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Even without seeing his face, Owen Wilson's voice is easily identifiable. For those who know already, Wilson lent his voice to the computer-animated sports comedy, Cars which was first released in 2006 by Walt Disney Pictures. Among a few of the most highlighted movies of his career, there is Shanghai Knights (2003) where he starred beside Jackie Chan, The Cable Guy, starring opposite Jim Carrey, The Big Bounce (2004) opposite Morgan Freeman and Charlie Sheen, Anaconda (1997) co-starring with Jenifer Lopez, Jon Voight, and Ice Cube, and a ton of other great matchups and classic flicks. At just 53-year old with a net worth of $70 million, Owen Wilson doesn't seem to have plans on mashing the breaks anytime soon. His latest film entitled Marry Me was released in February 2022 and stars Jennifer Lopez and Maluma Bastian. Here are the 10 highest-grossing movies of Owen Wilson's eccentric acting career.
Night At The Museum
Having worked in a multitude of projects with fellow comedian, Ben Stiller, it came as no surprise to see Owen Wilson featured in the fantasy comedy, Night At The Museum, released in 2006. The film follows Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), a Brooklyn native whose ex-wife, Erica Daley (Kim Raver), sees his unstable work history as a bad example for their son, Nick (Jake Cherry). Motivated to not have Nick place Erica's new fiance, Don (Paul Rudd) in higher regard than him, he applies for a job as night security at the Museum of Natural History. The veteran guard, Cecil Fredericks (Dick Van Dyke) informs Larry that he, Gus (Mickey Rooney), and Reginald (Bill Cobbs) are retiring and he will be replacing them, due to declining visitors. His first night revealed that the museum's artifacts come to life through the power of the Golden Tablet of Pharoah Akhmenrah, and they include Theodore Roosevelt's statue (Robin Williams), Pharoah Akhmenrah (Rami Malek), Jedidah the cowboy (Owen Wilson), and many others. The statues also turn to dust if they are found outside the museum at sunrise. The intriguing film grossed $579.44 million at the box office.
Cars 2
Owen Wilson's filmography isn't made up of only one night stands at crashed wedding parties and strange nights at the museum. A large part of his net worth can be attributed to his role in the computer-animated comedy film installment, Cars. Despite the first film series being released in 2006, it was 2011's Cars 2 that saw the most financial success, grossing $560.15 million at the global box office. The film surrounds Lightning McQueen (Owen Wison) who is now a four-time Piston Cup race winner. A British spy car (Finn McMissile) learns that Professor Zundapp (Thomas Kretschmann) is the leader of the lemons. Meanwhile, McQueen plans to enjoy his offseason in Radiator Springs with his pals, Mater (Larry The Cable Guy), Luigi (Tony Shalhoub), Guido, and Fillmore but is challenged by Italian formula race car, Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro), which he accepts! Other main actors in the movie are Emily Mortimer, Bruce Campbell, and Joe Mantegna. Against a budget of $200 million, the film grossed $560.15 million.
Armageddon
The film adaptation for one of the most likely catastrophic extinction-level events to happen to Earth was released in 1998 under the fitting title, Armageddon. The science-fiction disaster film highlights the first kamikaze mission NASA sends their astronauts on after realizing that the Earth only has 18 days before a Texas-sized asteroid makes an impact, destroying everything in its wake. NASA executive, Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) plans to recruit the world's best deep core oil driller, Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis), to train other astronauts to drill a hole into the asteroid, insert a nuclear bomb that, once detonated, will break the asteroid in two. Harry agrees to help, but on the condition that his oil-digging team comes along, which consists of A.J. Frost (Ben Affleck), Chick Chapel (Will Patton), Rockhound (Steve Buscemi), Oscar Choice (Owen Wilson), Grace Stamper (Liv Tyler), and Bear (Michael Clarke Duncan). The dramatic doomsday film grossed $554.60 million at the box office.
Meet The Fockers
A few years after the mayhem of Meet the Parents in 2000, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiance Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) decide to take their relationship to the next step by introducing each other to their parents in Meet The Fockers. That's when things get interesting. First, there is Pam's father, a retired CIA operative named Jack Brynes (Robert De Niro), and her mother Dina (Blythe Danner), along with Pam's nephew, Jack "Little Jack" Banks. Now it's time to meet Greg's parents in Miami - Bernie Focker (Dustin Hoffman), a fun-loving, free-spirited ex-lawyer, and his mother, Roz Focker (Barbra Streisand), who is a sex therapist for older couples. Owen Wilson also plays the role of Kevin Rawley. Let's say they all received way more than expected with their time spent together as in-laws. The sequel, like the first film, was a success, grossing $516.56 million globally.
