The 20 Highest-Grossing Movies Based on a True Story

The genre of movies based on true stories has consistently proved to be profitable for studios and often receives acclaim during awards season, in contrast to the flashy, CGI-filled adventures of comic-book characters.

To compile a list of the highest-grossing movies based on true stories, CEOWORLD magazine examined box office data from The Numbers, an online movie database owned by Nash Information Services. The rankings were determined based on worldwide box office earnings, adjusted for inflation as of 2023.

This analysis excluded documentaries, and ticket sales figures were adjusted for inflation using historical ticket prices from the National Association of Theatre Owners. The compilation includes films that have surpassed the $300 million mark, with many drawing inspiration from influential individuals such as Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, George S. Patton, or Oskar Schindler, while others capture significant historical events, such as the Titanic’s sinking, the Allied troops landing at Normandy, or the assassination of JFK. User ratings from IMDb and critics’ Tomatometer scores from Rotten Tomatoes, both current as of August 2023, were also considered. Director and cast information was sourced from IMDb.

1. Titanic (1997)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $4.4 billion
  • IMDb rating: 7.9/10 (1,181,693 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 89% (193 reviews)
  • Director: James Cameron
  • Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane

2. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $898.3 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.9/10 (543,240 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 60% (411 reviews)
  • Director: Bryan Singer
  • Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee

3. Cleopatra (1963)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $756.2 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.0/10 (34,332 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 62% (39 reviews)
  • Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
  • Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison

4. Schindler’s List (1993)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $712.9 million
  • IMDb rating: 9.0/10 (1,359,268 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 98% (128 reviews)
  • Director: Steven Spielberg
  • Cast: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

5. Apollo 13 (1995)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $707.1 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.7/10 (298,490 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 96% (93 reviews)
  • Director: Ron Howard
  • Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

6. Sergeant York (1941)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $682.3 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.7/10 (18,703 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 88% (24 reviews)
  • Director: Howard Hawks
  • Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie

7. Oppenheimer (2023)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $648.1 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.6/10 (345,753 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 93% (448 reviews)
  • Director: Christopher Nolan
  • Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon

8. American Sniper (2014)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $613.6 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.3/10 (492,587 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 72% (299 reviews)
  • Director: Clint Eastwood
  • Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner

9. Spartacus (1960)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $660.5 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.9/10 (136,454 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 93% (61 reviews)
  • Director: Stanley Kubrick
  • Cast: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons

10. Out of Africa (1985)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $666.3 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.1/10 (81,162 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 62% (87 reviews)
  • Director: Sydney Pollack
  • Cast: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer

11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

• • Inflation-adjusted global box office revenue: $660.0 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.0/10 (217,852 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 89% (53 reviews)
  • Director: George Roy Hill
  • Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross

12. The Jolson Story (1946)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $596.9 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.2/10 (1,668 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 100% (5 reviews)
  • Director: Alfred E. Green
  • Cast: Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest

13. The Revenant (2015)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $579.1 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.0/10 (809,924 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 78% (401 reviews)
  • Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
  • Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter

14. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $561.6 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.1/10 (989,753 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 96% (203 reviews)
  • Director: Steven Spielberg
  • Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

15. The Perfect Storm (2000)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $558.6 million
  • IMDb rating: 6.5/10 (170,090 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 47% (135 reviews)
  • Director: Wolfgang Petersen
  • Cast: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly

16. The Longest Day (1962)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $540.6 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.7/10 (56,678 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 87% (23 reviews)
  • Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki
  • Cast: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton

17. Dunkirk (2017)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $530.5 million
  • IMDb rating: 7.8/10 (664,773 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 92% (461 reviews)
  • Director: Christopher Nolan
  • Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance

18. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $515.0 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.2/10 (936,399 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 74% (213 reviews)
  • Director: Ron Howard
  • Cast: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly

19. The King’s Speech (2010)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $500.2 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.0/10 (683,883 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 94% (298 reviews)
  • Director: Tom Hooper
  • Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

20. JFK (1991)

• • Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office revenue: $446.9 million
  • IMDb rating: 8.0/10 (158,513 votes)
  • Tomatometer score: 84% (64 reviews)
  • Director: Oliver Stone
  • Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon

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