10 Actors Whose Highest-Grossing Movie Isn't The One You'd Expect

The box office game is not always so straightforward, and many popular actors’ highest-grossing movies would surprise their fans. The reasons that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga flopped illustrate bigger challenges than ever for movies hoping for a traditional theatrical release, especially in the age of swift streaming releases. What makes a movie a financial success is a complex combination of timing, widespread appeal, industry tastes, and some luck.

Beloved 2000s movies that flopped demonstrate the phenomenon of the cult classic, where what now is regarded as an actor’s best movie probably wasn’t a hit at the box office. Sci-fi and fantasy are the genres with the greatest potential for massive movie events, but the existence of great fantasy movies that flopped proves that even good movies of these genres aren’t guaranteed profits. With many moving pieces, an actor’s most famous or best movie might not be their most financially successful one, misdirecting movie enthusiasts who assume so.

All box office information contained in this list is according to

boxofficemojo.com

10 Brad Pitt

Highest Grossing Movie: World War Z

The World War Z movie changed the ending for a more uplifting conclusion, drastically altering the book’s subversion of the zombie apocalypse genre. Although this ending is widely criticized, Brad Pitt’s star power and the novel’s acclaim combined still managed to make World War Z a box office hit. World War Z‘s different ending at least contributed to an ongoing discussion about how the proposed sequel might have gotten the story back on track, returning to the exploration of global politics amid a zombie outbreak.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
World War Z	2013	Gerry Lane	$540,455,876
Troy	2004	Achilles	$497,409,852
Mr. & Mrs. Smith	2005	John Smith	$487,287,646
Ocean’s Eleven	2001	Rusty Ryan	$450,717,150
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood	2019	Cliff Booth	$392,105,159

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Yet Pitt is a massive Hollywood star remembered for various enjoyable blockbusters — and not just his highest-grossing movie, but his two highest-grossing movies are both disappointing. World War Z and Troy are the most typical blockbusters of Pitt’s career, with big action sequences and allegedly bigger themes. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is more of an at-home watch, while Ocean’s Eleven and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are less typical hits. However, the margins between all these movies’ earnings aren’t that big.

9 Timothy Spall

Highest Grossing Movie: Alice In Wonderland

The cast of the Harry Potter movies are in the same situation as anyone who appeared in Avengers: Endgame, where it is a safe bet as to what the highest-grossing movie of their career is. Indeed, Timothy Spall’s list of highest-grossing movies is dominated by the Harry Potter installments in which he appears, completely overshadowing the rest of his career. Unlike just about every other member of the cast, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 isn’t technically his biggest earner.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (credit only)	2011	Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail	$1,342,480,797
Alice in Wonderland	2010	Bayard	$1,025,468,216
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1	2010	Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail	$960,897,696
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	2005	Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail	$941,055,851
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	2005	Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail	$897,468,952

Spall only appears in archive footage in the last Harry Potter movie and is credited as an honorable mention with the rest of the recurring cast for the last movie. Amazingly, Alice in Wonderland outperformed all the other Harry Potter movies to be one of the highest-grossing fantasy movies of all time. This can perhaps be attributed to Harry Potter being an ongoing saga and Alice in Wonderland being a standalone adventure. Meanwhile, Spall’s other famous titles, such as The King’s Speech and Enchanted, follow his other Harry Potter movies.

The lifetime grosses of the
Harry Potter
movies are inflated slightly by re-releases, but not by enough to out-earn any of Spall’s other movies.

8 Mila Kunis

Highest Grossing Movie: Ted

Mila Kunis seems like she has been in more box office hits than she actually has, a byproduct of her career being a mix of movies and TV. Possibly the respective critical and financial struggles of Oz the Great and Powerful and Jupiter Ascending turned her away from potential high earners; unfortunately, she is one of the best parts of both these movies. Kunis’ best movie would be the Oscar-nominated Black Swan, making for a safe guess as to her highest-grossing title when the rest of her movie career comprises goofy rom-coms.

Then again, many people know Kunis from her TV work, overshadowing her failed movies.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Ted	2012	Lori Collins	$549,368,315
Oz the Great and Powerful	2013	Theodora	$493,311,825
Black Swan	2010	Lily	$329,398,046
Jupiter Ascending	2015	Jupiter Jones	$184,287,723
Bad Moms	2016	Amy	$183,936,074

However, Kunis’ highest-grossing movie remains 2012’s extra-goofy comedy Ted, about a teddy bear who comes to life and steals his best friend’s girlfriend (Kunis). While Ted accomplished its own splurge of popularity, it still seems like Kunis’ highest-grossing movie should be one of the ones that has more spectacle and at least takes itself seriously. Then again, many people know Kunis from her TV work, overshadowing her failed movies.

