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If there was ever a comedian/actor with a more quirky sense of humor, it would have to be Bill Murray. Born on September 21, 1950, he began his professional career in 1973 as a writer and producer with the National Lampoon magazine. Similar to other comedians, such as Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and the renowned actor Chris Rock, his first big break came with Saturday Night Live from 1977 to 1980. A few of his most successful movies have been the Ghostbusters movie franchise, Groundhog Day, Charlie's Angels, Zombieland, and The Royal Tenenbaums Hotel. Over the years, his net worth has grown to a whopping $180 million over almost 50 years he has been acting. In that time, he has starred alongside A-list celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis, Danny DeVito, and even the famed entrepreneur Michael Jordan. Here are the 10 highest-grossing movies by Bill Murray.
The Jungle Book
Bill Murray has been gracing television screens with his presence for close to 50 years now and it was only in 2016 that he starred in his highest-grossing one yet in The Jungle Book. Produced by Walt Disney Films, the movie is a live-action/CGI remake of the 1967 animated film of the same name. It follows a child named Mowgli (Neel Sethi) who is raised by a wolf named Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o) and her pack, led by Akela (Giancarlo Esposito). One day while in the jungle, Mowgli is hypnotized by a huge python named Kaa, played by the seductive Scarlett Johansson who attempts to eat him but he is saved by a bear called Baloo (Bill Murray). Other important actors in the film include Idris Elba, Christopher Walken, and Ben Kingsley. The film grossed a total of $953.554 million at the box office.
Ghostbusters
Likely one of Murray's most popular roles was in the 1984 supernatural comedy film, Ghostbusters, written and starred in by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film follows a group of Columbia University professors, namely Peter Venkman, played by the comic, Bill Murray, Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). After experiencing their first ghost encounter, they are fired by the university dean for their research being too paranormal-focused. The counter by establishing the Ghostbusters as a paranormal investigation and elimination service, sort of like the ghost police. Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) calls the Ghostbusters after experiencing a demonic creature resembling a dog. She is later possessed by a demon named Zuul, who also possesses her neighbor, Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). The film grossed a whopping $295.596 million at the box office.
Charlie's Angels
Released in 2000, Charlie's Angels is an action comedy film that literally defines the words "dangerous and sexy." So, of course, they needed to bring in the four sexiest women in Hollywood at that time. The film follows three beautiful private investigators who work for Charlie Townsend (John Forsythe), namely Natalie Cook, played by the beautiful Cameron Diaz, Dylan Sanders (Drew Barrymore), and Alex Munday (Lucy Liu). Charlie's assistant, Bosley (Bill Murray) is called upon to work with the girls directly at times as Charlie speaks to them primarily through speakers. The girls are directed to find Eric Knox, played by the G-Force actor Sam Rockwell, a software genius and owner of Knox Enterprises, who is believed to have been kidnapped by Rogen Corwin (Tim Curry). The Angels embark on a risky mission that involves love, romance, and betrayal while defending Bosley and Charlie from their adversaries. The film grossed $259.736 million at the international box office.
Space Jam
It's not every day that you see the Hall-of-Famer, entrepreneur, and former NBA Champion Michael Jordan headlined in a movie alongside comedians like Billy Murray and actor/director Danny DeVito, much less Bugs Bunny! Released in 1996, the Space Jam movie begins with Michael Jordan retiring from a professional basketball career to baseball following the death of his father, James. Simultaneously, the amusement park Moron Mountain in outer space is rapidly declining and its owner, Mr. Swackhammer (Danny DeVito) assigns his minions the Nerdlucks, to kidnap the Looney Tunes to make them an attraction in Moron Mountain. However, when Bugs Bunny (Billy West) persuades them to defend themselves by challenging the Nerdlucks to a basketball game, they agree.
In order to have an athletic edge on the Looney Tunes, they infiltrate basketball games and steal the talents of Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues. The Looney Tunes then transport Michael Jordan into their universe to explain their plight and request his expertise while golfing with Bill Murray, Larry Bird, and his assistant Stan Podolak (Wayne Knight). The movie was a huge success, grossing $250.18 million globally.
Ghostbusters
Every great movie deserves a reboot, and in 2016, the supernatural comedy, Ghostbusters, got its reboot with Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, directed by Paul Feig. However, there is an obvious twist in the character makeup of the story in that the entire Ghostbusters team is mostly women. The film follows particle physicists Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) who have co-authored a book documenting their supernatural encounters titled Ghosts from Our Past. However, as their friendship has drifted apart and Erin has lost belief in the supernatural.
