Blake Lively Movies Ranked By Box Office

Blake Lively has been everywhere in movie theaters in summer 2024. Not only did she do voice-over cameos in the Ryan Reynolds blockbusters "IF" and as the character Lady Deadpool in "Deadpool & Wolverine," but she's also anchoring the highly anticipated Colleen Hoover book adaptation "It Ends with Us." This flurry of summer 2024 appearances follows nearly 20 years of steady big-screen acting roles from Lively, who has proven to be far more versatile an actress than just the lead of "Gossip Girl." After starting out inhabiting standard love interest roles in male-dominated features, Lively has transformed into a star attraction in her own right.

Thanks to box office hits "The Shallows" and "A Simple Favor," Lively has proven she can draw a crowd to the theater without either a famous male co-star or iconic source material at her back. Ranking Lively's various movies from lowest to highest worldwide box office grosses, one can see the kind of box office bombs Lively anchored to get her foot in the door as a lead actor. By contrast, her largest hits reflect just how far she's come as a leading lady. She's left the days of "Accepted" and "Savages" far behind, a reality reinforced through all the anticipation swirling around "It Ends with Us."

Most Blake Lively movies are firmly grounded dramas or comedies. For her January 2020 feature "The Rhythm Section," though, Hollywood dared to ask, "What would happen if Blake Lively had a gun?" An adaptation of the Mark Burnell novel of the same name — Burnell wrote the script, too — "The Rhythm Section" follows Lively as Stephanie Patrick, a woman who goes on a violent revenge spree to avenge her murdered family. This Reed Morano directorial effort then follows Patrick as she goes from being over her head in violent skirmishes to channeling Liam Neeson in "Taken" in how easily she disposes baddies. This globe-trotting, explosion-laden enterprise was a drastic departure from other Lively movies, and that risk didn't, unfortunately, translate into a box office hit.

This $50 million budgeted feature grossed just $5.9 million worldwide, nearly all of that coming from a $5.4 million domestic haul. Its box office run was instantly marked a disaster after its North American opening weekend — and the movie came out in January, before the COVID pandemic struck. "The Rhythm Section" scored the worst opening weekend ever at the time for a feature debuting in over 3,000 theaters. It was eventually estimated that "The Rhythm Section" would lose over $30 million for its financiers, a staggering loss. Action movie mode was just not a mold audiences wanted to see Lively inhabit. Competition from a lighter January 2020 smash hit, "Bad Boys for Life," also restricted the chances that "The Rhythm Section" had at box office success.

Blake Lively was one of the countless big-name actors in the anthology film "New York, I Love You." The expansive scope of this feature, which comprises 10 distinct short stories, didn't just provide the only time in history Mira Nair and Brett Ratner would collaborate on a project. It also allowed Lively to work with performers like Anton Yelchin, Olivia Thirlby, and James Caan in a story written by "The Terminal" scribe Jeff Nathanson and directed by Ratner. Taking part in "New York, I Love You" also allowed this "Gossip Girl" veteran to flex her talents in indie cinema. While most of her career is confined to mainstream studio releases, this particular production saw Lively inhabiting a more cash-strapped and intimate affair. The budget came out to about $1 million per short (though it's anyone's guess how that was divvied up), each story directed on location in 48 hours.

Anthology films don't have the greatest box office track record. "New York, I Love You" was no exception to this phenomenon. An army of recognizable actors couldn't bolster the box office potential of "New York, I Love You," which topped out at just $9.6 million worldwide, about $5 million shy of the budget. Nearly all of the box office sums came from an $8.1 million overseas haul, with the movie only scoring $1.5 million in North America. "New York, I Love You" was partially doomed thanks to poor reviews, a kiss of death for any limited arthouse release. Lively tried something new here, but it clearly didn't pay off at the box office.

In recent years, Blake Lively has consistently demonstrated her strong comic chops. She excels with dry dark humor in "A Simple Favor," and she's also proven hysterical in promo videos for Ryan Reynolds blockbusters like "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu." Given these skills, one would expect that she'd be consistently delivering outstanding line deliveries in the 2006 PG-13 comedy "Accepted." Alas, this is a 2000s comedy centered on wacky male leads. Steven Pink's "Accepted" has only one role in mind for women characters. Lively plays Monica Moreland, the love interest for protagonist Bartleby (Justin Long). She's around to function as a prize Bartleby can eventually secure, and her only job is playing a straight man to the funny boys.

Perhaps if "Accepted" gave Lively — or any other female actress in the movie — more substantive gags to handle, its box office haul would've improved. Worldwide, "Accepted" only took in $38.3 million on a $23 million budget. Profitability eluded the feature theatrically, likely because PG-13 college-centric comedies aren't super popular with audiences. The most iconic features in this genre are raunchy R-rated fare. How can sanded-down PG-13 titles compete with the likes of "Animal House" or "Old School"? Competition from August 2006 comedy juggernaut "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" sealed this one's box office fate. Thankfully for Lively, she'd score more high-profile and lucrative places to demonstrate her comic abilities in the decades that followed "Accepted."

