A decade ago, Bradley Cooper’s post-9/11 war film American Sniper made history. It became the highest-grossing film 9/11 film. While the film was a box office success, it was criticized for glorifying the U.S. soldier, who killed over 200 people in the Iraq War. This war was later characterized as a gratuitous conflict that cost more than a trillion dollars. Over two thousand U.S. soldiers lost their lives. The number of casualties in the Middle East is over four million.
It was later revealed George W Bush and Vice President Dick Chaney exploited the 9/11 tragedy to start a war with Iraq. They reportedly made false claims that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. They warned that the weapons directly threatened the United States.
However, American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, went on to gross over $500 million against a budget of $50 million. Bradley Cooper’s film made 5X more than Mark Wahberg’s post-9/11 drama Lone Survivor, which is the second highest-grossing movie. The Film about Navy SEALs who go on a mission to take out a Taliban leader in Afghanistan went on to gross 2.5X more than the $40 million production budget. Let’s take a look at the highest-grossing 9/11 films.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists from the militant group, al-Qaeda, hijacked four airplanes and crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The heinous attack killed 2,977 people and injured thousands more. The tragic events of 9/11 still evoke a strong response from every American. The attack and the aftermath have been well documented in numerous films and documentaries so people can remember and honour the victims of the heinous act.
For over two decades, Hollywood has imagined and re-imagined the tragic events of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the big screen. There are over 50 films that explored the events leading up to the attack and its aftermath that altered the course of U.S. history forever. The attack resulted in the subsequent Afghanistan and Iraq wars, which have been covered in several films.
From Kathryn Bigelow to Clint Eastwood, each 9/11 film was created by passionate filmmakers who each provided a different perspective on the tragedy. Some films have fared better at the box office than others. Here are the 5 highest-grossing 9/11 films (not including documentaries).
- American Sniper (2014) – $547.3 Million
- Lone Survivor (2013) – $149.8 Million
- Zero Dark Thirty (2012) – $134.6 Million
- 12 Strong (2018) – $71.1 – Million
- Hurt Locker (2008) – $49.9 Million
Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates and various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
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