The Highest-Grossing Johnny Depp Movies Collectively Made Billions

Quick Links

• Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

• Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018)

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

• Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

• Alice In Wonderland (2010)

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Almost four decades ago, in 1984, John Christopher Depp II – known to moviegoers as Johnny Depp – took his first step toward Hollywood with A Nightmare On Elm Street.

At that time, no one knew that the young man on the screen, then 21, was destined to become a legend in the film industry, and it was the first of dozens of Johnny Depp movies.

Golden Globe Award winner Johnny Depp's first film was a huge blockbuster, and his acting skills were further polished through his work on movies like Platoon, Cry Baby, Edward Scissorhands, Arizona Dream, Ed Wood, Don Juan De Marco, Dead Man, Donnie Brasco, and Sleepy Hollow.

People began to recognize him as an excellent actor. Then, in 2003, something happened that changed his entire life (and shape what would become the most known Johnny Depp movies).

Johnny Depp appeared as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. This fabled character gave him legendary status.

After this movie (the first of many in what would become a franchise), Depp's career instantly reached a new level, one where almost all of his films were blockbusters.

Now, his command of the box office is such that people eagerly await his movies. In total, Johnny Depp has taken part in 88 movies.

Depp's tenure in Hollywood has not always gone smoothly, and the actor first encountered many of the pitfalls faced by many young actors. Depp has called the 1990s a "dark" period in his life.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Remarkable Journey, From Rock Bottom To Box Office Gold

Depp's legacy was further transformed through a lengthy, high-profile legal dispute with ex-wife Amber Heard – one of the most controversial celebrity conflicts in recent memory, and one which sharply divided public opinion into distinct camps of "supporters" and "detractors" for both parties.

Irrespective of matters unrelated to filmmaking, Johnny Depp's movies are routine blockbusters – let's put the trial aside to look at Depp's highest-grossing films (and how much he earned from this sky high stack of box office receipts).

10 Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

Box Office Gross: $352.8 Million

Johnny Depp’s Murder on the Orient Express is based on the bestselling book by renowned author Agatha Christie, bearing the same title she published in 1934.

According to reports, Johnny Depp received a whopping $10 million for his performance in the adaption of Agatha Christie’s epic tale.

Starring British actor Kenneth Branagh alongside Depp, Murder On The Orient Express seized the attention of the audiences, and earned $352.8 million in total against a budget of just $55 million.

9 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)

Box Office Gross: $474.9 Million

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is one of the most legendary works by classic children's author Roald Dahl, and another prominent movie in Johnny Depp's career.

Depp worked with frequent collaborator, director Tim Burton, to adapt Dahl's source material for a second time.

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is one of the most memorable movies in Johnny Depp’s career.

According to Forbes , Willy Wonka – the eccentric, fictional industrialist Depp portrayed in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory – has an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion.

Depp's charisma and Dahl's legendary tale had the makings of box office gold, and were able to attract a massive audience to theaters.

The movie was made on a budget of $150 million, and it collected $474.9 million across territories.

8 Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)

Box Office Gross: $654.2 Million

This is the movie that altered the entire course of Johnny Depp’s career, and introduced the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise to the big screen.

For the first time (but not the last) audiences became acquainted with the witty pirate Jack Sparrow, who is clever and deceitful.

Before Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, pirates were routinely depicted as scary and cruel.

Johnny played this character impeccably well, and Jack Sparrow became something of a celebrity in his own right.

"Jack Sparrow" bagged $10 million dollars for his introductory movie, legitimately and without having to resort to piracy.

The first edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean captured people's attention instantly, and in its first week, earned $46.6 million.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl ultimately sailed away with $654.2 million in treasure.

7 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018)

Box Office Gross: $655.7 Million

Johnny Depp has portrayed numerous villainous characters in films, both realistic and fantastical, including this role in the larger universe of the Harry Potter franchise.

But as dark wizard Gellart Grindelwald (a close ally turned foe to Albus Dumbledore), he became the most intimidating antagonist to date, and turned in a staggering performance.

A Peek Inside Johnny Depp's Splendid Car Collection

Warner Bros. produced Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald on a budget of $200 million. The movie conjured up $655.7 million at the box office, and grossed more than $450 million.

According to Business Insider, Johnny Depp earned $16 million for one single scene in Fantastic Beasts ... a detail that could be mistaken for the whole story.

As the outlet noted, however, Depp's huge paycheck and relatively brief presence in the film were unfortunately not a testament to his skills as an actor.

Rather, the situation arose amid the first round of his then-ongoing series of legal disputes involving Heard, which prompted the studio to abruptly pare down his role.

Depp happened to have a clause in place to ensure he was paid in full in the event of such an occurrence, described as a "'pay-or-play' deal":

Depp was asked to step down from Fantastic Beasts days after losing a libel case against the publishers of the UK newspaper, The Sun , over a 2018 article, which described him as a "wife beater."

However, because he had a "pay-or-play" deal on the movie, meaning he would get paid regardless if he worked on the movie, he was paid his $16 million fee.

6 Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

Box Office Gross: $795.9 Million

Dead Men Tell No Tales was the most recent occasion Pirates Of The Caribbean fans encountered Captain Jack Sparrow to date.

After this iteration hit theaters in 2017, NBC's popular afterlife-based sitcom The Good Place introduced a running gag (a favorite of creator Michael Schur) based on the seeming ubiquity of Pirates Of The Caribbean films.

In several scenes involving the "Bad Place," movie posters for sixth and twelfth installments of the film are placed on train platforms, and on billboards.

