Harrison Ford Is the Highest-Grossing Actor in U.S. Box Office History, Thanks, ‘Star Wars’!
In addition to the other box office records it’s already broken, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on the verge of topping Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time, worldwide. But the franchise isn’t the only thing breaking box office records — so is one of its stars. Thanks to the huge success of The Force Awakens, Harrison Ford is now the highest-grossing actor in box office history…in America, anyway.
According to The Wrap, Ford has now out-grossed Samuel L. Jackson as the actor with the biggest box office take in U.S. history. Ford’s films have now grossed $4.7 billion, outranking Jackson’s $4.67 billion, and while that may seem like just a fraction of a difference, there’s actually millions of dollars between them.
Of the many, many films the two have appeared in, here are their five most popular titles, starting with Ford:
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Star Wars
- Indiana Jones and Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
- Return of the Jedi
- The Empire Strikes Back
(You’ll be forgiven for a different Indiana Jones title not appearing in Ford’s top five, as it’s understandable that we were all pumped for a new Indy film, and everyone went to see Crystal Skull, which would account for its popularity. Maybe some of you saw it more than once, hoping that it would get better upon second viewing. It didn’t. Lesson learned.)
And here are Jackson’s top five films:
- The Avengers
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
- Iron Man 2
- The Incredibles
Three of Jackson’s top five are, unsurprisingly, Marvel films, but the inclusion of Iron Man 2 over…anything else…is a bit odd. As for Revenge of the Sith, see above note regarding Crystal Skull. We get it.
Both actors have a few more blockbusters on the horizon, which should keep their (friendly) competition quite fierce. Jackson appears in The Legend of Tarzan and Kong: Skull Island, while Ford is slated to reprise his roles for a fifth Indiana Jones movie and a Blade Runner sequel. Who will ultimately retain the title? If Harrison Ford starts appearing in Marvel movies, all bets are off.