Recently, former president Ronald Reagan’s biopic Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid, topped the domestic box office despite receiving blistering critic reviews. Reagan’s success proved that the origin stories of the U.S. presidents will continue to pique the interest of the masses.
From Oscar-winning performances in films like Lincoln to modern classics like JFK, films on the lives of presidents tend to perform well at the box office. Audiences are fascinated by the complicated lives of the men who were chosen to lead the country. Decades after his death, President John F. Kennedy continued to fascinate people. His biopic followed the investigation into his 1966 assassination. Released in 1991, starring Kevin Costner and Gary Oldman, JFK is among the five highest-grossing U.S. president biopics ever.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Daniel-Day-Lewis’ Oscar-winning performance in Lincoln is the highest-grossing film of all time. The movie followed President Abraham Lincoln’s arduous journey toward ending slavery in the United States.
The 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which explored how George W. Bush’s administration used the tragic terrorist attack to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is the second highest-grossing film based on a U.S. president.
Lee Daniels’s award-winning film The Butler followed the story of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House. It did not just win over critics but was also a box office success.
The 2000 film Thirteen Days, which followed U.S. President Kennedy’s leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis, is the fifth highest-grossing presidential film. We have ranked all five presidents’ biopics based on their box office Performance (without adjusting for inflation).
- Lincoln (2012) – $273.3 Million
- Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) – $221.1 Million
- JFK (1991) – $205.4 Million
- The Butler (2013) – $176.5
- Thirteen Days (2000) – $66.5 Million
Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates and various sources. Koimoi has not independently verified them.
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