Taking a Look at Clint Eastwood’s Highest Grossing Films

Stoney Keeley looks at Clint Eastwood's best performances at the box office in this piece covering his highest grossing films.

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There is no denying that Clint Eastwood is an absolute icon in Hollywood. The man has been in the business since 1954, and he’s still kicking at the ripe age of 91 years old. There are entire generations of people that know him as the tough hard-walkin’ cowboy. There are entire generations of people that know him as the visionary filmmaker. Regardless, he has established a legacy the likes of which we’ve rarely, if ever, seen. Eastwood’s name popped up awhile ago when he returned to the screen in Cry Macho.

Courtesy of our resident film critic Brandon Vick:

Eastwood is a legend & that’ll never change. Even at 91 years old, he has a commanding presence in front of & behind the camera unlike anyone in his profession, regardless of age. With that said, in his latest western road trip, he miscasts himself as he’s too old for the character he portrays – & that’s not the worst of it. The hackneyed script spins laughable scenes that are clearly unintentional. Additionally, the standard & stodgy story stops & starts, eventually leaving audiences wondering what the hell is the point of all of it. It’s a poor attempt from Eastwood to break down his tough guy persona that he’ll forever be remembered for. Trust me, no one is going to remember this.

So, yeah – it wasn’t exactly the roaring success we had hoped for, but its release got Brandon and me talking about Eastwood’s career, his impact on the film industry, and some of his best performances. I decided to fire up the ol’ IMDB machine to see which of his movies was the biggest commercial success, and figured I’d share what I dug up with you guys.

Clint Eastwood’s Highest Grossing Films

10. Space Cowboys ($129M) – I mean, come on….it’s Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones…in space…and if that’s not enough, we’re going to add the handsome charm of Donald Sutherland to it. OF COURSE this thing is going to make over a hundred million.

9. A Perfect World ($135M) – I wouldn’t have guessed this one from 1993, but maybe this is just a testament to the box office mega draw that is Kevin Costner.

8. Mystic River ($157M) – I know there’s nothing about this movie that’s funny, and it was a tremendous performance for all involved. I swear I take Mystic River seriously, but you guys absolutely HAVE to ask Brandon Vick to do his impression of Sean Penn from this movie.

7. Unforgiven ($159M) – Okay, so while Eastwood, the filmmaker, is synonymous with my generation, Eastwood, the gunslinger, is synonymous with the generations before us. So, I’m happy that at least one iconic Eastwood western made the list. Plus, what a case with Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris.

6. The Mule ($170M) – Late stage Eastwood has been a little hit or miss, but hot damn was he fantastic in The Mule as a farmer who ends up peddling drugs for the cartel.

5. The Bridges of Madison County ($182M) – You get two Hollywood juggernauts like Eastwood and Meryl Streep in the same movie and OF COURSE it’s going to strike box office gold.

4. Million Dollar Baby ($217M) – Some might say it’s the greatest Eastwood flick of all time, and I’d be hard-pressed to argue with you. Million Dollar Baby did work at the Oscars that year, bringing home Best Picture, Best Director (Eastwood), Best Actress (Hillary Swank), and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman).

3. Sully ($239M) – There’s no doubt that Eastwood can haul in some stars for his movies, and Sully was no different with Tom Hanks in the lead role as Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot that landed his plane in the Hudson River as it was crashing.

2. Gran Torino ($270M) – Nothing has ever made ‘get off my lawn’ as cool as Eastwood did in this one. For my money, this is the best Clint Eastwood of all time and deserves billions of dollars.

1. American Sniper ($547M) – No real surprise here to me, as American Sniper was massive when it came out back in 2014. It had Bradley Cooper, aka pure sex, and it got a lot of awards buzz. It’s one of Eastwood’s best, and man, is it a gut-wrencher to get through. A classic, for sure.

The resident film critic of SoBros Network, Brandon Vick, and myself recently hopped on the mics to talk about Clint Eastwood’s filmography (focusing on his work from 2000 on – keep in mind, we’re still youngin’s when you look at the career trajectory of Clint Eastwood). You can subscribe to The Vick’s Flicks Podcast on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or simply smash that play button on the embed below!

Listen to “Ep. 83: Clint Eastwood” on Spreaker.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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