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Highest Grossing World War II Films of All Time

Highest Grossing World War II Films of All Time

World War II was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the world. Its casualties were horrifying, and its aftereffects are still felt to this day. World War II was a worldwide event, and so it is one which immediately lends itself to many different stories. This was a war waged by millions.

Hollywood has often had cause to depict this war from every different angle imaginable. There have been films which focused on the war and its soldiers, but just as many have focused on the Holocaust, and the lives that were affected in that genocidal event. On the whole, Hollywood may cover World War II more frequently than it cover any other single event, and with good reason. These movies make money, and they also stand among some of the best films ever made. Let’s take a look at the 20 World War II films that did the best at the box office.

20. Memphis Belle

Release Date: October 12, 1990 

Total Gross: $27,441,977

Taking its namesake from a famed warship, Memphis Belle gives audiences an inside look at the ship’s final mission of World War II. Following Captain Dennis Dearborn, we follow the crew as they undergo a dangerous mission into German territory in order to earn a decisive Allied victory, which would be especially good for public relations. The danger of the mission clearly attracted audiences, who came in droves to see the mission play out on the big screen.

19. Defiance

Release Date: December 31, 2008

Total Gross: $28,644,813

Set in Eastern Europe during the height of the Holocaust, Defiance follows three brothers who fight back against the Nazi killing machine. Defiance is a story of vengeance, of the ways in which people work to fight back against their oppressors. The brothers turn their struggle for survival into a battle against the Nazis, and their story attracted supporters and theater-goers alike.

18. Flags of Our Fathers

Release Date: October 20, 2006

Total Gross: $33,602,876

Flags of Our Fathers is one of a pair of World War II films directed by Clint Eastwood focusing on the Battle of Iwo Jima. Each film presents the battle from opposing sides, and Flags of Our Fathers gives us a window into the American side of the conflict. The film gives us the iconic image of an American flag being raised, one that still rouses patriotic spirit to this day. Flags of Our Fathers turned these soldiers into heroes, but it did it at a cost, showing us that death, too, is an ever-present part of war.

17. The Thin Red Line

Release Date: December 23, 1998

Total Gross: $36,400,491

One of director Terrence Malick’s signature film, The Thin Red Line gives us a look at the ways in which World War II was an inescapable event. Following Private Witt, a U.S. Army absconder who is forced back into service, The Thin Red Line shows us what it means to be a hero, and the fears that plague soldiers in the midst of battle. The Thin Red Line was a smash with audiences and critics, and the film went on to garner seven Oscar nominations.

16. Windtalkers

Release Date: June 14, 2002

Total Gross: $40,914,068

Windtalkers follows Marine Joe Enders, a soldier charged with protecting a fellow marine and Navajo code talker. The code is an essential part of the new Ally strategy, and Enders is instructed to protect it at all costs. Windtalkers is set against the backdrop of the Battle of Saipan, and it uses this setting to increase the urgency of Enders’s central mission. Ultimately, Enders is forced to choose between protecting his fellow marine and protecting the intelligence he possesses, highlighting the impossible choices that war brings with it.

15. Australia

Release Date: November 26, 2008

Total Gross: $49,554,002

Set on the brink of World War II, Australia is an honest love story set in the country of the title. Proper British lady Sarah Ashley sets out to Australia to inspect a cattle ranch, and after teaming up with a rugged local, the pair drive the cattle hundreds of miles to save her ranch. The two must then contend with Japanese bombers who have recently paid a visit to Pearl Harbor. If it sounds a little sappy, it is, but it also worked. Audiences flocked to Australia.

14. Red Tails

Release Date: January 20, 2012

Total Gross: $49,876,377

Red Tails is the true story of the Tuskeegee airmen, a group of 13 black cadets who are selected to for an ‘experimental’ program training them to become fighter pilots. Though there is a widely held belief that these soldiers lack the intelligence or aptitude to be pilots, they eventually prove their worth as they become more well known. Red Tails is an inspirational story about institutional racism, one that drew audiences despite a mixed critical reception.

13. Enemy at the Gates

Release Date: March 16, 2001

Total Gross: $51,401,758

Following a Russian sharpshooter named Vassili, Enemy at the Gates is a story of war propaganda. Vassili becomes the hope for an entire country under the watchful eye of his commander, but their relationship is threatened when they fall for the same girl. If the premise is a little cliche, the commentary on war propaganda is still sharp enough to make an impact. It’s a story about images, ones we create to keep ourselves going, and ones that are never entire realistic.