Her belief is soon restored after encountering a powerful ghost while helping her friends Abby and Jillian (Kate McKinnon). Following the encounter, they steal equipment to build technology and hire jock Kevin Beckman played by Marvel's Thor, Chris Hemsworth, as their receptionist. While met with various criticisms, the film grossed $229.008 million at the box office.
Get Smart
Even if a movie is meant to be a serious action spy film, all that needs to be done to change the genre is to put an actor like Steve Carell, and suddenly you have a comedy! Get Smart is an action spy comedy that was released in 2008 and follows the life of Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell), who is an analyst for CONTROL, a top-secret American intelligence agency. Despite his obvious strength as an analyst, Smart desires to become a brawny field agent like Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). However, most of the agents' covers are blown after an attack by the terrorist organization KAOS, leaving only Agent 99, played by the stunning Anne Hathaway as the only viable agent.
Following the attack by KAOS, Smart is promoted to a field agent, much to the chagrin of Agent 99, who sees him as inexperienced. Together, they must infiltrate the KAOS headquarters and, while doing so, find out that Agent 23 is a double agent. Bill Murray also plays Agent 13 with the CONTROL organization. The film raked in $226.739 million at the box office.
Ghostbusters II
They say if it's nice, then do it twice. And that's exactly what director and producer Ivan Reitman did for the Ghostbusters sequel in 1989. Featuring many of the same cast of characters from the original film in 1984, Ghostbusters II is still set in New York. However, they're being sued by the state for property damage after saving the city from the shape-shifting god Gozer, which has put them out of business. But their services are still requested as Dana Barrett's (Sigourney Weaver) son, Oscar, mysteriously rolls into a busy intersection in his stroller. Simultaneously, a picture of Vigo the Carpathian, an evil tyrant and sorcerer of 16th-century Europe, possesses Dana's boss, Janosz Poha played by the Hollywood actor Peter MacNicol. Vigo then commands Janosz to bring him a human vessel so he can inhabit and begin to conquer the world once again, and he chooses Dana's baby, Oscar. The film grossed a total of $215.5 million at the box office.
Garfield
Based on the popular children's cartoon, Garfield: The Movie was released in 2004 as a live-action/computer-animated comedy and focuses on the overweight, lethargic, untamed orange cat named Garfield (Bill Murray) who lives with his owner, Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Meyer) and his dog, Odie. For entertainment purposes, he often teases his neighbor's temperamental Doberman, Luca (Brad Garrett). Being the fat, unusual feline he is, instead of killing mice, Garfield makes an unlikely friendship with one whose name is Louis (Nick Cannon). Garfield also has other neighborhood cats that he speaks with named Nermal (David Eigenberg) and Arlene (Debra Messing).
Garfield has also been John's excuse to go to the veterinarian so he can see Dr. Liz Wilson, gracefully acted by the multi-millionaire actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, who John is in love with. They eventually begin dating and Garfield, John, Liz, and Odie get into all types of drama! The animation film grossed $208.094 million at the box office.
Tootsie
In present-day Hollywood, there seems to be an endless supply of movies with actors whose main character wears a dress, such as Tyler Perry's Madea, Martin Lawrence's Big Momma's House, Eddie Murphy's Norbert, and many others. However, in 1982, one of the pioneering movies that began with the trend of putting men in a dress was Tootsie. The film follows a famous and respected Hollywood actor named Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) who is unable to find work in New York because he is too difficult to work with.
He works as a restaurant server and acting teacher to make ends meet before learning of an acting audition for a popular daytime soap opera called Southwest General from his acting student Sandy Lester, played by the experienced actress and comedian Teri Garr. Michael is so desperate that he is willing to impersonate a woman and auditions as "Dorothy Michaels" and gets the part. His world becomes entangled as he struggles to keep up his double life. The film grossed a total of $177.2 million at the box office.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Directed, written, and produced by the unique and abstract Wes Anderson in 2014, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comedy-drama starring an exceptional ensemble of actors. The film begins with the owner of the hotel, Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) telling the rags to riches story of how the hotel came from a drab-looking building to a reformed paradise. The film follows a young Zero who begins working in the hotel lobby under the wing of Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) who is the hotel's concierge. Other actors in the film include Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, and the Jurrasic Park legend, Jeff Goldblum among some of the best actors. The film grossed a total of $163.5 million at the box office.
Sources: Den of Geek, The Independent Critic, Roger Ebert, The Guardian