Bill Murray’s Top Grossing Films

As an actor, comedian and writer, Bill Murray is known for his deadpan delivery, first rising to fame on Saturday Night Live in the early 70s, from which earned him his first Emmy Award. This then led him to star in each of the following comedy movies:

• Meatballs (1979)
• Caddyshack (1980)
• Stripes (1981)
• Tootsie (1982)
• Ghostbusters (1984)
• Ghostbusters II (1989)
• What About Bob? (1991)
• Groundhog Day (1993)
• Kingpin (1996)
• And a lot more!

Bill Murray has won several awards throughout his career, including a Golden Globe, British Academy Film Award and Oscar nomination for Best Actor from the movie Lost in Translation (2003). He’s also been nominated for several Golden Globe nomination for several movies, including Ghostbusters, Rushmore (1998), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), St. Vincent (2014) and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), for which he also won his second Primetime Emmy Award. Finally, he received the Mark Twain Price for American Humor in 2016.

Bill Murray’s Top Grossing Films

So as you can see, Bill Murray is a big deal! While he does have his own hotel called Murray Bros. Caddy Shark, his films are widely successful, grossing in the millions just at the box office. Check out the full list of Bill Murray’s top grossing films here:

1. The Jungle Book – $966.6 million

This wasn’t the cartoon version that was released in 1967, a few years before Murray’s career, but the 2016 live action movie. Murray played Baloo the Bear, from which he profited big time from the $966.6 million it earned just at the box office. Of course as everyone was rushing to the theaters before COVID to see all their childhood favorite films remade, this was certainly one of them.

The Jungle Book took place in the jungle of course and was centered around a young boy, or man-cub, named Mowgli. He was raised from infancy by a pack of wolves, but when the evil tiger, Shere Khan, kills the alpha, Mowgli’s pack family decides it’s best for him to be raised in the nearby village with his own kind. As Mowgli fights to stay in the jungle, Shere Khan hunts him out of fear from him becoming a man learns to use fire against the tiger.

Bill Murray has had some successful movies released during this time, but Disney really came through and gave him a nice chunk of cash.

2. Ghostbusters – $295.2 million

Had Bill Murray not played Baloo the Bear, Ghostbusters was always his top-grossing film. In fact, whenever I think of this movie, I think of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

By no surprise, Ghostbusters was also the highest-grossing film of 1984 and the highest-grossing comedy of all time.

Although sadly, Murray was also co-writing another film at the time, called The Razor’s Edge, but was released after Ghostbusters which turned out to be a box office failure. Out of frustration, he decided to take a break from acting to study philosophy and history for four years at Sorbonne University, visit the Cinémathèque in Paris and spend time with his family in his Hudson River Valley Home.

With a budget of $25-30 million, Ghostbusters had a total gross of about $295.2 million at the box office. The theme song, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. was also a number one hit. There was of course, the sequel, but it didn’t do nearly as well both financially and critically.

And then there’s all the video games, board games, comic books, clothing, music and even haunted houses based on the film. It really was a multi-million dollar idea.

3. Charlie’s Angels – $264.1 million

Grossing a total $264.1 million from a $93 million budget, Charlie’s Angels is the continuation of the TV series of the same name, but unlike the series, this movie takes a more comical side. Starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu, these three women work in a private detective agency in Los Angeles. Bill Murray stars as John Bosley, who replaces David Doyle who played the role in the original series.

This movie received mixed review from critics but praised the performances from Diaz, Barrymore, Liu and Murray as well as its action and humorous scenes. The only negative was that it lacked originality.

4. Ghostbusters II – $215.4 million

This might come as a surprise considering Ghostbusters II wasn’t as nearly as good as the first but it did have high expectations, which is probably why it ranks as well as it does. The hype from the first movie powered the interest to see the first, but probably to many’s disappointment.

Even Bill Murray himself said at a 2009 press conference, “We did a sequel, and it was sort of rather unsatisfying for me because the first one to me was the goods.”

Perhaps one of the bigger disappointments were that Gozer and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man were replaced by a paranormal Jello-like goo that turned New Yorkers into zombies.

Nevertheless, it gained $215.4 million at the box office from a $30-40 million budget. People wanted to see what happened to Dana and her baby, Oscar, and if the Ghostbusters can save the city of New York from that slimy ectoplasm and Vigo the Carpathian.

5. Garfield: The Movie – $203.2 million

Until the day I wrote this, I never knew Bill Murray played Garfield in this live-action/computer-animated comedy about a lazy, trouble-making cat with a dry sense of humor. This movie of course was inspired by the Garfield comic strip. But Garfield’s goal in this movie is to rescue his owner’s second pet, Odie, who was abducted.

There was also a sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, of which Bill Murray played Garfield again, but he, Odie, Liz and Jon travel to the UK where Prince, another Garfield look-alike cat, rules over a castle after the death of his owner. But his reign is jeopardized by an evil aristocrat, who plans to remodel the castle into condos, destroy the estate and get rid of Prince. Although like Garfield: The Movie, it received negative reviews.

Despite the disappointment, Murray made away with a nice profit as the film grossed $203.2 million at the box office.

6. Tootsie – $177.2 million

This 1982 romantic comedy was directed by Sydney Pollack and starred Dustin Huffman. Murray only had a supporting role, playing Jeff Slater, a playwright and Michael’s roommate. But Tootsie tells the story of a talented but volatile actor whose reputation for being difficult forces him to become a woman in order to land his dream job.

