Here Are the 10 Highest-Grossing War Movies at the Box Office

Throughout decades of film production, the appeal for war movies has been plenty enough to give the industry a sign. Audiences like to explore the past, even if it brings them back to a shameful period of unnecessary and violent conflict. Most war movies are based on fact, and those that aren’t are usually based on a backdrop that’s real enough to compel viewers. Some directors have even used the medium to “change” history by providing a different take on history. A bold yet undeniably successful approach.

It is the past that has brought us to where we are today, and though we sometimes fail to learn from it, it doesn’t mean the lessons are lousy. Movies work as the perfect history lessons that drive audiences over and over to revisit the very foundations of modern society. Again, it doesn’t matter if the past is based on carnage or peace, people are fascinated by war movies that show how things took place back then or, at least, offer a fictionalized version of facts. Some of those movies massively failed at the box office, but others became winners.

11 1917 (2019)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $390.4 Million

1917 takes us to northern France in April 1917, just as the Germans had retreated from the Western Front. At least, that’s what members of the British army believe. In reality, the Germans will launch a counterstrike that will massacre the British, and it’s up to corporals William Schofield and Tom Blake to deliver a message that will stop the British. They will have to enter a hostile territory that best represents the theory of no man’s land.

10 Successful at the Box Office and Awards Shows

Sam Mendes’ outstanding British war film was a huge box office success, gaining almost $400 million worldwide. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director), and it won in three categories: Best Visual Effects (beating The Lion King, Avengers: Endgame, and The Irishman), Best Sound Mixing, and Best Cinematography (by the great Roger Deakins). Even though it’s not known for its historical accuracy, the film was acclaimed by critics as well, holding an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes to this day.

9 Gone with the Wind (1939)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $402.3 Million

Gone with the Wind follows Scarlett O’Hara, the daughter of a plantation owner who must navigate a rocky romantic life in the middle of the American Civil War. Scarlett becomes infatuated with Ashley Wilkes but learns he has other plans. It’s the beginning of her journey to find a partner as the Confederacy suffers massive losses at the turning point of the war, and a charming socialite becomes Scarlett’s best option.

A Golden Era of Film Production

The quintessential Hollywood epic by Victor Fleming, based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel of the same name, is still one of the most successful films ever made, and it represents the golden era of film production during the early part of the 20th century, and the post-silent film era. At the time, it received 13 nominations at the Academy Awards, winning ten of them (including Best Director and Best Picture). However, the film has gone through a bit of backlash because of its problematic portrayal of slavery and the Confederacy.

8 Pearl Harbor (2001)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $449.2 Million

Pearl Harbor puts audiences in the middle of a love triangle in the period leading up to the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor. Rafe and Danny have been friends since they were children, and now they’re pilots. Rafe gets selected for an air squadron and is sent to fight, leaving his girlfriend, Evelyn, heartbroken. Rafe is presumed dead, and Evelyn and Danny begin a relationship. But when Rafe knocks on Evelyn’s door on the eve of the attack by the Japanese, things get complicated.

An Underrated Michael Bay Movie

The war-romance drama by Michael Bay is an underrated movie that, yes, features his usual style of storytelling where he blows up everything at hand. But Pearl Harbor is actually not as bad as critics paint it out to be: a 24% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the film blew up the box office and became one of the most successful films released in 2001.

7 The Eight Hundred (2020)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $461.4 Million

The Eight Hundred is the story of how National Revolutionary Army troops took their stance against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Battle of Shanghai. As the Japanese made their advance, the Chinese bravely defended Sihang Warehouse with less than 500 soldiers against an army of thousands during the peak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, a conflict largely considered part of World War II.

A War Film That Survived the COVID Box Office

During a year like 2020 in which COVID-19 changed the entire world, a film like The Eight Hundred was meant to impact the box office heavily. It made over $450 million at the global box office, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year in the entire world. It won the acclaim of some critics, who recognized the film’s value in terms of spectacle, while others observed the lack of historical accuracy.

6 Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $482.3 Million

In Saving Private Ryan, Captain John H. Miller is part of the American troops that barely survive the events in Omaha Beach during World War II. Upon reaching their outpost, Miller is told he must put together a team in order to try and extract a soldier whose brothers have been killed in combat. Private James Ryan is the last glimmer of hope for a grieving mother back home, and Miller must find a way to get him back to safety.

