What is the highest-grossing movie starring Jack Black?
Since first becoming a star at the turn of the millennium, thanks to a breakthrough performance in Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity, Jack Black has endured for almost a quarter of a century as one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Not that he was an untested novice when he first made waves as Barry Judd in 2000’s romantic dramedy, though, with his screen debut coming as far back as a 1984 episode of the hit TV series The Fall Guy. He’d been in movies with Tim Robbins, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Costner, and Jack Nicholson before High Fidelity even came along, but it was afterwards that he capitalised on his newfound success to become a household name.
With natural charisma to spare, a seemingly endless supply of energy, and a wholesome charm that’s endeared him to audiences worldwide, Black has appeared in his fair share of hit movies. However, only one of them gets the distinction of being the highest-grossing film he’s ever appeared in, and that honour falls to a flick where his face is never seen onscreen.
After soaring past $1.3 billion at the global box office, 2023’s The Super Mario Bros Movie is comfortably the biggest hit of Black’s career. It’s the only billion-dollar movie he’s ever been a part of, even if his Bowser only took fourth billing behind Chris Pratt’s titular plumber, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Princess Peach, and Charlie Day’s Luigi.
In fact, seven of the ten top-earning features Black has starred in are animated, with The Super Mario Bros Movie being joined by all four instalments in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Ice Age, and Shark Tale. The only outliers are Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, its sequel, The Next Level, and Peter Jackson’s remake of the classic creature feature King Kong.
Having reached $664 million in ticket sales, Kung Fu Panda 2 is the highest-grossing entry in Black’s filmography where he’s the top-billed name in the ensemble. When it comes to live-action, it would be fair to say that his most popular movies haven’t put anywhere near as many butts in seats as the ones where he’s voicing an animated critter of some description.
In fact, the highest-grossing live-action film where Black plays the main character is only the 12th most lucrative in his back catalogue, and it’s crap, too. The star earned the unwanted distinction of a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for ‘Worst Actor’ after headlining Rob Letterman’s dismal Gulliver’s Travels in 2010, but $232 million at the box office did at least ensure it wasn’t a total bust.
Has Jack Black ever won an Oscar?
Not only has Jack Black never won an Oscar, but he’s also never been nominated for one. That said, it’s not as if his litany of memorable performances have been completely overlooked by the industry’s major awards bodies, but he’s still waiting on that elusive first victory.
Black has been shortlisted three times at the Golden Globes, twice for ‘Best Actor – Musical and Comedy’ after he steered Richard Linklater’s duo School of Rock and Bernie to widespread acclaim, and once in the ‘Best Original Song’ category for the standout Super Mario Bros Movie track, ‘Peaches’.
Fortunately, his trophy cabinet isn’t lying completely bare, with Tenacious D picking up the slack. The act Black formed with Kyle Gass has been going strong for three decades after forming in 1994, and while some may have spent the entirety of that time writing them off as a comedy act, they’ve got one notable accolade in the can.
For their cover of Dio’s ‘The Last in Line’, Tenacious D scooped a Grammy for ‘Best Metal Performance’. Sure, it isn’t regarded as one of the biggest categories on offer, but it was a feather in the cap nonetheless when previous winners include such luminaries as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Judas Priest, Slayer, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, and Nine Inch Nails.