Cars
The year 2006 marked the beginning of Owen Wilson's animated-movie persona, Lightning McQueen. The movie begins with the young hotshot racer, Lightning McQueen determined to be the first rookie to win the Piston Cup and beat Strip "The King" Weathers (Richard Petty). He wins the race, and straightaway is eager to go to California and pushes Mack the Super-Liner. Mack nods off while en-route to California, which causes the sleeping McQueen to roll outside onto the highway. He frantically searches for Mack but is unable to find him and ends up in a desert town called Radiator Springs. He is charged by the town judge, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) to do community service by repaving the road. McQueen, still eager to leave for California, does it half-heartedly. However, it is here that he meets his close friends Sally (Bonnie Hunt), Mater (Larry The Cable Guy), Luigi (Tony Shalhoub), and Guito. The animation grossed $461.63 million globally.
Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian
In 2009, Wilson would go on to reprise his role in Night At the Museum: Battle of The Smithsonian. Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) no longer works as the night security guard at the American Museum of National History, but now owns a direct response television company. When he stops by the museum one day, he learns from Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) that the artifacts are being moved to the Smithsonian Institution, only to be replaced with holographic depictions. He spends one more night in the museum with his friends and learns from Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) that when the artifacts move, they will lose their ability to come alive at night, as the Tablet of Akhenrah will be staying, along with himself, Pharoah Akhmenrah, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The following day, the artifacts are moved, and Jedidah (Owen Wilson) informs Larry that Dexter the monkey has talked the Tablet. Larry races against time to release his friends who are trapped in a shipping container, while also fighting off the army of Akhenrah's evil older brother, Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria). The sequel grossed $402.2 million at the box office.
Cars 3
The last known Cars animation movie franchise, Cars 3, was released in 2017. The movie's executive director, John Lasseter, also directed the first two movies, which were a major success. Now a 7-time Piston Cup champion, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) still appears to be leading the pack. But that didn't last much longer once the younger, faster, and more technologically advanced rookie Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), who McQueen suffers a violent crash from while trying to keep up with him. Accepting that he won't be able to beat Storm with speed, McQueen is assigned to train under Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), but later calls Mater (Larry The Cable Guy) to track down Doc's trainer, Smokey (Chris Cooper). With Smokey's advice, McQueen pushes through but realizes the key to defeating Storm might be Cruz. He summons her to take his place, and with his guidance, helps her to pass Storm and win the race. The last film of the trilogy grossed $383.54 million.
Meet The Parents
There's nothing more nerve-racking than meeting the parents of your wife-to-be, especially her father is a retired CIA operative - talk about infrared scrutiny! When Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) attempts to propose to his girlfriend, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), his plans are changed as he and Pam are invited to her sister Debbie's (Nicole DeHuff) wedding at her parents' Long Island house. Greg would've proposed to Pam in front of her parents, he the ring was in the suitcase which was now lost by the airline company. Despite displaying a good first impression, Jack Bryne (Robert De Niro) finds him suspicious. A series of other events lead Jack to believe Greg's time at their Long Island home must come to a close. However, Pam's mother, Dina (Blythe Danner) scolds Jack for his incessant picking apart of all Pam's boyfriends, including her previous fiance, Kevin Rawley (Owen Wilson). Realizing how much Pam loves Greg, Jack invites him back to their home and agrees to meet his parents. This satisfying hilarious film grossed $330.42 million at the box office.
Wonder
Wonder, a 2017 coming-of-age drama film, is one of Wilson's more recent films. He plays the role of Nate Pullman, the father of August "Auggie" Pullman (Jack Tremblay), and the husband to Isabel Pullman (Julia Roberts). He also has an older sister named Via (Izabela Vidovic). Due to a rare medical facial deformity called "mandibulofacial dysostosis," Auggie has been home-schooled for his entire life. As he approaches fifth grade, however, his parents decide to enroll him in a private middle school called Beecher Prep. The school's principal, Mr. Tushman, organizes a school tour where he will be shown around by Jack (Noah Nupe), Julian (Bryce Gheisar), and Charlotte (Elle McKinnon). He becomes close friends with Jack but later feels hurt after hearing Jack ridicule him with his other friends. Over time, all the students accept Auggie, calling him a "Wonder." The movie underlined the importance of showing kindness to all and grossed $311.86 million.
Little Fockers
The Fockers and the Bryne's reunite for their last known film in 2010 called, Little Fockers. It's been five years since Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Jack Byrne (Robert De Niro) have met, and Greg and Pam (Teri Polo) have since welcomed twins, Samantha and Henry Focker. However, not all the news is positive. Since then, Pam's sister, Debbie, has divorced her husband, Bob, after finding him cheating on her with a nurse. Bob tells Greg of Jack's intention to make him successor, as "The Bobfather" but not that he is out of the picture, Greg will be the only other option. Jack resumes spying on Greg, believing him to be cheating on Pam with his drug representative, Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba). After he catches Greg and Andi in what appears to be a passionate lovemaking session - when in fact Andi was drunk and made sexual passes at a resistant Greg - he offers to fight him physically. At the same time, he received a heart attack, to which Greg responds quickly, essentially saving his life. Owen Wilson also reprised his role as Kevin Rawley, as well as special appearances from Kevin Hart and Deepak Chopra. The Little Fockers film grossed $310.65 million worldwide, and a lot of laughs.
Sources: independentcritic.com, moviehousememories.com, rogerebert.com, boxofficemojo.com
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