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/top-25-highest-grossing-actors-of-all-time-nos-20-16/

Let’s go right to it:

15. Ian McKellen

Career Earnings: $2.8 billion

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

Tomorrow – we get to the Top Ten!

Box Office Predictions: August 15-17

This weekend – three new titles (The Expendables 3, Let’s Be Cops, The Giver) open and attempt to compete with the second weekend of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and third weekend of Guardians of the Galaxy. You can find my detailed individual prediction posts on the newbies here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/the-expendables-3-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/lets-be-cops-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/the-giver-box-office-prediction/

As I see it, there could be a legitimate four-way race for the #1 spot – something that’s extremely rare. Ninja Turtles opened WAY beyond expectations (more on that below) yet its mediocre B Cinemascore likely means a big drop in its sophomore frame. Guardians should hold up better, creating a tight race with Turtles. The wild cards are the third Expendables and Let’s Be Cops. Either one could easily exceed my expectations and debut at #1. However, my predictions reflect a belief that Turtles barely manages to outdo Galaxy with Expendables and Cops third and fourth. The badly marketed The Giver should round out the top five.

And with that, my predictions for the mid-August top five:

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Predicted Gross: $25.7 million (representing a drop of 60%)

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

Predicted Gross: $24.1 million (representing a drop of 42%)

3. The Expendables 3

Predicted Gross: $21.5 million

4. Let’s Be Cops

Predicted Gross: $17.7 million (opens Wednesday: $23.4 million predicted for five-day debut)

5. The Giver

Predicted Gross: $11 million

Box Office Results (August 8-10)

Box office prognosticators like me were shell shocked this weekend by the terrific performance of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which posted the fourth largest August opening ever with $65.5 million, way beyond my $28.2M projection. A sequel was greenlit immediately and a new Turtle franchise is born. I was clearly way off on believing the pizza-loving amphibians popularity had waned. Whoops.

Guardians of the Galaxy held up well in weekend #2 with $42.1 million, in line with my $42.9M prediction. The Marvel blockbuster has amassed a fantastic $176M in ten days.

Opening decently in third was disaster flick Into the Storm with $17.3 million, ahead of my $13.6M estimate. Look for it to fall pretty far in its second weekend, though. The Helen Mirren comedic drama The Hundred-Foot Journey debuted fourth with $10.9 million, on pace with my $10.7M projection. Holdover Lucy rounded out the top five with $9.4 million, just ahead of my $8.1M prediction. Newcomer Step Up: All In kept the dance franchise’s earnings plummeting with only $6.4 million, below my $8.4M estimate. Finally, the James Brown biopic Get On Up continues its highly disappointing run. I believed it wouldn’t fall much in weekend two, but it certainly did. Up was down 62% with $5.1 million, well below my generous $8.8M prediction.

That’s all for now, folks!

The Giver Box Office Prediction

The Giver opens Friday and the youth oriented science fiction flick poses a serious question: will audiences turn out for it and who is the intended audience? The Weinstein Company seems to have little faith in the project and its marketing campaign has been quite underwhelming. Based on a 1993 Lois Lowry novel, the pic does have some serious talent behind it. The adult stars are Oscar winners Jeff Bridges (who coproduced) and Meryl Streep, with Katie Holmes and singer Taylor Swift in supporting roles. Phillip Noyce, director of Patriot Games and Salt, is behind the camera.

Aside from its subdued marketing, other challenges face The Giver. If it’s going for the youth audience, there’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy to contend with. The film’s budget is a meager $30 million and yet it still may struggle to recoup that cost domestically. The Giver could struggle to reach double digits, but I’ll predict it does manage that unimpressive benchmark for what’ll likely be a fifth place opening next weekend.

The Giver opening weekend prediction: $11 million

For my The Expendables 3 prediction, click here:

The Expendables 3 Box Office Prediction

For my Let’s Be Cops prediction, click here:

Let’s Be Cops Box Office Prediction

Let’s Be Cops Box Office Prediction

Last summer, the raunchy comedy We’re the Millers was a breakout August hit which opened on a Wednesday. The Jennifer Aniston/Jason Sudeikis pic took in $37 million over its five-day frame and $26 million from Friday to Sunday, on its way to grossing over $150M domestically. This Friday, Let’s Be Cops with Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans, Jr. will attempt the same feat.

While I believe Cops could be poised for a solid debut, it seems to me that Millers territory is unlikely. Costarring Andy Garcia and Rob Riggle, Cops has received a robust marketing campaign from Fox and the trailers and TV spots are pretty funny. It’s almost been two months since the last successful comedy, 22 Jump Street, so audiences could be primed for laughs. There’s no reviews yet and that could be somewhat of a factor – seeing that negative critical reaction helped sink last month’s Sex Tape. In addition, unlike Millers, none of the stars of Cops have any sort of box office track record.

