The first comedy film dates back to 1895, when Louis Lumière directed and produced the comedy movie was L’Arroseur Arrose. The comedy genre has come a long way from a boy making fun of a gardener. These days we have a variety of comedic genres to choose from depending on what mood we’re in: comedies about female friendships like Bridesmaidsdark comedies like Jojo Rabbitclassic holiday comedies like Home aloneand much more.
Watching a comedy movie in a theater and laughing with a community of movie buffs is an incomparable experience. It’s no wonder comedies at their peak were some of the most commercially viable and successful movies ever. Now, per The Ringers, you would be hard-pressed to find a Hollywood studio comedy to be 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.
8/8 The Hangover (2009) — $465.5 million
When the first episode of The Hangover trilogy released in 2009, no one expected the impact the film would have on the comedy genre. Directed by Todd Phillips, it stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Ken Jeong. 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 bachelorette party. When they wake up the next day, they don’t remember anything – and their friend Doug is missing. They must dig up what happened and locate their friend. The hangover became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States.
7/8 Home Alone (1990) – $476.7 million
The grip that Home alone 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, which eventually made him a huge 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 thrilled to take charge when he’s home alone, but soon finds himself dealing with cunning thieves trying to rob their house. Joe Pesci, who played the thief Harry, recently said that we should never say never about a Home alone continuation. Whether it would have the same success as the first part is a question that will probably go unanswered.
6/8 Bruce Almighty (2003) — $484.5 million
Directed by Tom Shadyac, Bruce Almighty is a fantasy comedy starring Jim Carrey as Bruce and Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Baker Hall and Steve Carell in supporting roles. Bruce Nolan is a hapless TV reporter who complains to God about the wrongs done to him. God (Freeman) gives him the option to stay in his position for a week, to see how hard it is. Although the film received mixed reviews, it surprised people by topping opening weekend and beating Memorial Day Reload the Matrix the following weekend. In the unmade Bruce Almighty sequel, Carrey’s character is said to have been given the powers of the devil. Too bad they didn’t go through with it.
5/8 Les Intouchables (2012) — $484.6 million
Written and directed by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano, Les Intouchables also known as untouchable, is a French buddy comedy drama. It stars François Cluzet as Phillipe and Omar Sy as Bakary in the lead roles. The film tells a story of an unusual friendship between the bright immigrant Bakary, whose job is to take care of the paralyzed nobleman Phillipe. It became the biggest blockbuster in France and won many awards such as the César Award for Best Actor for Sy. In addition, 5% of the film’s profit went to Simon de Cyrène, an association that helps paralyzed people.
4/8 Meet the Fockers (2004) – $516.6 million
As a sequel to the 2000 film meet the parents, Meet the Breeders is a comedy film directed by Jay Roach. Big names such as Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo play the leading roles. The film revolves around the engaged couple Greg Focker (Stiller) and Pam (Polo), who decide to introduce their parents before the big wedding. However, the relaxed attitude of the Fockers doesn’t really go well with the tension of Pam’s family. The movie works mostly because of the quirks of the characters and the complex past they all point to.
3/8 Ted (2012) — $556 million
Directed by Seth MacFarlane (in his directorial debut), Ted is a comedy film starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, with MacFarlane providing the title character’s voice and motion capture. It tells the story of John Bennett, whose childhood dream of making his teddy bear talk comes true. However, as he gets older, it starts to interfere with his romantic relationship. Ted goes to great lengths to ruin the relationship out of jealousy. Ted was the highest-grossing comedy film of 2012. Its critical and commercial success helped him successfully launch a franchise.
2/8 The Hangover Part II (2011) — $586.8 million
As a sequel to the 2009 film The hangover, The hangover part II was again directed by Todd Phillips and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The cast is virtually identical to the first film, with Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis, Jeong, Tambor and Bartha all returning in leading roles. However, this movie focuses on Stu (Helms) bachelorette party in Thailand. While Doug disappeared in the first movie, in the second movie we lose Stu’s brother-in-law. While it became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy during its theatrical run, it did not receive as positive reviews as the original.
1/8 Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) $938.5 million
Minions: The Rise of Gru is the latest entry in our list, as the movie was only released this summer. The computer-animated comedy film is the sequel to the 2015 film minions film and the fifth entry overall in the Despicable Me franchise. 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 super villain with the help of his Minions and a group of super villains called the Vicious 6 who are hot on their heels. Despite a two-year delay due to COVID-19, The rise of Gru was a box office success, grossing approximately $939 million worldwide, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2022.