What is Meryl Streep’s biggest box office success?
Out of every Hollywood actor currently on the go, who can we consider a true icon? Who has endured for decades and will go down in history as a true star of the screen? There are many answers you could give, of course, but if there’s anyone that requires absolutely no doubt, it’s Meryl Streep. From the very beginning of her career, she has appeared in acclaimed roles, receiving Oscar nominations from the get-go.
After watching Robert De Niro’s performance in Taxi Driver, her desire to remain a theatre actor was called into question, and she subsequently began her journey into Hollywood. One of her first roles was in The Deer Hunter, a part that wasn’t initially meant to be that important, but Streep proved her talents and landed herself an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ regardless.
Soon after, she appeared in Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie’s Choice, both of which earned her Oscar wins. The actor proved indomitable, and with each decade, Streep’s legacy has only strengthened. While her peak might have been in the 1980s and 1990s, her career has hardly become less impressive as she’s grown older. Instead, as she has matured, it seems as though Streep has tried her hand at more lighthearted or comedic roles in between more serious ones, such as when she played the Anna Wintour-esque fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada.
But what are Streep’s highest-grossing movies? Unsurprisingly, her most commercially accessible titles have grossed the most at the box office, which are typically the films where she is at her most comedic. While she started out in many intense dramas, it seems that she has made the most money from movies that give her a chance to lighten up a little.
At number five is Into the Woods, a musical by Chicago director Rob Marshall. It saw her reconnect with Emily Blunt, who appeared alongside Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. Grossing $213million, the movie earned Streep yet another Academy Award nomination for her performance as the evil witch.
Another high-grosser from Streep’s career is It’s Complicated, which earned $219m. The rom-com, which was directed by Nancy Myers, saw the actor appear alongside Alec Baldwin as a divorced couple who begin an affair with each other. Her appearance in The Devil Wears Prada grossed even more, however. With a box office total of $327m, Streep’s performance remains quotable and iconic, and unsurprisingly, she earned an Oscar nomination for it.
Yet, it’s the Mamma Mia! franchise which remains her most successful output, with Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! grossing $402m, while the first movie earned a whopping $694m. She played Donna Sheridan, the mother of Amanda Seyfried’s Sophie, who invites several men to her wedding, hoping that one is her father. Mamma Mia! remains one of the UK’s highest-grossing films, beloved by many due to its collection of Abba songs performed by the cast.
Streep might not have nabbed any Oscar nominations for her role, but her performance remains a firm fan favourite.
