The first comedy movie dates as far back as 1895, when Louis Lumière directed and produced the comedyfilm wasL’Arroseur Arrosé. The comedy genre has come a long way from a boy playing a trick on a gardener. These days, we have a variety of comedy genres to choose from, depending on what mood we’re in:comedies about women friendshipslikeBridesmaids, dark comedies likeJojo Rabbit,classic holiday comedieslikeHome Alone, and many more.
Watching a comedy movie in a theater and experiencing laughter with a community of movie-lovers is an incomparable experience. It’s no wonder that, at their peak, comedies were some of the most commercially viable and successful movies ever. Now, perThe Ringer, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Hollywood studio comedy being released in theaters. While we hope things will change in the future, let’s take a look back at the highest-grossing comedies of all time.
8The Hangover (2009) — $465.5M
When the first installment ofTheHangovertrilogy released in 2009, no one expected the impact the movie would have on the comedy genre. Directed by Todd Phillips, the film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, and Ken Jeong in leading roles. It tells the story of four best friends, Phil Wenneck (Cooper), Stu Price (Helms), Alan Garner (Galifianakis), and Doug Billings (Bartha), who travel to Las Vegas for Doug’s bachelor party. When they wake up the day after, they don’t remember a single thing — and their friend Doug is missing. They have to dig up what happened and locate their friend.The Hangoverbecame the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States.
Related:These Are the Highest-Grossing Movie Franchises of All Time
7Home Alone (1990) — $476.7M
The grip thatHome Alonehas on everyone’s Christmas holidays is truly unbeatable. Directed by Chris Columbus ,and written and produced by John Hughes, the Christmas comedy stars Macaulay Culkin in the main role, which ended up making him a major child star. Culkin plays the character of 8-year-old Kevin, who is left behind by his family as they travel to France for Christmas. At first, he’s ecstatic to take charge when home alone, but soon he has to deal with cunning thieves that try to rob their house. Joe Pesci, who played the thief Harry, has recently said that we should never say never about aHome Alonesequel. Whether it’d have the same success as the first installment is a question that will probably be left unanswered.
6Bruce Almighty (2003) — $484.5M
Directed by Tom Shadyac,Bruce Almightyis a fantasy comedy starring Jim Carrey as Bruce in the leading role and Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Baker Hall, and Steve Carell in supporting roles. Bruce Nolan is a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God about the injustices done to him. God (Freeman) gives him the ability to be in his position for a week, to see just how difficult it is. Although the film received mixed reviews, it surprised people by topping Memorial Day opening weekend and beatingThe Matrix Reloadedthe following weekend. In the unmadeBruce Almightysequel, Carrey’s character would have been given the devil’s powers. Such a shame they didn’t go through with it.
5Les Intouchables (2012) — $484.6M
Written and directed by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano,Les Intouchablesalso known asUntouchable,is a French buddy comedy-drama. It stars François Cluzet as Phillipe and Omar Sy as Bakary in the leading roles. The film tells a story about an unusual friendship formed between street smart immigrant Bakary, whose job is to take care of paralyzed nobleman Phillipe. It became the biggest box office hit in France and won many awards, such as the César Award for Best Actor for Sy. What’s more 5% of the movie’s profit were given to Simon de Cyrène, an association that helps paralyzed people.
Related:Best Heartfelt Comedy Movies to Watch, Ranked
4Meet the Fockers (2004) — $516.6M
As the sequel to the 2000 filmMeet the Parents,Meet the Fockersis a comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It stars big names such as Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, and Teri Polo in the leading roles. The film centers around engaged couple Greg Focker (Stiller) and Pam (Polo), who decide to introduce their parents to each other before the big wedding. However, the Fockers' relaxed attitude doesn’t really go well with Pam’s family’s uptightness. The movie works mainly because of the characters' quirks and the complex pasts they all reference.
3Ted (2012) — $556M
Directed by Seth MacFarlane (in his directorial debut),Tedis a comedy film starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, with MacFarlane providing the voice and motion capture of the title character. It tells the story of John Bennett, whose childhood dream to have his teddy bear talk comes true. However, as he grows older, it starts interfering with his romantic relationship. Ted does everything in his power to ruin the relationship out of jealousy.Tedwas the highest-grossing comedy film of 2012. Its critical and commercial success helped it to successfully launch a franchise.
2The Hangover Part II (2011) — $586.8M
As the sequel to the 2009 filmThe Hangover,The Hangover Part IIwas yet again directed by Todd Phillips and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The cast is pretty much identical to the first movie, with Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis, Jeong, Tambor, and Bartha all returning in leading roles. However, this movie focuses on Stu’s (Helms) bachelor’s party in Thailand. While the first film saw Doug disappear, in the second one, we lose Stu’s brother-in-law. Although it became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy during its theatrical run, it didn’t receive as positive of reviews as the original.
1Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) $938.5M
Minions: The Rise of Gruis the newest entry in our list as the film was released only this summer. The computer-animated comedy film is the sequel to the 2015Minionsmovie and the fifth entry overall in theDespicable Mefranchise. Steve Carell reprises his role as Gru, with Pierre Coffin as the Minions. In the film, 11-year-old Gru decides to become the world’s greatest supervillian with the help of his Minions and a group of supervillains called the Vicious 6 hot on their tails. Despite getting delayed for two years due to COVID-19,The Rise of Gruwas a box office success, grossing about $939 million worldwide and making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2022.