A New Era of War Film

One of the best war films ever made, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan introduced modern audiences to the carnage that was often left out of war movies. It was the director’s introduction to a film that’s more than its extremely violent initial scene. The movie is an honest portrayal of dynamics during conflict and doesn’t indulge in heroism at all. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and Spielberg took the prize as Best Director. The film made almost half a billion worldwide, with most of the gross coming from international markets.

5 Dunkirk (2017)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $530.4 Million

In Dunkirk, allied troops gather in Dunkirk, after the enemy has surrounded them from all fronts. They can only remain on shore while waiting for rescue from basically anyone. Though the film is told from the perspective of Tommy, a British soldier, Dunkirk uses a multiple-setting narrative that depicts the famous World War II evacuation operation from air, sea, and land perspectives.

Dunkirk Is an Amazing Technical Feat

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk is an exceptional exercise in the genre that uses an ambitious technical backdrop to put the viewer in the middle of a horrifically realistic situation. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and would end up winning three. Considering Nolan has a special notion for making realistic films, the aerial sequences are impressive and among the best ever filmed. In terms of box office, it became the highest-grossing World War II-related film ever made, but the record was surpassed by Nolan again with Oppenheimer.

4 American Sniper (2014)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $547.6 Million

American Sniper is the story of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, a special soldier whose accuracy when using a rifle made him the most lethal shooter in U.S. military history. The film depicts his presence on several tours and how being a celebrated man didn’t exactly help him cope with PTSD. The trauma of being the country’s signature killer would eventually take a toll on him.

Clint Eastwood’s riveting drama is an uncompromising journey through the mind of a very disturbed man who didn’t believe in the heroics of his acts; it is an anti-war film disguised as a biography. Led by Bradley Cooper in what’s undoubtedly his best performance to date, the film was well-received by critics and would eventually garner six nominations at the Academy Awards (it won one Oscar for Best Sound Editing). Considering it’s a portrait of American military values, it shattered the box office in North America and became the highest-grossing film of 2014.

3 Operation Red Sea (2018)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $579.3 Million

In Operation Red Sea, an assault team of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps is forced to face a compilation of enemy troops and terrorists during several factions of what appears to be a fictionalized version of the Yemeni Civil War. Their mission is to carry Chinese citizens back to safety after they become trapped in Yemen. It’s China’s first production of a naval feature in the film industry that doesn’t spare any expense in their depictions of war: the film cost $70 million.

An Underreviewed Chinese War Drama

The film was extremely successful in China, making almost $500 million in 17 days, and China selected it to compete as the official Hong Kong entry at the Academy Awards, but the only awards it won came from Asian film festivals. Though it still doesn’t have a large appraisal by critics (only ten reviews on Rotten Tomatoes), the film was popular enough to make producers think of a sequel, which will be released in 2025.

2 The Battle at Lake Changjin II (2022)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: 626.5 Million

The Battle at Lake Changjin II follows a similar storyline to the first part, which you can read about below at the number one spot on the list. The change regards the location and the specific moment in time, in which soldiers of the People Volunteer’s Army have to fight American troops as they retreat on the Water Gate Bridge, hence the alternate title, The Battle at Water Gate Bridge.

A Box Office Success Despite Critic Reviews

Released one year after its predecessor, the film coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. It was actually shot back-to-back with Part 1, but the release of two films was, of course, more profitable. It’s bigger, nastier, and louder in scope. Unfortunately, reviews were not very good, with many critics observing the propaganda element and nothing else.

1 The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $902.5 Million

The Battle at Lake Changjin is the story of siblings Wu Qianli and Wu Wanli, two soldiers of the People’s Volunteer Army who join thousands of others in a quest to defend North Korea against American troops in the Korean War. Told from the siblings’ perspective, the film depicts the harsh conditions the soldiers had to endure during their post on Lake Changjin (Chosin Reservoir in some history books).

A Recording Breaking War Film

The film is the most successful war film ever made, with a box office return of nearly $1 billion. However, the records don’t stop there. The Battle at Lake Changjin is also the highest-grossing non-English film of all time and the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time. While reception by critics wasn’t entirely great, and it holds a 36% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is a display of the might of a Chinese film production. It’s the most expensive Chinese film ever made, but all that translates into amazing visuals that deserve to be seen on a very large screen.