The Biggest Owen Wilson Movies Of All Time

It's hard to miss Owen Wilson, with his blonde hair, easygoing attitude, and iconic delivery of the word "wow." He stands out in a sea of American movie stars that can often blend together and his distinctive traits have led to him becoming an enduring staple in the pop culture landscape well into the modern world, where he headlines projects ranging from "Loki" to "Marry Me." His persistently popular nature has ensured that his box office track record, according to data compiled by The Numbers, is littered with sizeable hits, with such projects that include a trilogy of family movies, adaptations of classic TV shows, and ensemble comedies that feature Wilson in scene-stealing supporting roles, among many other strains of cinema. 

The reasons behind why these particular Wilson movies managed to score so high at the box office are as varied as the assorted genres this performer has occupied. However, the biggest Owen Wilson features ever at the worldwide box office do share a common trait of tending to exemplify why moviegoers are so interested in heading out to a movie theater and seeing the newest project containing this affable actor. 

One note before going forward: this list only covers the box office results of movies featuring live-action performances from Owen Wilson. This means that some lucrative projects, like all three "Cars" titles, where Wilson stars as Lightning McQueen, are excluded from this piece.

Before he was a fixture of lucrative Ben Stiller comedies, Owen Wilson was taking on supporting roles in features like "The Haunting," a 1999 horror remake headlined by Liam Neeson and Rachel Weisz. The project had a lot going for it on paper, including the fact that it was helmed by "Speed" and "Twister" director Jan de Bont, as well as a sizeable $90 million budget that promised lots of big-screen spectacle for moviegoers. To be sure, "The Haunting" didn't make pennies with its $180.1 million box office haul, which made it one of the first movies featuring Wilson to crack $100 million worldwide. It also ensured that "The Haunting" was the 21st-biggest movie of 1999 globally and one of the biggest horror films of that year at the worldwide box office.

Still, on its considerable budget, "The Haunting" was expected to do better. Part of the problem here was timing. "The Haunting" dropped in July 1999, just as a little movie called "The Blair Witch Project" was ramping up in limited release and proceeding to redefine the horror genre forever. A more familiar remake like "The Haunting" couldn't compete with a scary film that innovative, even if "The Haunting" was the only one of the two films that featured Owen Wilson.

Though it can seem strange to consider now, there was a time in 2005 when the only thing moviegoers wanted to see was Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson act raunchy at weddings. Then again, even if neither Vaughn nor Wilson headline big-screen R-rated comedies in the modern world, maybe the appeal of "Wedding Crashers" can still be parsed out. The wish-fulfillment fantasy of this premise, as well as the appealing juxtaposition of classy weddings with sophomoric humor, is certainly unique among mainstream comedies. Plus, Vaughn and Wilson were hot off several box office hits, including "Starsky and Hutch" from earlier that year.

Even considering these ingredients, it's still shocking just how lucrative "Wedding Crashers" was. Though its $283.2 million worldwide box office gross puts it behind several other Wilson movies globally, much of that sum came from an astonishing $209.3 million domestic haul. This made "Wedding Crashers" part of an ultra-rare breed of R-rated comedies preceding "The Hangover" that cracked the $200 million mark at the North American box office. It was also a big feat for Wilson and proved that he could headline successful comedies even when he wasn't partnered up with Ben Stiller. 

No matter how you look at it, the box office haul of "Wedding Crashers" was a remarkable achievement that spoke to just how much this project had resonated with people seeking out laughs in the summer of 2005.

With "Wonder," Owen Wilson returned to a domain that had treated him well at the box office in the past — family movies. Though some of his most famous star vehicles were PG-13 and R-rated films aimed at grown-ups, PG-rated fare had treated Wilson well thanks to franchises like "Cars" and "Night at the Museum." For "Wonder," Wilson paired up with Julia Roberts to adapt a famous book of the same name by R. J. Palacio. Launched in November 2017, "Wonder" managed to continue Wilson's hot streak in the genre.

