Every Wes Anderson Movie, Ranked by Box Office

While today’s box office ecosystem puts a larger emphasis on the success of established franchises than it does on individual artists, Wes Anderson has earned a strong following from avid fans of his work. There’s no mistaking the style of Anderson’s films; his brand of symmetrical framing, bold coloring, dark humor, and existentialism is evident even within his short films. While some critics may critique the recurring hallmarks within his projects, Anderson has frequently shown his willingness to take risks with the stories that he tells.

In addition to the critical acclaim that many of his projects have received, Anderson’s films have been highly successful at the box office. Anderson’s aptitude for working with impressive ensemble casts means that his projects are frequently able to draw attention to themselves based on the high-profile names involved. Here is every Wes Anderson film, ranked by their box office sum.

11 ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1996)

Worldwide gross: $560,069

Based on the short film of the same name that he created with Luke and Owen Wilson, Bottle Rocket introduced the world to Anderson’s unique style of humor. While its relatively small box office performance did not necessarily make him a blockbuster filmmaker, Bottle Rocket established many of the recurring hallmarks that would become intrinsic to Anderson’s aesthetics. By proving that he could make the most out of a small budget, Anderson’s work on Bottle Rocket signified was ready to work on more ambitious projects.

Bottle Rocket is an outlier within Anderson’s filmography, as it did not become a mainstream breakthrough until after his later success. While it contains the same idiosyncratic humor that Anderson would become known for, Bottle Rocket also engaged with the filmmaker’s darker impulses thanks to its frequent violence and strong dramatic turn from Wilson. While its his lowest grossing film, Anderson’s career as it exists today would not have happened without Bottle Rocket.

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10 ‘Rushmore’ (1998)

Worldwide gross: $19,080,435

While Bottle Rocket had shown the potential that he had as a filmmaker, Anderson’s sophomore feature Rushmore proved that he was capable of reaching a mainstream audience. While it only barely grossed over $19 million at the global box office, Rushmore’s success is fairly surprising given how unique the film’s sense of humor is. The strong reviews indicated that Anderson’s work on Bottle Rocket was not a fluke, and that he was capable of maturing his style.

Although it was dwarfed in success by his subsequent work, Rushmore established the importance of Anderson’s working relationship with Bill Murray. While the Ghostbusters star had been a comedy staple in the 1980s, Anderson helped Murray transition into the later stages of his career with a series of strong supporting roles. Murray’s star power helped to elevate Jason Schwartzman in what became his breakout performance.

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9 ‘The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou’ (2004)

Worldwide gross: $34,809,623

While it certainly appealed to more mainstream sensibilities with its homages to the action-adventure genre, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou was considered a mild disappointment in comparison to Anderson’s more acclaimed films. While it grossed nearly $35 million at the global box office, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou generated far less critical enthusiasm than Rushmore and Bottle Rocket. Anderson’s commitment to forgoing traditional sentimentality meant that audiences were less likely to watch The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou multiple times due to the rather downbeat note that it concludes on.

Although it doesn’t represent his best efforts, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is one of Anderson’s only movies that has a genuinely likable protagonist. Murray’s performance as the dogmatic, egocentric titular adventurer represents one of the most sharply written “bad dads” characters that Anderson has ever created.

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8 ‘The Darjeeling Limited’

Worldwide gross: $35,080,988

While on its surface The Darjeeling Limited looked like a fairly standard road trip comedy, the film showed Anderson’s ability to reinvent familiar genres and make them his own. While The Darjeeling Limited earned only $35 million at the global box office, its performance is impressive considering how unusual its thematic core is. While ostensibly a comical story of three brothers reuniting and taking an adventure together, The Darjeeling Limited transformed into one of Anderson’s most emotionally acute studies of grief.

While getting viewers to invest in such an emotionally devastating story could have been a challenge, Anderson’s quirky sense of humor helped The Darjeeling Limited seem more palatable to general viewers. The terrific chemistry between Wilson, Schwarztman, and Adrien Brody proved essential in navigating the film’s abrupt tonal shifts. While it didn’t demand repeat viewing like other Anderson projects, The Darjeeling Limited was still a success considering its arthouse quality.

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7 ‘The French Dispatch’ (2021)

Worldwide gross: $46,333,545

While the stability of the global box office was irrevocably affected by theatrical shutdowns during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, The French Dispatchproved that Anderson still had a loyal following among cinephiles. Grossing over $46 million, The French Dispatch indicated that a new Anderson film was an event, even if praise was milder in comparison to some of his previous successes. The star power of actors like Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan certainly helped elevate The French Dispatch’s financial performance.