Text on the fictitious poster heralded the arrival of Pirates Of The Caribbean 6: The Haunted Crow’s Nest Or Something ..., which would be playing in "in every theatre, everywhere, forever":

But even through the fifth edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean, Jack Sparrow didn't lose his charm.

However, Disney found itself in something of a a lose-lose situation, and under pressure, dropped Depp from the role, choosing to face the rage of fans over the ire of Heard's supporters.

After that, Disney couldn't muster up the courage to make a new Pirates movie.

Speculation about the fate of the Pirates franchise continues, and in August, ScreenRant clarified that Margot Robbie would not be taking over for Depp:

Many were confused that there were two Pirates movies in the mix, one of them being led by Margot Robbie and an all-female pirate crew. However, Robbie's project has been canceled.

Apparently, the all-female pirate story was not meant to be Pirates of the Caribbean 6 , but rather, its own property penned by Christina Hodson, who also wrote Birds of Prey .

At press time, audiences are still eagerly anticipating the appearance of Johnny Depp's legendary character.

According to Forbes , Johnny Depp earned a shocking $90 million for the fifth edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean .

Dead Men Tell No Tales collected $62.9 million in the opening week at the North American box office.

Although there was a slight dip from previous entries, the movie managed to garner a total of $172.5 million.

However, at the worldwide box office, the film secured an impressive $623 million.

5 Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)

Box Office Gross: $816 Million

In the first spin-off of Harry Potter, Johnny Depp made his debut as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

Although his role was minimal, and he appeared in very few scenes, Colin Farrell took on the main antagonist role – due to the Potter universe's "Polyjuice Potion" and its ability to facilitate human transfiguration.

Despite only making a guest appearance, Johnny Depp made around $20 million appear in his pocket.

The first installment of Fantastic Beasts, adapted from works by J.K. Rowling, hit theaters hard and collected an extraordinary $816 million.

Its total take is more impressive in contrast with its estimated budget of just $180 million.

4 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Box Office Gross: $961.7 Million

The third edition of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise is where Jack Sparrow truly achieved legend status.

Viewers started becoming die-hard fans of Johnny Depp. Jack Sparrow, with his villainous and heroic nature held in constant tension, had the audience enraptured.

After Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End , the Oscar-nominated star added $50 million to his treasure chest.

The reception of the third edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean was titanic; in its opening week, the film rang up $114.7 million in ticket sales.

The movie ended up just $38.3 million short of a billion in total gross.

3 Alice In Wonderland (2010)

Box Office Gross: $1.025 Billion

Lewis Carroll's beloved historical tale Alice In Wonderland has been recreated as movies and short films more than 100 times all over the world.

Its first theatrical performance was carried out all the way back in 1886, and the first silent, short version of the film was produced in 1903.

Despite 100 revisits to the base story of Alice In Wonderland, none can match the success of Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway's 2010 edition.

Disney's 2010 version of Alice In Wonderland became the second movie of Johnny Depp’s career to cross the billion dollar mark.

Depp was paid $68 million for his work on the film.

Lewis Carroll's 1865 tale was turned into a movie with a budget of $200 million, and its over $1 billion gross represented a significant milestone.

By that time, only six movies had managed to reach this mark, Alice in Wonderland among them.

2 Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Box Office Gross: $1.046 Billion

Despite the critics' criticism, movie fans didn’t stop showering love on Jack Sparrow.

As more critics heaped harsh reviews at the movie, more of the audience turned to the cinema to catch the fourth edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean.

Jack Sparrow defied all expectations, just as he did in the movies.

Johnny Depp's reported base salary for the movie was $20 million, but due to a 20 percent backend deal, he made off with more than $50 million.

On Stranger Tides was a massive hit. In its opening week, the movie earned $90 million.

No one anticipated that the movie would find such massive financial success, but the momentum of the franchise didn’t die down, and the movie crossed the billion mark in spite of many hurdles.

1 Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Box Office Gross: $1.066 Billion

Dead Man's Chest was the second time Jack Sparrow hit the mainstream and took it by storm, in what was a make-or-break time for Jack Sparrow.

The initial Pirates Of The Caribbean proved to be a runaway hit with fans, but Hollywood has seen more than its fair share of disappointing sequels.

If audiences rejected the second installment, then Jack Sparrow would have vanished from the hearts and minds of the audience.

But Johnny Depp's brilliance didn’t allow that. This movie became the highest-grossing movie of his career.

Johnny Depp's career and fortune were elevated because of this movie; he received an astonishing $60 million from Dead Man’s Chest.

The second edition of Pirates of the Caribbean has amassed over $1 billion, with estimated earnings for the movie reaching a staggering $841 million.

In the 13 prime years of Johnny Depp's career, he earned $650 million from his movies alone, and of this amount, $265 million was earned from the five Pirates Of The Caribbean films.

According to Business Insider, his penchant for extravagant spending is no secret, with expenses such as paying $3.6 million annually to his employees, spending $30,000 monthly on wine, and allocating $350,000 dollars monthly to maintain his 156-foot yacht.

At times, Johnny Depp makes shockingly large purchases, like spending $5 million on a cannon to shoot the ashes of his friend Hunter S. Thompson. His extravagant spending is cited as a reason his net worth stands at only $150 million, despite his huge earnings and blockbuster filmography.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEq6CcoJWowW%2BvzqZmo6eYo7u6ecOep6llnaTDqrHSZp%2Bin5iawLV5xqumrKuZo7Rw