12. Life is Beautiful

Release Date: October 23, 1998

Total Gross: $57,563,264

A film which tells a lovely, delicate story, until it doesn’t. Life is Beautiful is the story of a man who creates a beautiful family before everything is torn apart by the Holocaust. Guido, the man at the center of it all, is forced to create a world for his child in which the horrors of the concentration camp become a game. In a tale of uplift and struggle, Life is Beautiful seeks to move you, and it does. It also moved critics, and it was tear-jerking enough to win three Oscars.

11. U-571

Release Date: April 21, 2000

Total Gross: $77,122,415

Following the sinking of a German submarine, U-571 gives us a look at some of the espionage that became an essential part of winning the war. When the submarine is sunk, an American team is sent in to ensure that the ship goes down with the essential encryption machine they have on board. When their cover as a rescue team is blown, they are forced to take the German crew hostage. U-571 plays like a tense thriller, and it uses the backdrop of World War II to add some heft to its story.

10. The Monuments Men

Release Date: February 7, 2014

Total Gross: $78,031,620

George Clooney’s take on World War II, Monuments Men follows art scholars who attempt to retrieve precious art that has been stolen by the Nazis. The story becomes a race against time when the team learns that, should the Third Reich fall, Hitler has ordered that the artwork be destroyed. A true story, The Monuments Men meditates on the importance of art, and why this mission is one worth carrying out.

Though the critical reception was lukewarm, The Monuments Men did well at the box office, especially considering its February opening. Still, The Monuments Men gives us a look at a different kind of elite squad, one that may remind us why wars are worth fighting.

9. Valkyrie

Release Date: December 25, 2008

Total Gross: $83,077,833

Detailing an actual attempt to overthrow the Nazi regime, Valkyrie depicts the kind dissenters which existed even inside the Third Reich. Valkyrie is a film about patriotism, a film about standing up for your country even when it means standing against its leaders. The plot to overthrow the Third Reich was orchestrated by high ranking officials, people with weight, people who wanted to make a change.

We know, of course, that the operation at Valkyrie’s center was an enormous failure. We know that Hitler survived to the war’s end, and that it was the Allies, not the Germans, who brought him down. Still, we can take comfort in Valkyrie’s story, and in the idea that there were Germans who understood, perhaps better than anyone, how scary Hitler was for the world.

8. Fury

Release Date: October 17, 2014

Total Gross: $85,817,906

Set at the war’s end, Fury gives audiences an intimate view of life for a single regiment making the final push across Europe. Fury, which gets its name from the tank which unites its crew, is a film about fighting, winning, and having to go home anyway. Victory is already assured as Fury plays out, but there is nonetheless a feeling of tension as this crew fights against vastly superior numbers.

A new soldier is thrown into their midst as the fighting continues, and the crew at Fury’s center is forced to deal with his inexperience even as they are fighting for their own survival. The story inside Fury is one of honor, one of fighting until the bitter end, even if that fight is a stupid, pointless one.

7. The Imitation Game

Release Date: November 28, 2014

Total Gross: $91,125,683

A moving portrayal of the work of a single man, The Imitation Game does not focus on the entirety of the war, instead choosing to show the crucial role one man played in its conclusion. The film shows us the life of Alan Turing, a mathematician who was intent on breaking the complex Nazi code that they used to send messages. In attempting to achieve this end, Turing invented the first computer, making the man worthy of remembering twice over.

Turing also happened to be gay, and he was not recognized for his accomplishments until quite recently. For its part, The Imitation Game told his story to as many people as possible, and enough people were interested to earn it a spot on this list.

6. Schindler’s List

Release Date: December 15, 1993

Total Gross: $96,065,768

A film less about war than about the reasons for waging it, Schindler’s List is a film which takes on the daunting subject of the Holocaust. The film takes Oskar Schindler as its subject, a German industry magnate who shepherds Jews out of Concentration Camps and gives them jobs in his factories. Beloved by critics and audiences alike, Schindler’s List became a must see event upon its release in 1993, even going on to win Best Picture.