7 Tom Cruise

Highest Grossing Movie: Top Gun: Maverick

Tom Cruise is a veteran action movie star who continuously returns to high-speed chase sequences and death-defying heights, committed to performing his own stunts. Top Gun: Maverick became a surprise massive box office success, going far beyond any of Cruise’s other famous titles. For those who aren’t always checking the numbers and feel like all of Cruise’s action movies blur together, Mission: Impossible at least being close to Top Gun might seem like a fair assumption. However, this could not be more untrue.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Top Gun: Maverick	2022	Pete “Maverick” Mitchell	$1,495,696,292
Mission: Impossible – Fallout	2018	Ethan Hunt	$791,658,205
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol	2011	Ethan Hunt	$694,713,380
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	2015	Ethan Hunt	$682,716,636
War of the Worlds	2005	Ray Ferier	$603,873,504

It is natural to categorize Top Gun and the Mission: Impossible movies together as “blockbuster movies starring Tom Cruise,” but the acclaimed legacy sequel earned almost double what the highest earners of the Mission: Impossible franchise did. Meanwhile, Cruise’s other action movies are left in Ethan Hunt’s dust as he lags far behind Maverick. As time goes on and Top Gun: Maverick settles into history as such a huge box office hit, more people are likely to become aware of how it stands out.

6 Wendie Malick

Highest Grossing Movie: Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Wendie Malick is something of a dark horse in TV, turning up in various shows and always delivering sharp performances. Fans of The Owl House know she is just as clever and funny as a voice actress, bringing to life the self-declared “bad girl” witch and brilliant mentor, Eda the Owl Lady. Malick’s voice-acting talents transfer over to film with her minor role in The Emperor’s New Groove and Kronk’s New Groove. In two movies brimming with hilarious voice performances, Malick still holds her own as Pacha’s no-nonsense wife Chicha.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel	2009	Dr. Rubin	$443,140,005
The Emperor’s New Groove	2000	Chicha	$169,704,994
Confessions of a Shopaholic	2009	Miss Korch	$108,394,089
The American President	1995	Susan Sloan	$107,879,496
Racing Stripes	2005	Clara Dalrymple	$90,754,475

The Emperor’s New Groove *should* be Malick’s highest-grossing movie, but it is famously a beloved Disney title that underperformed at the box office. This means that her highest-grossing movie is, sadly, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, in which she plays the high school principal who is a secret Chipmunks fan. Admittedly, Malick’s career is mostly in TV and the box office flop of The Emperor’s New Groove is still her second highest-grossing movie. This is still a disappointing revelation for her fans, who know her top movie should be something better.

5 Keanu Reeves

Highest Grossing Movie: Toy Story 4

The lead of two major 21st-century genre-defining action movies, the logical conclusion is that one of the Matrix or John Wick movies would be the highest-grossing title of Keanu Reeves’ career. However, similar to the Avengers: Endgame situation, Toy Story is its own cultural phenomenon of another class. Anyone even minimally involved with Toy Story 4 is automatically a part of one of the highest-grossing animated movies ever, which is going to easily beat out the rest of their career.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Toy Story 4	2019	Duke Caboom	$1,073,841,394
The Matrix Reloaded (original release)	2003	Neo	$739, 412, 035
The Matrix (original release)	1999	Neo	$463, 517, 383
John Wick: Chapter 4	2023	John Wick	$440,180,275
The Matrix Revolutions	2003	Neo	$427,344,325

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Additionally, it is easy to forget that Reeves is in Toy Story 4 behind the animated medium in a role drastically different from Neo and John Wick. The rest of Reeves’ highest-grossing movies are predictably all Matrix and John Wick, showcasing the rise and fall of the former and the slow build of the latter. However, the matter is complicated by re-releases and inflation, but Reeves’ fans can’t deny that it is astounding how dominant Toy Story is in his career.

Accounting for inflation,
The Matrix Reloaded
‘s gross at the time of its original release was worth approximately $1.3 billion in 2019, beating out
Toy Story 4
.

4 Diane Keaton

Highest Grossing Movie: Finding Dory

The Godfather was never the type of movie to break box office records, not even with its lifetime gross ($250,342,198). Diane Keaton’s other pre-21st-century classic is Annie Hall, which was also, unsurprisingly, a sleeper hit. The rest of her career comprises some feel-good rom-coms and slice-of-life movies, which saw varying levels of success. Keaton’s most successful movie people would likely think is more representative of the type of movie she generally makes is Something’s Gotta Give, which barely crossed $260 million and still made more than The Godfather.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Finding Dory	2016	Jenny	$1,029,266,989
Something’s Gotta Give	2003	Erica Barry	$265,328,738
The Godfather (original release)	1972	Kay Adams	$243,862,778
The First Wives Club	1996	Annie MacDuggan Paradis	$181,489,203
Book Club	2018	Diane	$104,438,188

Keaton’s highest-grossing movie to date by a landslide is Finding Dory, which reaped all the benefits of being a highly-anticipated legacy sequel to one of Pixar’s best movies. After more than a decade of Ellen DeGeneres begging for the movie to be made, Pixar pulled out all the stops for Finding Dory, recruiting a veritable roster of stars to voice supporting characters. In addition to Keaton, this includes Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neil, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Kate McKinnon, and Sigourney Weaver.

