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One of the original Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live (SNL) needs no introduction, especially as of late with his resounding altercation with Will Smith at the Academy Awards shows on March 27, 2022. Some say it was the slap that was heard across the world, literally! Besides the recent drama that the South Carolina stand-up comedian recently found himself at the center of, for years he has been known for his legendary career as an actor and a director. Some of his earliest and most iconic scenes were in the 1991 crime thriller, New Jack City, where he starred alongside Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, and Judd Nelson. Throughout his career, he has also starred beside other members of the Bad Boys of SNL, such as Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Will Ferell, and Rob Schneider. Here are ten of the highest-grossing Chris Rock movies as a director and an actor.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
It took seven years for it to be produced, but following the success of the first Madagascar movie in 2005, Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) and his best friend, Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), were back at it in the 2012 animation action-adventure comedy, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Along for the ride were also their domesticated animal friends, Gloria the hippopotamus (Jada Pinkett Smith) and the goofy yet loveable giraffe, Melvin (David Schwimmer). Following the events of the last movie series, the group of friends decides to go looking for their other domesticated wild animal friends, which include the genius penguins, Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (John DiMaggio), and Private (Christopher Knights), and the chimpanzees, Mason (Conrad Vernon) and Phil. The film also stars Cedric The Entertainer and Sacha Baron Cohen, grossing a total of $746.921 million at the global box office.
Madagascar
They say lions aren't meant to be tamed. And for that matter, no wild animal is meant to be tamed! The computer-animated film, Madagascar, released in 2005, follows the routine lives of the praised and celebrated lion, Alex (Ben Stiller), a foxy hippopotamus named Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), a hypochondriac Somali giraffe named Melvin (David Lawrence Schwimmer), and a plains zebra named Marty (Chris Rock), who has grown bored of the mundane live as Central Park Zoo tourist attraction. When Marty learns that the penguins, headed by Skipper (Tom McGrath) and his subordinates Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Jeffrey Katzenberg), and Private (Christopher Knights) have plans to escape from the zoo, he's all in! He invites Alexa, Gloria, and Marty to join him and they all escape along with two chimpanzees, Mason and Phil. When they are spotted at the Grand Central Train Station, authorities sedate them with tranquilizers and ship them to a Kenyan wildlife reserve. However, the dangerously smart penguins take over the ship and plan on heading to Antarctica, but end up in Madagascar. The comedic film grossed a total of $556.559 million at the box office.
Doctor Dolittle
Caesar Millan may be the Dog Whisperer, but he has nothing on Doctor Dolittle! In 1998, the first box office success of the fantasy comedy film, Doctor Dolittle, did much better than its originator, the 1967 musical The Story of Doctor Dolittle. The movie also began as a novel written by Hugh Lofting before becoming a film franchise. It follows the life of John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) who realized at the age of five that he had a special ability to talk to animals, starting with his dog. However, after his father invites a priest to perform an exorcism on John to remove the 'devil' from him, his dog bites the priest and is sent away, causing John to stop talking to animals. Decades pass and he becomes a doctor and surgeon married to Lisa (Kristen Wilson) who share two daughters named Charisse (Raven Symone) and Maya Dolittle (Kayla Pratt). They also own a guinea pig called Rodney (Chris Rock). The film grossed a whopping $294.156 million globally.
Bee Movie
This is likely to be the funniest and most A-list actor-inclusive animation movie in recent times. Released in 2007, the comedy film surrounds the life of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld), an intelligent honey bee with the unique ability to talk to humans. After graduating from college, he along with his friend, Adam Flayman (Matthew Broderick), have plans to begin working in the Honex Industries honey-making workforce. However, Barry's innovative and ambitious attitude often gets him in trouble with his superiors as well as a group of Pollen Jocks. While on his first pollen-harvesting mission in New York, Barry gets lost in the rain and ends up on the balcony of a florist named Vanessa Bloom (Renée Zellweger). Barry and Vanessa become closer, which infuriates her boyfriend, Ken (Patrick Warburton). After learning of the harsh conditions bees are kept under while producing honey, he decides to sue the human race and end the exploitation the bees are facing. Chris Rock plays Mooseblood the Mosquito and appearances are made by Ray Liotta and Sting, with the film grossing $287.594 million at the box office.
