Tim Burton’s 10 Highest-Grossing Movies At The Box Office

Introduction

Since the 1980s, Tim Burton has been making some of the creepiest, strangest, and most fun movies to date, and though almost all of them have incredible merit, there are only ten that are his highest-grossing films of all time.

Sweeney Todd with Mrs Lovett

Tim Burton began his career as a filmmaker in 1985 when he directed Pee-wee's Big Adventure. In the following years, he continued to make films that were especially unique, dark, and out of the ordinary, like Edward Scissorhands or Beetlejuice. Ultimately, Tim Burton has become a staple in Hollywood, and as a result, his movies have only become more and more popular.

Sweeney Todd- The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter

Understanding Highest-Grossing Movies

To be clear, Tim Burton's highest-grossing movies are those that made the most money at the box office. These are not necessarily Tim Burton's best movies or most popular, but are simply the films that earned the most upon their release. Oftentimes, there are trends to look out for when it comes to highest-grossing movies. A movie could make more money because it is part of a franchise. It could also make more money because it came out later in the director's career, when he is more famous. No matter how Tim Burton's highest-grossing films became lucrative though, the following ten films are the ones that made the most money.

Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd

Tim Burton's highest-grossing movies are not necessarily his best work, but they have certainly left a mark in the film industry. Let's explore these ten films to understand why they became such box office hits.

Jamie Campbell Bower and Johnny Depp (Young Grindelwald and New Grindelwald) in Sweeney Todd

Top 10 Highest-Grossing Tim Burton Movies

10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street $153.4 million Tim Burton's tenth highest-grossing film is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Released in 2007, this musical horror film stars Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd, a man returning to London after fifteen years of exile, intending to get revenge on the man who caused his wife's death and stole his daughter. Posing as a barber, Sweeney gangs up with a pie-maker, and together they kill citizens to meet their own ends. Considering that this is a film adaptation of a popular Stephen Sondheim musical, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter as co-stars, it is no surprise that Sweeney Todd did well at the box office.

Johnny Depp and Helene Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd

9. Sleepy Hollow $207.1 million The ninth highest-grossing film Tim Burton has made is 1999's Sleepy Hollow. With Johnny Depp in the lead once again, Sleepy Hollow is a loose retelling of Washington Irving's 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', wherein a police constable, Ichabod Crane, arrives in the town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious beheadings. Sleepy Hollow was lauded for its artistic direction and design, and as such, won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Though not considered Burton's best work, the film maintains a creepy atmosphere, supported by believable visuals.

Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow

8. Dark Shadows $245.5 million Coming in as the eighth highest-grossing Tim Burton movie is Dark Shadows. Yet another Johnny Depp-led film, 2012's Dark Shadows follows Barnabas Collins who, after rejecting the advances of a witch, becomes cursed so that everything he ever loves dies. Furthermore, he gets turned into a vampire. Centuries later, Barnabas is released from his tomb and becomes embroiled in his ancestor's problems, along with falling in love with a new woman. Although Dark Shadows received very mixed reviews, with many feeling it lacked a genre and direction, it earned enough box office dollars to become one of Tim Burton's highest-grossing films.

Johnny Depp as Barnabus in Dark Shadows movie