3 James Earl Jones

Highest Grossing Movie: The Lion King

Based on several technicalities, James Earl Jones’ big franchise isn’t his biggest earner. Most of the live-action Disney remakes have been runaway box office hits, but The Lion King outperformed them all. With a stacked cast of musical icons performing the legendary songs, plus Jones reprising his role as Mufasa, The Lion King saw an impressive turnout, despite any misgivings about the new medium. Unsurprisingly, multiple Star Wars movies and the original Lion King are right behind it.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
The Lion King	2019	Mufasa	$1,662,020,819
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	2019	Darth Vader	$1,077,022,372
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	2016	Darth Vader	$1,058,684,742
The Lion King	1994	Mufasa	$981,586,438
Coming to America	1988	King Jaffe Joffer	$288,752,301

Jones had a stellar career that encompassed many amazing movies, but none reached the heights or cultural impact of Star Wars or The Lion King. Yet how the first Star Wars movies rank among the highest-grossing movies of all time is affected by the price of movie tickets when they came out. Adjusted for inflation, the original Star Wars currently ranks as the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time, after Titanic, Avatar, and Gone with the Wind.

The original
Star Wars
trilogy’s box office earnings are all inflated by many re-releases over the years. The lifetime gross of
Star Wars: A New Hope
is $775,398,507. Its worldwide gross for its original release is $307,263,857, worth approximately $1.6 billion today.

2 Michelle Yeoh

Highest Grossing Movie: Minions: The Rise Of Gru

Michelle Yeoh’s list of highest-grossing movies does not reflect the best of her career when these movies are mostly indies and cult classics. Still, her fans might guess that Crazy Rich Asians is her highest-grossing movie, perhaps forgetting about her brief roles in the MCU. Picking up some voice acting roles in widely appealing family movies like Kung Fu Panda 2 and a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, these movies overtake her list.

However, Yeoh likely has a high earner with Wicked, expected in November 2024.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Minions: The Rise of Gru	2022	Master Chow	$940,203,765
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	2017	Aleta Ogord/Starhawk	$863,756,903
Kung Fu Panda 2	2011	Soothsayer	$665,692,281
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts	2023	Airazor	$438,966,392
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings	2021	Jiang Nan	$432,243,292

The most beloved movies of Yeoh’s career, including Everything Everywhere All at Once and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, aren’t even in her top five. Her highest-grossing movie should definitely not be another unnecessary Despicable Me spinoff. However, Yeoh likely has a high earner with Wicked, expected in November 2024. With plenty of magic and spectacle and more than enough great starts, Wicked might at least take the top spot away from Minions: The Rise of Gru.

1 Alan Tudyk

Highest Grossing Movie: Frozen II

Comedy star Alan Tudyk has a strong rapport with Disney, with the executives always happy to give him a small comedic role in their animated movies. However, it’s still a natural assumption that anyone involved in a Star Wars movie would see that movie become their highest earner. Yet Rogue One: A Star Wars story, in which Tudyk gets to show off all his comedic talent as the wise-cracking droid K-2SO, is barely in his top five. Those who remember that Tudyk voiced the Duke of Weselton would probably guess Frozen next.

Movie	Release date	Character	Worldwide Gross
Frozen II	2019	Duke/Northuldra Leader/Arendellian Soldier	$1,453,683,476
Frozen	2013	Duke of Weselton	$1,306,000,529
Transformers: Dark of	2011	Dutch	$1,123,794,079
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	2016	K-2SO	$1,058,684,742
Aladdin	2019	Iago	$1,054,304,000

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However, Tudyk tricks everyone by sneaking his way into Frozen II. With the duke mostly written out of the story, Frozen II allowed Tudyk some other voice cameos in the form of multiple characters. When Frozen II out-earned its predecessor, despite the former’s status as a memorable cultural phenomenon, it became Tudyk’s highest-grossing movie to date. Many actors’ careers are full of surprises like this, either because of unexpected box office successes or because people just forget some movies that they were in.

Source: boxofficemojo.com

10 Actors Whose Highest-Grossing Movie Isn’t The One You’d Expect