List of highest-grossing biographical films

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This is a list of highest-grossing biographical films, also known as biopics.

Highest-grossing biopics

  † Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 15 May 2026 in theaters around the world.
More information Rank, Film ...
Rank Film Year Gross Subject(s) Ref
1Oppenheimer2023$975,811,333J. Robert Oppenheimer[1]
2Bohemian Rhapsody2018$910,813,521Freddie Mercury and Queen[2]
3 Hi, Mom 2021 $841,674,419 Jia Ling and Li Huanying [3]
4 Michael † 2026 $703,852,827 Michael Jackson [4]
5 The Passion of the Christ 2004 $612,054,506 Jesus Christ [5]
6American Sniper2014$547,659,020Chris Kyle[6]
7The Revenant2015$532,950,503Hugh Glass[7]
8 The Eight Hundred 2020 $461,421,559 Xie Jinyuan [8]
93002006$456,082,343Leonidas I and Xerxes I[9]
10 Dying to Survive 2018 $451,183,391 Lu Yong [10]
11The Greatest Showman2017$434,993,183P. T. Barnum[11]
12The Intouchables2011$426,590,315Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou[12]
13 The Captain 2019 $417,282,021 Captain Liu Chuanjian [13]
14The King's Speech2010$414,245,125George VI[14]
15The Wolf of Wall Street2013$407,039,432Jordan Belfort[15]
16Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood2019$392,105,159Sharon Tate[16]
17Apollo 131995$355,237,933Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, Ken Mattingly[17]
18Catch Me If You Can2002$352,114,312Frank Abagnale[18]
19 Dangal 2016 $340,000,000 Mahavir Singh Phogat and Phogat sisters [19]
20 300: Rise of an Empire 2014 $337,580,051 Xerxes I, Darius the Great, Themistocles [20]
21Schindler's List1993$322,161,245Oskar Schindler[21]
22Green Book2018$321,752,656Don Shirley and Tony Lip[22]
23The Conjuring 22016$321,370,008Ed and Lorraine Warren[23]
24The Conjuring2013$320,415,166 Ed and Lorraine Warren[24]
25A Beautiful Mind2001$316,791,257John Forbes Nash[25]
26The Blind Side2009$309,231,694Michael Oher[26]
27The Pursuit of Happyness2006$307,127,625Chris Gardner[27]
28 Never Say Never 2023 $304,280,699 En Bo, Su Mudaerji, Enbo Fight Club [28]
29Shakespeare in Love1998$289,317,794William Shakespeare[29]
30Elvis2022$288,670,284Elvis Presley[30]
31The Sound of Music1965$286,213,233Trapp Family[31]
32Lincoln2012$275,293,450Abraham Lincoln[32]
33American Gangster2007$269,755,430Frank Lucas[33]
34 Exodus: Gods and Kings 2014 $268,175,631 Moses, Ramesses II, Seti I, Joshua [34]
35Erin Brockovich2000$257,851,763Erin Brockovich[35]
36American Hustle2013$251,171,807Mel Weinberg[36]
37Sound of Freedom2023$250,570,396Tim Ballard[37]
38Sully2016$243,870,033Sully Sullenberger[38]
39Hidden Figures2016$235,956,898Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson[39]
40The Imitation Game2014$233,555,708Alan Turing[40]
41Argo2012$232,325,503Tony Mendez[41]
42Out of Africa1985$227,514,205Isak Dinesen[42]
43Ford v Ferrari2019$225,508,210Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles[43]
44The Social Network2010$224,927,749Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Divya Narendra[44]
45Napoleon2023$221,394,838Napoleon[45]
46Captain Phillips2013$220,648,184Richard Phillips and Abduwali Muse[46]
47 The Terminal 2004 $219,100,084 Mehran Karimi Nasseri [47]
48The Prince of Egypt1998$218,613,188Moses, Ramesses II, Zipporah, Miriam[48]
49 Kingdom of Heaven 2005 $218,366,336 Balian of Ibelin, Saladin, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem [49]
50 Public Enemies 2009 $214,104,620 John Dillinger [50]
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Biggest opening weekends

The following is a list of biographical films that grossed over $1 million worldwide in its opening weekend.