The film tells a harrowing story about loss and survival, and is made even touching by the simple black and white which is used to tell it. Schinlder’s List is a film about a decent man who does everything he can, and still falls well short of saving everyone. That was the terror of The Holocaust. It was just too big.

'Unbroken' via Comingsoon.net

‘Unbroken’ via Comingsoon.net

5. Unbroken

Release Date: December 25, 2014

Total Gross: $115,637,895

Telling the incredible true story of a prisoner of war who was also an Olympian, Unbroken is a harrowoing tale about the triumph of the human spirit. Initially, Louis Zampernini is a wild spirit, one who is able to channel his energy into running. When the war breaks out, Louis enlists, and his plane eventually crashes at sea.

Zampernini survived an incredible 47 days at sea, and when he finally reached land, it was only to be captured by the Japanese. Zampernini then became a POW, and was a common target with a particularly cruel Japanese officer. The story of Unbroken is one of resilience. It’s a story about a person who suffers unspeakable horror after unspeakable horror, and manages to pull himself back together each time. It’s a simple idea, really. He goes through hell, and it doesn’t break him.

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4. Inglorious Basterds

Release Date: August 21, 2009

Total Gross: $120,540,719

Tarantino’s take on a World War II film, Inglorious Basterds presents a delightfully altered view of the conclusion of World War II, one that seemed to drive audiences to the theaters in droves. The film follows the Basterds,  a group a renegade Allied soldiers whose sole purpose is to hunt down and kill Nazis. This is their mission, and they carry it out with delightful abandon.

Tarantino delights in creating a fair bit of revisionist history. He kills Hitler, and the entirety of Hitler’s Third Reich in a bloody movie theater explosion. In doing so, it seems as though Tarantino is intentionally provoking. He wanted people to see the movie, and he wanted them to talk about it after. It worked, making Inglorious Basterds a smash at the box office. It may not get the history right, but it knew what audiences wanted.

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3. Captain America: The First Avenger

Release Date: July 22, 2011

Total Gross: $176,654,505

Yes, it’s a superhero film, but it’s one which takes advantage of the backdrop of the second World War. It’s the story of Steve Rogers, a weak boy who is unable to join the army because of his small stature. Rogers gets his chance when an experimental procedure increases his size and turns him into a super soldier. Rogers, or Captain America as he’s now known, becomes a symbol for soldiers in World War II, and he leads the fight against Hydra, a Nazi-run organization.

The best thing about Captain America is that, while most of the films on this list are quite dour, this one proves to be something close to a romp. Though it ends in tragedy, it’s undoubtedly  a film which follows Rogers’s virtuous example. Captain America’s a good guy, and the film is delightfully uplifting, a story of good people trying to do good work. Sometimes that’s enough.

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2. Pearl Harbor

Release Date: May 25, 2001

Total Gross: $198,542,554

A love story set around the historic events at Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor plays like Titanic, a love story that even the viewer knows will end in tragedy. The tension clearly revolves around how the story will play out, which allows for the storytelling to focus on the characters at its core. Pearl Harbor is a story about the ways in which World War II was almost an inescapable event. It affected every life, some more directly than others.

Despite some criticisms, the film did incredibly well at the box office, though it fell well short of Titanic’s massive haul. Choosing to debut on Memorial Day Weekend was clearly a terrific choice, as it allowed audiences to capitalize on any patriotic feelings they might have had. There are few directors who have mastered scale in quite the way Michael Bay has, and his direction highlights his ability to handle massive stories.

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1. Saving Private Ryan

Release Date: July 24, 1998

Total Gross: $216,540,909

Spielberg’s second World War II film, this one focused on the horrors that American soldiers faced even when they were winning. The film starts with the D-Day invasion, a harrowing sequence that may be one of the best in any war film period. It then follows a group of American soldiers who have been tasked with finding Private Ryan, who’s brothers all died in the D-Day fighting.

What is really a political mission leads to some grumbling among the regiment, and this grumbling gets worse as members die in their quest to find Private Ryan. Still, the movie recognizes the sacrifices that these men made, and creates an emotionally rich experience that is simultaneously gruesome and touching.

Saving Private Ryan is a virtuoso achievement, a perfectly pitched war film from beginning to end. It’s no wonder it took the top spot on this list. It’s just that good.

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