These Are Sandra Bullock’s 12 Biggest Box Office Hits

With Paramount’s The Lost City earning decent reviews and solid buzz, there is genuine hope that the distinctly old-school star+concept, adult-skewing (but kid-friendly) rom-com adventure can show that studio programmers can still work theatrically even in a world dominated by marquee characters, nostalgic IP and streaming content. If anyone can pull off this borderline miracle, it’s Sandra Bullock (co-starring with Channing Tatum).

Ms. Bullock has, self-imposed sabbaticals notwithstanding, has been a reliable butts-in-seats movie star in a wide variety of genres (rom-com, sci-fi fantasy, inspirational sports melodrama, buddy cop comedy, marital drama, action-adventure, and various combos of same) since While You Were Sleeping in early 1995. Bullock was a consistently colossal movie star in that (like Will Smith in his 2002-2008 peak period) she could draw opening weekend crowds, long post-debut legs and solid post-theatrical afterlives to almost any kind of movie.

So, in honor of the actress’ (temporary?) return to the big screen, as well as scoring two of the top five “most-watched” Netflix movies ever (Bird Box and The Unforgivable), I wanted to run down her 12 biggest box office earners. This will be ordered by adjusted-for-inflation domestic grosses (courtesy of The Numbers) and will not include her small supporting role in DreamWorks’ all-star animated epic The Prince of Egypt ($101 million in 1998, $193 million adjusted).

And so, without further ado, here we go.

Demolition Man (Warner Bros.)

$58 million in 1993/$129 million adjusted

Yes, this is a supporting role, and few of us knew who Ms. Bullock was unless we saw Love Potion No. 9 or played exceptionally close attention to the 1993 remake of The Vanishing. The film remains maybe Sylvester Stallone’s best outright comedy (all due respect to Oscar). The futuristic actioner is one of the few films to gently rib “politically correct” norms without turning full-asshole. There’s a significant bit where Stallone acknowledges that it’s not cool when “the bad guys” are just committing robberies for food. The film avoids any unpleasant racial subtexts by letting Wesley Snipes go full-Joker in one of the tremendous post-Batman cinematic baddie performances. However, by turning what could have been a stock “babe sidekick” role into a fully-fleshed-out comic performance, Bullock almost steals her first big-deal movie.

Ocean’s 8 (Warner Bros.)

$140 million in 2018/$141 million adjusted

A gender-swapped reboot/relaunch done right, Gary Ross’s Ocean’s 11 spin-off merely positions Bullock as the brother of George Clooney’s seemingly deceased Danny Ocean and gives her reason to build her glamorous heist crew. Like the best relaunches/legacy sequels, it justifies itself artistically and commercially ($290 million on a $70 million budget, showing yet again that women aren’t box office poison) even if you don’t care about the IP. I mean, it’s a flashy heist movie starring Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway (in another sharp self-satirical comic turn), Awkwafina, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling. That’s enough to seal the deal, and the movie is pretty solid fun. I don’t know if the world needs a sequel to this, but I’ll happily show up for another Bullock-led, ensemble lady heist caper.

Two Weeks’ Notice (Warner Bros.)

$93 million in 2002/$146 million adjusted

To the extent that Bullock and Grant were both somewhat defined by the genre, it’s surprising that it took this long for them to hook up cinematically. It’s another example of how certain male stars (in this case Hugh Grant) were only as big (in terms of drawing power) as his female co-stars. Most of Grant’s vehicles were hits, but there was a clear upswing when the co-star was Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts as opposed to, talent notwithstanding, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Sarah Jessica Parker and Drew Barrymore. This isn’t a genre high-water mark, pitting a workaholic saint against/alongside an obnoxious billionaire whose behavior is (at best) exceptionally inconsiderate. I have no objection to “from enemies to lovers” tropes, but you shouldn’t spend an entire movie hoping she wises up and gets away from him.