That said, the dearth of comedies out now should lead this to a three day opening in the high teens and a possible mid 20s five day haul.

Let’s Be Cops opening weekend prediction: $17.7 million (Friday-to-Sunday), $23.4 million (Wednesday-to-Sunday)

For my prediction on The Expendables 3, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/the-expendables-3-box-office-prediction/

For my prediction on The Giver, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/the-giver-box-office-prediction/

The Expendables 3 Box Office Prediction

Sylvester Stallone and his geriatric all-star group of action icons are back once again in The Expendables 3, out Friday. This franchise has been a consistent one this decade with the first and second installments being released on the same mid-August weekend in 2010 and 2012. However, there is a discouraging trend with the series. While the original took in $34 million opening weekend with an overall $103M domestic haul, the follow-up couldn’t keep pace. The Expendables 2 made $28 million out of the gate with a final $85M gross. Stallone hasn’t seen any of his other recent projects perform well and it’s easy to see where #3 could continue the downward performance of the franchise.

It must be said that Stallone’s ability to get genre stars on board is impressive. The Expendables 3 features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Kelsey Grammer. However, I don’t feel all that star power will translate to a very impressive debut. An opening on par with the last entry’s $28M seems unlikely, though I think the series has just enough juice (not a steroid reference) to get it past $20M.

The Expendables 3 opening weekend prediction: $21.5 million

For my Let’s Be Cops prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/lets-be-cops-box-office-prediction/

For my The Giver prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/10/the-giver-box-office-prediction/

Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time: Nos. 20-16

Continuing on with the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time, we’ve arrived at Day 2 covering the thespians making up numbers 20-16. If you missed part 1 featuring nos. 25-21, you can find that here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/09/top-25-highest-grossing-actors-of-all-time-nos-25-21/

Let’s get to it:

20. Ben Stiller

Career Earnings: $2.6 billion

Franchises: The Meet the Parents, Night at the Museum and Madagascar series

Highest Grossing Picture: Meet the Fockers – $279 million

Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 11. There’s Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Meet the Fockers, Madagascar, Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Little Fockers, Madagascar: Europe’s Most Wanted.

Lowest Grosser: If Lucy Fell – $2.4 million

19. Emma Watson

Career Earnings: $2.6 billion

Franchises: The Harry Potter series

Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, This is the End, Noah.

Lowest Grosser: The Bling Ring – $5.8 million

18. Liam Neeson

Career Earnings: $2.7 billion

Franchises: The Star Wars, Dark Knight, and Taken series. Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans.

Highest Grossing Picture: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – $474 million

Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 7. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Batman Begins, Taken, Clash of the Titans, The Dark Knight Rises, Taken 2, The LEGO Movie.

Lowest Grosser: Lamb – $5,000

17. Matt Damon

Career Earnings: $2.7 billion

Franchises: The Bourne and Ocean’s series.

Highest Grossing Picture: The Bourne Ultimatum – $227 million

Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 10. Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Ocean’s Eleven, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Ocean’s Twelve, The Departed, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Bourne Ultimatum, True Grit.

Lowest Grosser: Margaret – $46,000

16. Will Smith

Career Earnings: $2.7 billion

Franchises: The Bad Boys and Men in Black series.

Highest Grossing Picture: Independence Day – $306 million

Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 12. Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, MIB 3.

Lowest Grosser: Where the Day Takes You – $390,000

We’ll get to numbers 15-11 tomorrow. Until then!

Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time: Nos. 25-21

Which stars are at the top of the mountain when it comes to overall domestic box office grosses? Well, this trusty blogger has your answers in my new series. This will be a five-part series revealing the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time from #25 to #1.

When looking at the performers who make up the list, you’ll notice some very big names aren’t listed. Brad Pitt. Jim Carrey. Nicolas Cage. Denzel Washington. Why? Well, as you’ll see, it helps to be an actor involved in a successful franchise… or franchises. Therefore – some of the names may well surprise you.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

25. Tommy Lee Jones

Career Earnings: $2.4 billion

Franchises: The Men in Black series. The Fugitive/U.S. Marshals. *Jones also made one time appearances in ongoing franchises with Batman Forever and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Highest Grossing Picture: Men in Black – $250 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 8. The Fugitive, Batman Forever, Men in Black, Double Jeopardy, Men in Black II, Captain America: The First Avenger, MIB 3, Lincoln.

Lowest Grosser: House of Cards – $322,000

24. Stellan Skarsgard

Career Earnings: $2.5 billion

Franchises: The Marvel Universe (Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest/Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. *Skarsgard also appeared in Angels&Demons, the Da Vinci Code sequel.