More information Rank, Film ...
Rank Film Year Opening weekend Subject(s) Ref
1 Michael 2026 $218,800,000 Michael Jackson [51]
2 Hi, Mom 2021 $195,000,000 Jia Ling and Li Huanying [52]
3 Oppenheimer 2023 $180,400,000 J. Robert Oppenheimer [53]
4 Dying to Survive 2018 $152,163,428 Lu Yong [54]
5 Bohemian Rhapsody 2018 $141,700,000 Freddie Mercury and Queen [55]
6 The Eight Hundred 2020 $116,000,000 Xie Jinyuan [56]
7 American Sniper 2014 $92,693,844 Chris Kyle [57]
8 The Passion of the Christ 2004 $83,848,082 Jesus Christ [58]
9 300 2006 $70,885,301 Leonidas I and Xerxes I [59]
10 The Revenant 2015 $41,383,741 Hugh Glass [60]
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Box office ticket sales

See also: List of films by box office admissions

The following is a list of biographical films that sold over 1 million tickets at the worldwide box office.

More information Film, Year ...
Film Year Ticket sales (est.) Subject(s) Ref
The Xi'an Incident 1981 450,000,000 Zhang Xueliang, Zhou Enlai, Chiang Kai-shek [61]
Ji Hongchang 1979 380,000,000 Ji Hongchang [62]
The Sound of Music 1965 283,300,000 Trapp Family [63]
The Ten Commandments 1956 262,000,000 Moses, Ramesses II, Nefertari, Zipporah
Bohemian Rhapsody 2018 176,500,000 Freddie Mercury and Queen [64]
Ben-Hur 1959 168,893,565 Jesus, Joseph, Balthazar, Pontius Pilate [a]
Mughal-e-Azam (The Great Mughal) 1960 150,000,000 Akbar, Jahangir, Anarkali, Mariam-uz-Zamani [71]
Dangal 2016 140,000,000 Mahavir Singh Phogat and Phogat sisters
Hi, Mom 2021 121,000,000 Jia Ling and Li Huanying [72]
Cleopatra 1963 116,470,333 Cleopatra [b]
The Revenant 2015 106,800,000 Hugh Glass [77]
Oppenheimer 2023 102,700,000 J. Robert Oppenheimer [78]
Dying to Survive 2018 89,042,600 Lu Yong [79]
The Passion of the Christ 2004 85,612,215 Jesus [80]
The Eight Hundred 2020 80,919,900 Xie Jinyuan [81]
Lawrence of Arabia 1962 71,487,525 T. E. Lawrence, Faisal I, Auda Abu Tayi [82]
300 2006 52,317,727 Leonidas I and Xerxes I [83]
The Intouchables 2011 50,200,000 Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou [84]
American Sniper 2014 49,500,000 Chris Kyle [85]
Michael † 2026 48,400,000 Michael Jackson [86]
Out of Africa 1985 46,319,692 Isak Dinesen [87][88]
Funny Girl 1968 43,467,033 Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein [89]
Gandhi 1982 26,838,889 Gandhi, Nehru, Muhammad Jinnah [c]
Coal Miner's Daughter 1980 25,000,000 Loretta Lynn [94]
Amadeus 1984 23,970,265 Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri [95][96]
Funny Lady 1975 22,900,000 Fanny Brice, Billy Rose, Nicky Arnstein [97]
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Timeline of gross records

More information Year, Film ...
Year Film Gross Subject(s) Ref
1956 The Ten Commandments $122,700,000 Moses, Ramesses II, Nefertari, Zipporah [98]
1959 Ben-Hur $146,900,000 Jesus, Joseph, Balthazar, Pontius Pilate [99]
1965 The Sound of Music $286,213,233 Trapp Family [31]
1993 Schindler's List $322,161,245 Oskar Schindler [21]
1995 Apollo 13 $355,237,933 Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, Ken Mattingly [17]
2004 The Passion of the Christ $612,054,506 Jesus [5]
2018 Bohemian Rhapsody $910,813,521 Freddie Mercury and Queen [2]
2023 Oppenheimer $975,811,333 J. Robert Oppenheimer [1]
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Highest-grossing biopics by year