Lethal Weapon 4
When Chris Rock began getting roles in multi-million success movie franchises like Lethal Weapon 4, his career was undoubtedly headed for the stars and beyond! Released in 1998, the buddy cop action film was the final of four movie series that all previously saw remarkable success. In this series, Hollywood's favorite officer-duo, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) have been promoted to captains by Captain Murphy (Steve Khan). Meanwhile, Roger's daughter, Rianne (Tracie Wolf), reveals that she has become pregnant by Detective Lee Butlers (Chris Rock), which they try to keep hidden from Rogers. When the dynamic duo comes upon a Chinese immigrant smuggling ring with Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), they make unwanted enemies with a crime boss named Benny Chan and a high-ranking Triad negotiator named Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li). The action-packed film grossed a total of $285.4 million at the box office.
Beverly Hills Cop 2
Eddie Murphy has always been a hilarious actor and stand-up comedian, responsible for "putting on" many other actors and comedians who have made a success of themselves in the Hollywood Industry. One of those actors who got their debut acting role with Eddie Murphy was Chris Rock who played a parking valet in the buddy cop film, Beverly Hills Cop 2. The film follows a cheeky and daring officer named Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) who, on his own directive, flies out to Beverly Hills after hearing of the shooting of Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox). He is eagerly assisted by Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Detective John Taggart (John Ashton) who help him to solve the case. Foley pretends to be an FBI officer to fool the Beverly Hills Police Chief Harold Lutz (Allen Garfield). Together, they bring down Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielson) and Maxwell Dent (Jürgen Prochnow) who are responsible for the "Alphabet Crimes." On a budget of $27 million, the film grossed $276.665 million.
Death At A Funeral
For a man who has his own show, Everybody Hates Chris, you would expect that he has many more talents than just that of an actor. Chris Rock also wears the hats of both a producer and a director, with one of his most successful co-produced movies being Death At a Funeral, released in 2010. When the father of the successful novelist, Aaron (Chris Rock), and his younger brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence), who is also a successful novelist, is preparing to be buried at a funeral service, things couldn't go more horribly. When it's revealed at the funeral that their father had a secret gay lover named Frank (Peter Dinklage), who threatens to show very intimate pictures to Aaron's mother, Cynthia (Loretta Devine), in exchange for $30,000. The film also featured Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, and Tracy Morgan. The film grossed $48.97 million globally.
Spiral
In 2021, Chris Rock took on a different role from the usual comedian that he normally embodies. Listed as the ninth installment in the Saw movie series, Spiral is a horror film that begins with off-duty Detective Marv Bozwick (Daniel Petronijevic) who finds himself suspended by his tongue in an active subway tunnel with a choice of either tearing his tongue out to save his life of dying by an oncoming train. He fails to evade the trap and gets hit by the train. The following day, police Captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols) assigns Detective Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) and Detective William Schenk (Max Minghella) to the homicide and they find it to be the fingerprint of the deceased Jigsaw Killer. As more detectives fall victim to the meticulous traps set by the unknown killer, Banks comes to grips with the fact that his seemingly inexperienced rookie partner, Emmerson, is the one behind the murders, and dies in one of his traps. Although Rock only starred as an actor in this film, the movie grossed a total of $39.522 million.
Head Of State
Years before Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America, Chris Rock beat him to it in the 2003 political comedy, Head of State. This film was actually written and directed by Chris Rock and follows the life of Mays Gilliam, an alderman for the 9th Ward in Washington D.C. who reluctantly agrees to be chosen as the Democratic Party candidate for the 2004 presidential election after the party's original presidential and vice-presidential nominees and he is praised as a hero for saving a pregnant woman from an explosion. Quite the national hero! This all happens after being dumped by his girlfriend, Kim (Robin Givens), who desperately tries to get back with him after his nomination. He is supported by his brother and later vice-president, Mitch Gilliam (Bernie Mac) while going up against the other Presidential candidate, Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy). Although it wasn't a box office bomb, the film grossed $38.6 million on a $35 million budget.
Top Five
It's safe to say at this time that Chris Rock has solidified himself as an accomplished actor, writer, producer, and director. Although he hasn't produced as many movies as Spike Lee nor has he come close to his level of success as a director, he can confidently say that none of his films have flopped. In 2014, he wrote and directed a comedy film called Top Five where he plays the role of a recovering alcoholic named Andre Allen who is being interviewed by a journalist named Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson). They ride in his limo and walk throughout New York City where they encounter Chelsea's boyfriend, Brad, and his friend Ryan, and Chelsea reveals that she believes Brad is gay. Gabrielle Union also plays the role of Andre's fiancée. Against a budget of $12 million, the film was a modest success, grossing $26 million at the box office.
Sources: NY Times, Indie Wire, Roger Ebert, Den of Geek, Roger Ebert