Highest Grossing Picture: The Avengers – $623 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Mamma Mia!, Angels&Demons, Thor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World.

Lowest Grosser: Boogie Woogie – $2,000

23. Helena Bonham Carter

Career Earnings: $2.5 billion

Franchises: The Harry Potter series. *Bonham Carter also appeared in Terminator: Salvation.

Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Terminator: Salvation, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Les Miserables.

Lowest Grosser: The Theory of Flight – $73,000

22. Orlando Bloom

Career Earnings: $2.5 billion

Franchises: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Hobbit series.

Highest Grossing Picture: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $423 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Black Hawk Down, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Lowest Grosser: Main Street – $2,500

21. Julia Roberts

Career Earnings: $2.6 billion

Franchises: The Ocean’s series.

Highest Grossing Picture: Ocean’s Eleven – $183 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 11. Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy, Hook, The Pelican Brief, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Valentine’s Day.

Lowest Grosser: Fireflies in the Garden – $70,000

That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow with numbers 20-16!

Box Office Predictions: August 8-10

This Friday, four new titles will try to knock massive hit Guardians of the Galaxy from its perch atop the box office. They are the franchise reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, found footage disaster flick Into the Storm, the Helen Mirren led comedic drama The Hundred-Foot Journey, and dance competition sequel Step Up: All In. You can find my detailed prediction posts on each of them here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/03/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/03/into-the-storm-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/03/the-hundred-foot-journey-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/08/03/step-up-all-in-box-office-prediction/

The only newbie with a fair shot of challenging Guardians would seem to be Turtles. However, I am going on the low end of expectations for it. Some have it grossing above $30 million and even closer to $40M, but I believe excitement isn’t quite that high and a robust second weekend for Guardians may hurt it.

Into the Storm looks like a relative flop to me, though some have it outpacing my estimate. The Hundred-Foot Journey should barely top double digits while diminishing results for each successive Step Up flick could hurt All In.

As for holdovers, Guardians got off to a truly spectacular start (more on that below). It will likely fall in the same range as other Marvel hits in their sophomore weekends. In its third weekend, Luc Besson’s Lucy should continue to lose over half its audience. The James Brown biopic Get On Up got off to a disappointing start, but with its A Cinemascore grade, I see it having the smallest decline in its second weekend.

And with that – we’ll do a Top Seven for my projections this weekend:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

Predicted Gross: $42.9 million (representing a drop of 54%)

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Predicted Gross: $28.2 million

3. Into the Storm

Predicted Gross: $13.6 million

4. The Hundred-Foot Journey

Predicted Gross: $10.7 million

5. Get On Up

Predicted Gross: $8.8 million (representing a drop of 34%)

6. Step Up: All In

Predicted Gross: $8.4 million

7. Lucy

Predicted Gross: $8.1 million (representing a drop of 55%)

Box Office Results (August 1-3)

As previously mentioned, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy got off to an astonishingly terrific run with $94.3 million. The very well-reviewed pic boasted the third highest opening of 2014, behind Transformers: Age of Extinction and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It opened nearly $20M above my $74.6M prediction. Guardians may well be in a position to eventually become the summer’s largest grosser. Simply put, the Marvel gravy train keeps chugging along…

Lucy dropped to second with $18.2 million in its sophomore weekend, above my $16.6M projection. The Scarlett Johannson actioner has taken in $79M so far and should certainly top $100M domestically.

Get On Up had a lackluster premiere with $13.5 million, way below my $24.9M estimate. It received solid reviews, especially for star Chadwick Boseman, yet it failed to bring in its intended adult audience.

Hercules dropped to fourth in weekend #2 with $11 million, below my $13M prediction. The Rock’s flick has earned $52 million and should top out around $75M.

In fifth was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in its fourth weekend with $8.6 million, on target with my $8.5M estimate. Dawn has made $189M and should get to around $215M overall.

And that’s all for now, friends!

Step Up: All In Box Office Prediction

While I certainly won’t purport to be an expert in the Step Up film franchise, I can read box office numbers. And there is no doubt that this eight year old series of dance flicks has been on a downward trajectory. Step Up: All In marks the fifth (yes, fifth) entry in the boogie down competition pictures. Each has grossed less than the previous installment.

The 2006 original opened to $20M on its way to a $65M domestic gross. Its 2008 follow-up Step Up 2 the Streets premiered to $18M with an eventual $58M haul. The third pic in 2010 – Step Up 3-D opened to $15M with a $42M overall take. And All In‘s 2012 predecessor Step Up Revolution took in $11M out of the gate with a final gross of $35M.

I see no compelling reason why All In won’t carry on the trend of diminished earnings. I’ll even predict the fifth pic will be the first that fails to debut in double digits, though it should come fairly close.

Step Up: All In opening weekend prediction: $8.4 million