More information Year, Film ...
Year Film Gross Tickets Subject(s) Ref
1956 The Ten Commandments $122,700,000 262,000,000 Moses, Ramesses II, Nefertari [98][63]
1957
1958
1959 Ben-Hur $146,900,000 168,893,565 Jesus, Joseph, Balthazar [99][a]
1960 Mughal-e-Azam (The Great Mughal) $24,000,000 150,000,000 Akbar, Jahangir, Anarkali [100][101][71]
1961
1962 Lawrence of Arabia $69,995,047 71,487,525 T. E. Lawrence, Faisal I, Auda Abu Tayi [102][82]
1963 Cleopatra $76,000,000 116,470,333 Cleopatra [103][104][b]
1964
1965 The Sound of Music $286,213,233 283,300,000 Trapp Family [31][63]
1966
1967
1968 Funny Girl $58,707,416 43,467,033 Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein [105][89]
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975 Funny Lady $40,055,897 22,900,000 Fanny Brice, Billy Rose, Nicky Arnstein [106][97]
1976
1977
1978
1979 Ji Hongchang ? 380,000,000 Ji Hongchang [62]
1980 Coal Miner's Daughter $67,182,787 25,000,000 Loretta Lynn [107][94]
1981 The Xi'an Incident ? 450,000,000 Zhang Xueliang and Zhou Enlai [61]
1982 Gandhi $127,767,889 26,838,889 Gandhi, Nehru, Muhammad Jinnah [108][c]
1983
1984 Amadeus $90,000,000 23,970,265 Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri [109][95][96]
1985 Out of Africa $227,514,205 46,319,692 Isak Dinesen [42][87][88]
1986
1987 La Bamba $54,218,591 Ritchie Valens [110]
1988
1989
1990
1991 JFK $205,405,498 Jim Garrison and John F. Kennedy [111]
1992
1993 Schindler's List $322,161,245 Oskar Schindler [21]
1994
1995 Apollo 13 $355,237,933 Jim Lovell, Swigert, Haise, Mattingly [17]
1996 Shine $35,999,121 David Helfgott [112]
1997
1998 Shakespeare in Love $289,317,794 William Shakespeare [29]
1999
2000 Erin Brockovich $257,851,763 Erin Brockovich [35]
2001 A Beautiful Mind $316,791,257 John Forbes Nash [25]
2002 Catch Me If You Can $352,114,312 Frank Abagnale [18]
2003
2004 The Passion of the Christ $612,054,506 85,612,215 Jesus [5][80]
2005 Kingdom of Heaven $218,366,336 Balian of Ibelin, Saladin, Baldwin IV [49]
2006 300 $456,082,343 52,317,727 Leonidas I and Xerxes I [9][83]
2007 American Gangster $269,755,430 Frank Lucas [33]
2008 Valkyrie $201,545,517 Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg [113]
2009 The Blind Side $309,231,694 Michael Oher [26]
2010 The King's Speech $414,245,125 George VI [14]
2011 The Intouchables $426,590,315 50,200,000 Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, Abdel Sellou [12][84]
2012 Lincoln $275,293,450 Abraham Lincoln [32]
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street $407,039,432 Jordan Belfort [15]
2014 American Sniper $547,659,020 49,500,000 Chris Kyle [6][85]
2015 The Revenant $532,950,503 106,800,000 Hugh Glass [7][77]
2016 Dangal $340,000,000 140,000,000 Mahavir Singh Phogat, Phogat sisters [19][71]
2017 The Greatest Showman $434,993,183 P. T. Barnum [11]
2018 Bohemian Rhapsody $910,813,521 176,500,000 Freddie Mercury and Queen [2][64]
2019 The Captain $417,282,021 Captain Liu Chuanjian [13]
2020 The Eight Hundred $461,421,559 80,919,900 Xie Jinyuan [8][81]
2021 Hi, Mom $841,674,419 121,000,000 Jia Ling and Li Huanying [3][72]
2022 Elvis $288,670,284 Elvis Presley [30]
2023 Oppenheimer $975,811,333 102,700,000 J. Robert Oppenheimer [1][78]
2024 Bob Marley: One Love $180,971,146 Bob Marley [114]
2025 Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere $45,240,624 Bruce Springsteen [115]
2026 Michael † $703,852,827 48,400,000 Michael Jackson [4][86]
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See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Ben-Hur:
    • United States and Canada – 104,996,416[65]
    • Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom – 44,509,000[66]
    • France – 13,857,261[67]
    • Spain – 4,653,194[68]
    • South Korea – 873,163[69]
    • European re-releases (1996–2021) – 4,531[70]
  2. [b]
    Cleopatra:
    • United States and Canada – 67,183,500[73]
    • Soviet Union – 32.9 million[74]
    • France, Germany, Italy – 16,376,099[75]
    • South Korea – 9,192[69]
    • United Kingdom, Spain, Latvia (2011–2017) – 1,542[76]
  3. [c]
    Gandhi admissions:
    • United Kingdom and United States – 18,800,000[90]
    • Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden – 7,506,687[91]
    • Italy – 532,000[92]
    • Finland, Ireland, Switzerland (since 1996) – 202[93]

References

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