While its anthology structure was certainly notable, The French Dispatch has one of the most important messages of any Anderson film. A story about the importance of good journalism felt particularly relevant during a period of time where reporters across the globe were challenged and threatened. While not always considered to be a “political” filmmaker, Anderson underscores the community of a newspaper staff in The French Dispatch.

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6 ‘Asteroid City’ (2023)

Worldwide gross: $53,855,901

While the box office summer of 2023 had its fair share of critical and commercial disasters, Asteroid Cityproved that audiences had a strong interest in original projects from prestige filmmakers. While Asteroid City was not a success on the same level of Barbie or Oppenheimer, its respectable gross of over $53 million at the global box office indicated that strong word-of-mouth had boosted the film’s performance.

While it has been challenging for original films to stand out financially, particularly during the streaming era, Asteroid City cemented Anderson as a permanent fixture at the box office. There aren’t many filmmakers that are able to generate enthusiasm for a new film based on their name alone, but Anderson certainly has a strong following based on the consistent quality of his work. The success of Asteroid City bodes well for his future in the industry.

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5 ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ (2009)

Worldwide gross: $58,087,259

While his films often cover dark themes such as isolation, depression, guilt, loneliness, and family dysfunction, Anderson showed he could make a great family film with Fantastic Mr. Fox. The first of his series of projects adapted from the work of children’s author Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox utilized a style of immersive stop-motion animation to bring the unique, colorful characters to life. An impressive box office performance of over $58 million was certainly deserving considering the immense effort that goes into crafting this animation style.

Fantastic Mr. Fox’s success is not surprising as it is one of the rare animated family films that appeals to both adults and children. While the film sands off some of the darker aspects of Anderson’s style, it presents a universally relatable story about the importance of community that is well-suited for family audiences.

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4 ‘Isle of Dogs’ (2018)

Worldwide gross: $64,656,608

Anderson proved that he wasn’t dropping his ambitions as an animated filmmaker with Isle of Dogs, and once again found success within the niche market of stop-motion fans. Isle of Dogs outgrossed Fantastic Mr. Fox with a box office total of over $64 million, despite having a somewhat darker tone and PG-13 rating. While the film dealt with more serious topics like pollution, civil disobedience, cultural diffusion, totalitarianism, and broken families, Isle of Dogs managed to find an audience that appreciated its unusual style.

2018 proved to be a great year for animated movies, proving once again that animation is merely a “medium,” and not a genre in of itself. The success of Isle of Dogs alongside hits like Incredibles 2, Ralph Break The Internet, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse suggested that a versatile set of animated films could appeal to a wide variety of viewers.

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3 ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ (2012)

Worldwide gross: $68,264,022

Following the mild financial disappointment of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdomwas a return to form for Anderson as a live-action filmmaker. While Moonrise Kingdom is packed with appearances by famous stars that have been in multiple Anderson films, the film relied on the chemistry between the young stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. The duo of breakout child stars gave sensational performances that signified Anderson’s ability to find new talent, and brought Moonrise Kingdom to a global box office sum of over $68 million.

The film’s success in comparison to Anderson’s other films suggested that audiences appreciated the sincerity of Moonrise Kingdom. While some of Anderson’s more recent projects could have been accused of being too cheeky and cynical, Moonrise Kingdom tells a completely sincere story about youthful passion that does not shy away from genuine emotion.

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2 ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ (2001)

Worldwide gross: $71,441,655

While he had established himself as a cult filmmaker in the late 1990s, Anderson’s career rose to a new level thanks to the success of The Royal Tenenbaums. Often cited as his most defining masterpiece, The Royal Tenenbaums managed to earn over $70 million at the global box office based on the appeal of stars like Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Platrow amidst the height of their respective careers. The critical acclaim is not to be discounted either, as Anderson earned his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums.

While the film is packed with great performances, The Royal Tenenbaums gave audiences one of the last great performances from Gene Hackman. While Hackman retired from filmmaking after the release of the 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport, The Royal Tenenbaums easily ranks among the best films he’s ever been in.

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1 ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014)

Worldwide gross: $174,563,280

While he’s never failed to generate enthusiasm for his projects, Anderson never had a film that matched the success of The Grand Budapest Hotel. In what became one of 2014’s strangest hits, Anderson’s historical adventure satire grossed almost $175 million at the global box office and earned some of the best reviews of his career. It’s success suggested that the film had connected with viewers outside of Anderson’s niche following, perhaps because of the outrageously entertaining lead performance by Ralph Fiennes.

The strong award season performance may have boosted The Grand Budapest Hotel’s box office total, as films earmarked for success at the Academy Awards tend to perform well. The Grand Budapest Hotel became the first Anderson film to get Best Picture and Best Director nominations; it also won the awards for Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design.

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