While You Were Sleeping (Walt Disney)

$81 million in 1995/$171 million adjusted

There once was a time when audiences would take a liking to an actor or actress in a big movie and then show up in theaters when that performer got their star vehicle. While the press mainly obsessed upon David Caruso and Nicolas Cage’s (pretty good) Kiss of Death remake (and, eventually, Michael Bay’s Bad Boys), this under-the-radar fairy tale rom-com was the year’s biggest pre-summer grosser. The film’s high-concept, about a down-on-her-luck toll booth employee who rescues her crush from a subway accident only to stumble into a situation where everyone (including the amnesiac mugging victim) thinks they are engaged. Complicating matters is her genuine chemistry with and eventual feelings for the guy’s brother. It’s an excellent version of what you expect it to be. Moreover, Bill Pullman (Malice, Sleepless In Seattle, etc.) gets the girl for the first time since Spaceballs.

Miss Congeniality (Warner Bros.)

$107 million in 2000/$177 million adjusted

This Christmas 2000 hit (10.7x its domestic opening weekend) may be the prototypical Sandra Bullock star vehicle. It is also the kind of film that Hollywood desperately needs to start making again. The high-concept genre hybrid (a tough cop goes undercover as a beauty pageant contest to catch a terrorist) earned $212 million on a $45 million budget. It spawned an underwhelming but-harmless sequel ($107 million/$45 million in 2005) has its cake and eats it too, gently ribbing the beauty pageant industry for its regressive foundations while still noting its potential for character building and progressive ideals. Whatever, it’s just good Hollywood fun, with game supporting turns by Michael Caine and William Shatner and a flirty love interest turn from Benjamin Bratt. Miss Congeniality may not be a classic, but it’s about as good as we used to expect every A-level theatrical release to be.

The Heat (20th Century Fox)

$160 million in 2013/$18 million adjusted

Sadly, it took until 2013 to get a decently-budgeted female buddy cop comedy. I wish the Paul Feig-directed/Katie Dippold-penned flick were a better, sharper and funnier movie. Both Bullock (returning to star vehicles following a four-year post-Oscar sabbatical) and Melissa McCarthy (fresh off the breakout star vehicle Identity Thief) are committed. Still, too much of the film is either Bullock and McCarthy riffing to each other sans bystanders or McCarthy doing her abrasive schtick against characters who frankly don’t deserve it. McCarthy’s hostility creates a “rooting against action” situation, as you want her to get it together and help Bullock solve the crime. Still, there are laughs to be found, especially the more the film commits to being an R-rated action flick. Its unsurprising success ($229 million worldwide on a $43 million budget) was yet more evidence that audiences were desperate for female-led studio programmers.

The Proposal (Walt Disney)

$164 million in 2009/$200 million adjusted

Like Wild Hogs, which just turned 15, The Proposal is an example of how Walt Disney wasn’t always reliant on Marvel movies and nostalgia-driven remakes. Sure, Walt Disney Animation was in a transition period, and Pixar was their most prominent brand. However, they could still release a high-concept star vehicle that could nab $317 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. And while The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock as an editor-in-chief about to get deported to Canada and Ryan Reynolds as a long-suffering assistant who agrees to marry her, opened alongside The Hangover, only the latter inspired years of would-be copycats. The Proposal’s quasi-Taming of the Shrew qualities were iffy then and more so now. Still, the film worked for paying audiences (with a 5x weekend-to-final multiplier) and began a very late-in-life comeback for Betty White as a pop culture darling.

A Time to Kill (Warner Bros.)

