The epic has long been one of the most prominent genres in Hollywood moviemaking. These types of movies are often used to showcase the newest technologies and are also the ones that tend to be the most financially successful.
Throughout Hollywood’s history epics have shown that they have the ability to lure people out of their homes and back into the movie theaters. With that in mind, it is worth taking a look at the epic movies that have made the most money at the box office via Box Office Mojo.
The Robe (1953) – $36 million
The Robe is notable for many reasons, including the fact that it was the first to be exhibited in the widescreen process known as CinemaScope. It also happens to be a very moving and powerful movie, focusing as it does on a Roman soldier who is responsible for the crucifixion of Christ and ultimately comes to convert.
For these reasons, it is not surprising that it would become one of the most successful epic movies, demonstrating that there was a future for the widescreen format and for the biblical epic, in general.
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) – $37.5 million
Lawrence of Arabia is widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made, and it is also one of the most financially successful. It has all of the hallmarks of the epic movie, with its emphasis on a lonely male hero who ultimately comes to play a major part in the First World War.
It’s the type of movie that is designed to make the viewer feel as if they are caught up in the great events of the past, bearing witness to the unfolding of history itself.
Kingdom Of Heaven (2005) – $47.3 million
Orlando Bloom has been in many great movies, and Kingdom of Heaven is just one. Though he isn’t the typical epic hero in the movie, his character, Balian, plays a major part in the conflict between Christians and Muslims over the control of Jerusalem.
Given that it was released during the politically tumultuous year of 2006, its plot was very timely, and so it is hardly surprising that it managed to become a rather successful historical epic movie, even if it didn’t reach the heights of director Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
Cleopatra (1963) – $57.7 million
Elizabeth Taylor is widely regarded as one of the great actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, so it makes sense that she would star as Cleopatra, one of the most famous women in history. Cleopatra is a movie renowned for its visual excess, with many moments that are a testament to how much money a movie studio was willing to invest in an epic.
Unfortunately, while it would go on to earn quite a lot of money at the box office, it ultimately couldn’t recoup the money that it cost to make, which was somewhere around $44 million, according to Variety.
The Ten Commandments (1956) – $65.5 million
Like so many other directors of old Hollywood, Cecil B. DeMille was a giant of a personality, and much of that is in evidence in The Ten Commandments. The movie is one of the best bible stories adapted into a movie, and it maintains its power to astonish.
In fact, it is precisely the movie’s special effects – most notably the parting of the Red Sea – that help to explain why it was so enormously successful at the box office upon its release, ultimately becoming one of the most profitable movies of the 1950s.
Ben-Hur (1959) – $74 million
The 1950s was something of a golden age for the historical epic, and the genre managed to produce some of the biggest box office successes of the decade. One of these was Ben-Hur, which is about the travails of a Jewish prince as he falls afoul of the Roman Empire and ultimately witnesses the Crucifixion.
It’s a powerful story, full of melodrama and deep feeling, but its success is also due to the fact that it includes one of the most iconic scenes in the history of the movies: the famous chariot race. Even after all of these years, this sequence is still exciting to watch.
Braveheart (1995) – $75.6 million
The historical epic also experienced something of a resurgence in the 1990s, though most of the stories were set in a different period than antiquity. One excellent example is Braveheart, considered one of the best historical movies. It was also tremendously successful at the box office.
Some of this can be attributed to Mel Gibson’s star power at the time, but it is also due to the powerful nature of the movie’s central theme, which revolves around the oppressed fighting back against tyrannical power.
Troy (2004) – $133.3 million
The 2000s saw several movies that were set in the ancient world, including Troy, which is an imagining of what the Trojan War might have looked like. In addition to being one of Brad Pitt’s best roles, it is a feast for the eyes, with special effects that manage to capture the brutality and the beauty of ancient warfare.
Given that it also starred several other major stars, including Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana, it’s not surprising that it would go on to become a significant financial success.
Gladiator (2000) – $187.7 million
Gladiator is widely regarded as one of the best movies of the 2000s, and it helped to give rise to the many other antiquity-set movies in the 2000s. Its central story revolves around general Maximus, who is betrayed by Emperor Commodus, but ultimately gains his vengeance in the bloody arena.
Like other successful historical epics, it makes excellent use of its CGI to capture the brutality and beauty of the Colosseum, as well as Maximus’ rise to become the savior of Rome.
Gone With The Wind (1939) – $189.5 million
Gone with the Wind remains one of the most iconic epic movies of all time, even though its racist iconography and sympathy for the Confederacy have not aged well.
As with so many epics, however, it still manages to capture the drama of history, immersing both its characters and the viewers in the heated and terrifying days of the Civil War. It’s a movie that still has a great deal of power, and its use of the magic of cinema remains unparalleled.