Though it opened five days before Pixar megahit "Coco," "Wonder" still managed to garner tons of family moviegoers. This was thanks to the widespread fame of its source material as well as its feel-good premise being just what audiences like to watch during the holiday season. Globally, "Wonder" grossed $311.9 million. Not only was this remarkably profitable on just a $20 million budget, but it also became only the second motion picture featuring Owen Wilson to crack $300 million worldwide since 2010. It was extra impressive considering distributor Lionsgate didn't have an enormous amount of experience distributing hit family movies before "Wonder" came along. While the studio had struggled in this space, getting a reliable family movie draw like Owen Wilson onboard to "Wonder" was certainly one reason this film became such a sizeable hit.

In 2006, "Night at the Museum" was a pop culture phenomenon, a film that captured the zeitgeist by marrying a genuinely clever original idea with comedy star Ben Stiller and a perfect Christmas release date. Despite this success, blind love for a single movie can't last forever, and "Night at the Museum" was no exception. By 2014, when its second sequel, "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," debuted, things had changed dramatically. 

For starters, the concept just wasn't as fresh anymore, and this new installment's most significant innovation was moving the action to London. The other problem was that Ben Stiller was in the middle of a box office slump. Fairly or not, the timing of "Secret of the Tomb," coming fresh off Stiller's major original box office flops like "The Watch" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," made it look like Stiller was looking for an easy box office hit to restore some of his clout.

Whatever the reason for its existence, "Secret of the Tomb" was a decent but not spectacular performer and grossed $353.7 million worldwide, a notable step down from its two predecessors. "Secret of the Tomb" had several other family movies, including "Annie," to deal with in its December 2014 release date. Still, it is likely that the biggest problem here was just that "Night at the Museum" had lost some of its magic to audiences.

After "Meet the Parents" made so much moolah, it was only a matter of time before a sequel emerged. However, what was less inevitable was just how successful this follow-up, "Meet the Fockers," would be. After all, comedy sequels often crash and burn at the box office. Successors to smash hits like "City Slickers" or "Neighbors" have ended up bombing quite notably. It's hard to tell the same joke twice, and audiences have often said "no thanks" to the promise of a sequel to their favorite comedy.

Luckily, "Meet the Fockers" had an ace up its sleeve in the form of cast member newcomers Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand, who brought some big names and the promise of even bigger laughs to the project. Add in all the goodwill built up by the original "Meet the Parents," alongside Ben Stiller's increased profile in the four years between installments, and it was no wonder "Meet the Fockers" cracked $516.5 million globally. This sizeable gross could also be chalked up to the decision to debut the film in December instead of October, which was the month that "Meet the Parents" arrived. The end of the year holidays allowed "Meet the Fockers" to keep going on at the box office, resulting in a massive haul that proved to be a boon to the entire cast of the movie, including supporting player Owen Wilson.

"Night at the Museum" was one of those box office hits that smartly played off box office smashes of years past. For one thing, its premise concerning CGI beasts that come to life and wreak havoc, complete with Robin Williams on the cast list, couldn't help but conjure up memories of the 1995 Christmas hit "Jumanji." Meanwhile, this title's December 2006 release date also harkened back to how leading man Ben Stiller's last mega-smash hit in theaters, "Meet the Fockers," was also released just in time to coincide with end-of-the-year festivities.

Taking cues from what made money in the past included getting Owen Wilson in the cast of "Night at the Museum" as the scene-stealing Jedediah. Wilson had proven to be a beloved part of past Stiller hits like "Starsky and Hutch," why shouldn't he also be around for this new family movie? Combining so many ingredients from different box office hits worked out great for "Night at the Museum," which ended up grossing $579.4 million worldwide.

 Blowing past all expectations, it also managed to leapfrog past all other 2006 movies at the domestic box office save for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." This remarkable box office run, the biggest for any live-action movie Wilson's been involved in, serves as a reminder of how hits of today are built off successes of the past.