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Playing the box-office game is a tricky business. Audiences’ tastes are subjective and ever-changing; one minute, they can rally behind the underdog movie; next, they’ll turn their backs on whatever blockbuster is playing. No movie is safe, no matter how many big stars or flashy characters it has.
However, some films defy every odd and prediction and come out on top of the box-office machine. Whether because they successfully capture the zeitgeist or because they catch lightning in a bottle, these movies became unexpected box office triumphs, matching the strength of other seemingly stronger IPs and, in some cases, surpassing it.
10 ‘Get Out’ (2017)
Jordan Peele successfully transitioned behind the camera with his spectacular 2017 horror thriller Get Out. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, a young man going to stay with his white girlfriend’s family for the weekend. However, things take a twisted and dangerous turn when Chris discovers not everything is as it seems.
Get Out deftly blends thrills with nuanced social commentary, resulting in a relevant and biting psychological horror nightmare. The film was an unexpected box-office success, grossing $255 million worldwide against a meager budget of just $4.5 million. Get Out was also a massive critical darling, earning Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay at the 2018 ceremony.
9 ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ (2002)
The 2002 romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding remains a fascinating and inspiring success story. The film was written by and stars Nia Vardalos as Tula, a Greek woman who begins a romantic relationship with Ian Miller, a handsome, non-Greek school teacher.
Rom-coms are fairly popular at the box office, but their appeal is somewhat limited and hardly ever make them big numbers. However, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was an unexpected smash, grossing a titanic $368 million worldwide against a paltry budget of only $5 million. The film spawned an unlikely trilogy and gave every rom-com hope that they, too, might strike it big at the box office.
8 ‘Bad Boys For Life’ (2020)
January is infamous for being a dead month at the box office. Studios send their stinkers to die a slow and embarrassing death in January, but occasionally, a film rises to the occasion and defies the month’s curse. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence‘s long-awaited Bad Boys for Life did just that.
The film grossed an impressive $426 million worldwide against a production budget of $90 million. More impressive is the fact that Bad Boys for Life premiered months before the COVID-19 epidemic began, meaning it made the bulk of its money before the international lockdown began. A sequel is already in development, and with these numbers, it’s not hard to see why.
7 ‘Cast Away’ (2000)
There was a time when an actor’s name was enough to take a movie to the top of the box office charts. Tom Hanks was such a movie star, and the incredible success of his 2000 survivalist drama Cast Away proves it. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film follows Chuck Noland, a FedEx executive who becomes stranded on a deserted island after his plane crashes.
Cast Away received universal praise from critics, with Hanks receiving his fifth Oscar nomination for his efforts. The film was also an overwhelming success, grossing $429 million worldwide against a production budget of $90 million. The days when a movie star could single-handedly deliver these numbers are long gone, but it’s fascinating to look back and see how much power these actors wielded.
6 ‘American Sniper’ (2014)
Bradley Cooper cemented his serious actor persona and received his third consecutive Oscar nomination for Clint Eastwood‘s war drama American Sniper. Adapted from Chris Kyle’s eponymous memoir, the film chronicles Kyle’s sniping career throughout four tours in the Iraq War.
It’s still puzzling to think American Sniper was such a gargantuan box office success, but it was. The film grossed $547 million worldwide against a production budget of $58 million. American Sniper‘s success was mainly in North America, which makes sense considering the themes and Eastwood’s approach to the story.
5 ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2008)
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Never underestimate the power of ABBA’s music. The 2008 musical Mamma Mia! stars Amanda Seyfried as Sophie, a young woman about to get married. Wanting to discover more about her identity, she sends invitations to her mother’s three youth lovers, hoping to find out which of them is her birth father. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard also star.
Mamma Mia! received lukewarm reviews but was a spectacular box office success, grossing $694 million worldwide against a production budget of $52 million. The film is the second-highest-grossing musical, only surpassed by Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.
4 ‘The Hunger Games’ (2012)
Jennifer Lawrence rose to international stardom with Gary Ross‘ 2012 dystopian action movie The Hunger Games. Adapted from the eponymous 2008 novel and set in a dystopian USA, the plot centers on Katniss Everdeen, a teenager from an impoverished district forced to compete in a deathly televised event known as the Hunger Games.
Although hopes were high based on the success of The Twilight Saga and the novel’s built-in fanbase, hardly anyone expected it to be such a massive hit. The Hunger Gamesgrossed $694 million worldwide against a production budget of $78 million. The film launched the highly successful Hunger Games series and deluded Hollywood into thinking YA was the future of franchise storytelling. Alas, future YA adaptations proved unsuccessful, with only Katniss reaming atop the box office charts.
3 ‘Frozen’ (2013)
Disney’s Frozen was a bonafide phenomenon. Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, the film centers on Elsa, a young woman with ice powers who secludes herself out of fear. When her kingdom becomes frozen, her sister, Anna, sets out on a dangerous journey to bring her back.
Thanks to handsome animation and a ridiculously catchy soundtrack, including the now-legendary breakout hit “Let It Go,” Frozen was inescapable. The film was a box office juggernaut, grossing a gargantuan $1.2 billion worldwide while carrying a production tag of $150 million. Frozen reminded audiences of Disney’s true power, proving the Mouse House still sits atop the Hollywood food chain.
2 ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)
Cinema took a while to go back to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic; if it did, it was thanks to major hits like Top Gun: Maverick. Tom Cruise returned to the role that made him a star, with the plot centering around Maverick’s efforts to train a new generation of Top Gun pilots, including the son of his late best friend, Goose.
Top Gun: Maverick was arguably the biggest movie of 2022. Critically acclaimed and fiercely embraced by audiences, the film defied all expectations and became the year’s second-highest-grossing film, with worldwide earnings of $1.4 billion. Maverick captured the zeitgeist in ways few other movies have been able to, cementing Cruise as the last movie star and proving audiences will flood the theater for the right movie.
1 ‘Avatar’ (2009)
As a rule of thumb, it’s never wise to bet against James Cameron. Widely considered among the all-time great filmmakers, Cameron revolutionized the action and sci-fi genres with films like Aliens and The Terminator. However, Cameron’s crowning achievement is 2009’s Avatar, a film that broke box-office records to become the all-time highest-grossing picture.
Avatar grossed $2.7 billion worldwide during its original theatrical release, a herculean feat that took a decade to surpass. Enough has been said about how Avatar left no mark in the cinematic landscape. However, last year’s release of Avatar: The Way of Water proved the naysayers wrong, with the film grossing $2.3 billion worldwide and confirming that Cameron is, indeed, the king of the world.