$109 million in 1995/$226 million adjusted

Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill, based upon the lawyer-turned-author John Grisham’s first novel, stars Sam Jackson as a man standing trial after machine-gunning the two rednecks who raped his young daughter. It opened with $14.8 million, topping Independence Day in that film’s fourth weekend, and legged out to $108 million as the only actual post-Independence Day hit over the entire second half of summer 1996. The film turned Matthew McConaughey into a star and continued Sandra Bullock (as McConaughey’s legal eagle assistant) and Kevin Spacey’s respective hot streaks. It’s open to charges of “White Savior-ism,” but it’s also unapologetically anti-racist and doesn’t try to humanize its racist baddies. The R-rated, adult-skewing film is somewhat self-aware of its place and time, both in terms of Jackson’s “you and I aren’t friends” jailhouse monologue and McConaughey’s dramatic but not inaccurate “imagine she’s white” closing argument.

Speed (20th Century Fox)

$121 million in 1994/$272 million adjusted

A star is born as Sandra Bullock steals Jan De Bont’s high-concept thriller. It’s also a critical smash in Keanu Reeves’ development as a movie star, as Jack Traven is a macho action hero who’s also boyishly handsome and excessively compassionate. Oh, and Speed is one of the best Hollywood action movies ever. Bullock is an audience surrogate, finding herself driving a runaway bus that can’t go below 50-miles-per-hour lest it explodes. The rest of the beleaguered passengers form a micro-community that lends the stunts and near-misses an emotional oomph. Even the curtain-raiser elevator sequence shows not a traumatic defeat but an unlikely victory, which keeps you on edge for the eventual downfall. Speed was a punchline until everyone saw it (remember when Blown Away was the big mad bomber movie of summer 1994?), and now it’s rightfully hailed as one of the best films from one of Hollywood’s best years.

Gravity (Warner Bros.)

$274 million in 2013/$309 million adjusted

The optimism present upon Gravity’s critically-acclaimed blockbuster release, that audiences would show up for female-driven blockbusters, that movie theaters provided irreplaceable entertainment experiences and that an original flick could pull top-tier global box office grosses ($723 million on a $100 million budget) may have been short-lived. However, Alfonso Cuarón’s outer-space survival drama remains a jaw-dropping, vertigo-inducing, tear-jerking spectacular. The first reel is still a stunner, as we establish our lead characters (two astronauts played by Bullock and George Clooney), say goodbye to one of them and set the stage for a deep-space self-rescue. It earned 5x its $55 million opening and cemented early October as a safe place for blockbusters. Gravity was justly acclaimed in its day, but its success was so tied to the theatrical experience that it is now almost “underrated.” Sure, it plays best in theaters with 3-D glasses, but (like Avatar) it still whips an appropriate amount of ass on a big-screen 2-D television.

The Blind Side (Warner Bros.)

$256 million in 2009/$310 million adjusted

The discourse around this one has become complicated over the years, and I will note that it’s not a documentary. However, The Blind Side remains a solid, well-made and well-acted studio programmer about nice/good people who do good for other nice people and are rewarded. Loosely based on a true-life story about a wealthy southern family who adopted a poor Black high schooler and helped make him an NFL star, Bullock mostly plays it low-key (the few over-the-top moments were, of course, the key to the marketing). She shares warm comic chemistry with Quinton Aaron to ensure that the film is as much about Mike Oher as Leigh Anne Tuohy. It legged out past Star Trek domestically with 7.7x its $33 million debut weekend. It also made Bullock the first actress to win an Oscar (for this film) and a Razzie (for All About Steve) in the same weekend.

Minions (Universal)

$337 million in 2015/$377 million adjusted

Okay, so this isn’t exactly a conventional Sandra Bullock star vehicle. Still, her over-the-top performance as the main baddie (Scarlett Overkill) qualified as an added value element for parents tagging along to this 1960’s-set crime comedy. It did open right at the tail-end of her stunning 2007 (Premonition) to 2015 (Minions) era, where she broke her own personal best opening weekend record six times almost in a row (sorry to All About Steve and a supporting role in 2011’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). The film opened with $115 million. While it’s no modern classic (although at its best, it has the chaotic anarchy of older Looney Tunes shorts), its success remains a refreshing example of a new franchise scoring huge instead of our favorite kid-friendly properties being reheated or rehashed for our kids.