Tootsie was both a major critical and financial success, as it was also the second most profitable film of 1982. It was also nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but only Jessica Lange won for Best Supporting Actress. In 1998, the Library of Congress also deemed the movie “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”, selecting it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

The film made about $177.2 million from a $21 million budget.

7. The Monuments Men – $155 million

Directed by George Clooney, The Monuments Men is loosely based on the 2007 non-fiction book, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter. The story follow an Allied group from the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program that is tasked with finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before the Nazis seize and destroy them during WWII.

Ultimately, The Monuments Men received mixed critical reviews as it grossed $155 million worldwide from a $91 million budget.

8. Lost in Translation – $118.7 million

Lost in Translation is a rom-com written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, who is a fading Hollywood actor and suffering from a midlife crisis when traveling to Tokyo to promote Suntory whisky. There, he also befriends another estranged American, Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson), a young woman and recent college graduate. The movies explores the themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan.

Did you know that Coppola spent a year trying to recruit Murray to play Bob Harris, persistently sending him phone messages and letters? While he eventually agreed to play the part, he never signed a contract; she just spent a quarter of the film’s $4 million budget in hopes that he would appear in Tokyo for the shooting. And thank the heavens, he did show up!

Lost in Translation was a critical financial and commercial success as critics loved the performances by Murray and Johansson as well as the writing from Coppola. The film also won Best Original Screenplay as well as was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola) and Best Actor (Murray) at the 76th Academy Awards. It also made $118.7 million with just a $4 million budget, a big profit if you ask me!

9. Groundhog Day – $105 million

Most of us know what Groundhog Day entails, but if you didn’t, it’s a 1993 American fantasy comedy directed by Caroled Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. Murray plays Phil Connor, who is a cynical TV weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, PA, who becomes trapped in a time loop, which forces him to live February 2nd over and over.

Upon its release, Groundhog Day was a box office success, earning over $105 million, which made it one of the highest-grossing films of 1993. It also received many positive reviews as well as award nominations and won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. This movie also concluded Ramis’s and Murray’s long-lasting partnership, which included Caddyshack and Ghostbusters. Unfortunately, they didn’t speak after the filming until shortly before Ramis passed away in 2014.

But despite his reputation for being a comedian actor, Murray’s performance in Groundhog Day led him to more serious roles in critically acclaimed films. This movie is also considered to be one of the best comedy movies ever, even influencing pop culture as the society considers Groundhog Day to be a monotonous, repetitive situation.

10. Stripes – $85.3 million

Stripes is an American war comedy film starring Bill Murray of course, along with Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, Sean Young and John Candy. The film features two mishaps who join the military since they had nothing else going for them. In basic training, they love teasing their drill sergeant, Sergeant Hulka, and yet they’re lucky enough to avoid trouble with the help of their two female MPs. But while their entire platoon is at risk of not graduating, they are still assigned to an overseas mission in Italy to test an EM-50 project. But sneaky John and Russell take the EM-50 for a test drive to visit the MPs, Stella and Louise, in West Germany. But in the process, the rest of the platoon get caught unofficially behind their enemy Communist lines in Czechoslovakia.

After working with Harold Ramis throughout the late 70s and early 80s on Meatballs, Caddyshack and Stripes, the pair have become quite close. With much success, Stripes generated $85.3 million at the box office. Army recruitment  numbers also went up 10% that year.

11. What About Bob? – $63.7 million

What About Bob? is one of my absolute favorite movies from the 90s. It’s about a troubled man with various phobias who can’t help but irritate his psychotherapist, Dr. Leo Marvin. Bob even manages to find Dr. Marvin’s vacation house, where he befriends his family and ultimately pushes the doctor over the edge.

What About Bob? was a huge box office success and is also number 43 on Bravo’s “100 Funniest Movies” list, earning a total of $63.7 million with a $39 million budget.

Fun fact: Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss also had issues during the production of the film. Richard claimed during a 2009 interview with The A.V. Club, “Terribly unpleasant experience. We didn’t get along, me and Bill Murray. But I’ve got to give it to him: I don’t like him, but he makes me laugh even now.” At least in the end, both of them can walk away saying it was a funny movie.

12. Caddyshack – $60 million

Caddyshack is another one of my personal favorites as I can never get the theme song out of my head when I think of it. While it was one in which Bill Murray had more of a supporting role, it was also Harold Ramis’s directorial debut.

Caddyshack is about a young golf caddie, Danny Noonan, who struggles to get his life on track to win an intense Caddie Day golf tournament that will ultimately give him a scholarship he desperately needs. The competition is also rigged by the scheming judge, the one in charge presenting the scholarship. But Danny has help as golf gurus Ty Webb and distasteful, filthy rich construction magnate, Al Czervik, are set on unraveling the judge’s plans.

In addition to being a success at the box office, earning $60 million with just a $4.8 million budget, this movie also has a cult following and was described by ESPN as “perhaps the funniest sports movie ever made.”

What’s Your Favorite Billy Murray Movie?

Keep in mind the value of money has, of course, changed from the early 80s to now, and these numbers did not count for inflation. But ultimately, I can say these movies are ranked pretty well in terms of popularity, with the exception of Caddyshack; for me, I think it ranks after Ghostbusters due to its popularity and cult following

So what do you think? What was your favorite Bill Murray movie? Did you also know he will appear in the new Ghostbuster: The Afterlife movie? Personally, I don’t have high expectations for it, but I’m still curious to see how they revive the series.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!