Minions, Murphy, and More: The 25 Highest-Grossing Comedies of All Time

Consumers can—and usually do—watch a lot of movies at home, but there’s something special about seeing a comedy with an audience. Laughing with others is a communal experience, and when the right film comes along, it can be a box office windfall. Films like Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, and Meet the Parents have all proven financially rewarding for studios.

Movie gross site The Numbers broke down the highest-grossing comedies of all time at the worldwide box office. While some of the classics are present, a few might surprise you.

1. Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) // $940,441,796
2. The Hangover Part II (2011) // $586,764,305
3. Ted (2012) // $556,016,627
4. Meet the Fockers (2004) // $516,567,575
5. Les Intouchables (2012) // $484,630,908
6. Bruce Almighty (2003) // $484,468,608
7. Home Alone (1990) // $476,680,911
8. The Hangover (2009) // $465,487,583
9. Du Xing Yue Qiu (2022) // $460,284,414
10. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) // $441,286,003
11. Sex and the City (2008) // $415,247,258
12. Rain Man (1988) // $412,800,000
13. Ji Su Shi Ke (2022) // $393,014,816
14. The Hangover Part III (2013) // $362,000,072
15. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) // $358,994,850
16. The Flintstones (1994) // $358,500,000
17. The Mask (1994) // $351,620,129
18. Xiu Xiu De Tie Quan (2017) // $334,536,622
19. 22 Jump Street (2014) // $331,333,876
20. Meet the Parents (2000) // $330,425,040
21. Crocodile Dundee (1986) // $328,203,506
22. Feng Kuang De Wai Xing Ren (2019) // $326,150,303
23. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) // $326,073,155
24. Green Book (2018) // $319,995,019
25. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) // $316,300,000

Minions: The Rise of Gru was bolstered by kid appeal, while the second and third entries, The Hangover Part II and Ted, were R-rated fare. Six of the top 25 are sequels. Star power alone isn’t always a guarantee of success: Jim Carrey appears in just two films, Bruce Almighty and The Mask. Eddie Murphy is in just one (Beverly Hills Cop). Additionally, The Numbers’s classification of what constitutes the genre is probably open for debate. While there are laughs in Green Book and Rain Man, it’s a stretch to call either one a comedy.

The Chinese-language films on the list, Du Xing Yue Qiu (Moon Man), Ji Su Shi Ke (Too Cool to Kill), Xiu Xiu De Tie Quan (Never Say Die), and Feng Kuang De Wai Xing Ren (Crazy Alien) did enough domestic business to make the list, though they had little to no revenue outside of China.

The Numbers also crunched the highest-grossing domestic comedies, which is a bit different, though Minions: The Rise of Gru still comes out on top.

1. Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) // $369,695,210
2. Home Alone (1990) // $285,761,243
3. Meet the Fockers (2004) // $279,167,575
4. The Hangover (2009) // $277,322,503
5. The Hangover Part II (2011) // $254,464,305
6. Bruce Almighty (2003) // $242,704,995
7. Ghostbusters (1984) // $242,604,185
8. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) // $234,760,478
9. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) // $219,195,051
10. Ted (2012) // $218,665,740
11. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) // $213,117,789
12. Wedding Crashers (2005) // $209,218,368
13. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) // $206,040,085
14. 22 Jump Street (2014) // $191,719,337
15. Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) // $184,296,230
16. Liar Liar (1997) // $181,410,615
17. Elf (2003) // $178,100,000
18. Tootsie (1982) // $177,200,000
19. Crocodile Dundee (1986) // $174,803,506
20. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) // $173,585,516
21. Rain Man (1988) // $172,825,435
22. Bridesmaids (2011) // $169,211,718
23. Wild Hogs (2007) // $168,213,584
24. 3 Men and a Baby (1987) // $167,780,960
25. Meet the Parents (2000) // $166,225,040