In 2001, the Ann Brashares novel "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" hit store shelves. The immediately eye-catching title became a must-read by tapping into people's memories of key items (their own equivalent to the book's titular pants) that kept them connected to their friends no matter where they were. Such a popular text could not be confined to the land of Borders bookstores forever. In 2005, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" hit movie theaters under the direction of filmmaker Ken Kwapis. Blake Lively plays Bridget Vreeland, one of the story's four lead characters. Working alongside fellow leads Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, and America Ferrera, this production was one of Lively's first big lead movie roles. Its eventual box office run kicked off her silver screen exploits solidly.

Worldwide, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" took in $41.5 million on a $25 million budget. Nearly all of that gross came from its North American performance, with only $2.5 million stemming from its international performance. It was not a massive moneymaker in theaters, struggling to keep up with June 2005 rom-com blockbusters like "Monster-in-Law" and "Miss Congeniality 2," but it outgrossed other PG-rated competition like the Hilary Duff film "The Perfect Man." Distributor Warner Bros. clearly thought something went right with "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," and a sequel arrived in theaters in August 2008.

Summer 2008 was chock-full of highly-anticipated sequels. Indiana Jones returned for his first adventure in 19 years in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Brendan Fraser's "Mummy" exploits entertained theatergoers again after a seven-year hiatus with "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." Then, of course, there was the return of Christopher Nolan's vision of Batman in "The Dark Knight." Among those prolific follow-ups was "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." The first film's main cast reunited for further exploits involving friendship and denim three years after that original feature resonated so deeply with certain audience members.

Any hopes distributor Warner Bros. had that the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" fandom would grow in between installments quickly dissipated after the film's so-so opening weekend. Costing a smidge more to make, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" only made $44.4 million worldwide, just 8% more than its predecessor. The film's financial shortcomings might be blamed on audiences not necessarily craving a "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" franchise. Credit where credit is due, though, "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" did at least marginally improve on its predecessor's domestic gross. That's an achievement much costlier summer 2008 sequels like "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" could not claim.

For Woody Allen's 2016 movie, "Café Society," Blake Lively channeled the spirit of the 1930s portraying Veronica, the eventual partner of protagonist Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg). Her role in the feature isn't especially meaty. More screentime is devoted to not only Bobby, but also initial romantic interest Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and eventual rival Phil Stern (Steve Carell). Still, Lively inhabits a stacked ensemble cast also containing Parkey Posey, Corey Stoll, and Anna Camp, among other acting champions. All those big names weren't enough, though, to make "Café Society" immediately profitable for Amazon Studios when it hit theaters in July 2016.

On a $30 million budget, "Café Society" only grossed $44.3 million worldwide. The vast majority of that sum hailed from international territories — especially France, Spain, and Italy — with "Café Society" only drumming up $11.1 million domestically. Among Allen's features, "Café Society" was a middling domestic performer, coming in beneath the North American hauls of titles like "To Rome with Love" and "Zelig." Perhaps by 2016, audiences had grown weary of Allen's filmmaking and default narratives as well as the controversy swirling around the director. Maybe the starry cast assembled here wasn't as enticing as the casts of higher-grossing Allen features like "Blue Jasmine" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Whatever the reason, this particular title featuring Lively failed to make much of a splash in North America.

"The Age of Adaline" is a deeply important movie in Blake Lively's filmography. For the first time in her career, she anchored an original film all on her own. There would be no trio of other ladies sharing the spotlight like in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" nor two male leads front-and-center in the marketing like with "Savages." "The Age of Adaline" is a Blake Lively star vehicle, full stop. This production was an enormous test of whether or not Lively was a bankable star. In the end, the film's box office results turned out promising. Lively might not have immediately become the next Leonardo DiCaprio or Sandra Bullock, but she did prove that she could be a draw without any other famous co-stars on the poster.

Opening over the final week of April 2015 in North America, "The Age of Adaline" kicked off its domestic run with a solid $13.2 million and legged it out in this territory to $42.6 million. Throw in another $26.3 million overseas, and the feature had a worldwide haul of $68.9 million, a little more than double its $30 million budget. Impressively, "The Age of Adaline" had come in ahead of the box office hauls of both "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" installments despite having no famous source material at its back. Putting Blake Lively in the right kind of romantic drama proved enough to get "Adaline" to box office success.

In Olver Stone's 2012 romantic drug drama "Savages," Blake Lively plays Ophelia, a woman in a polyamorous relationship with weed dealers Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). This being a 21st-century crime thriller, conflict eventually emerges thanks to shady "cartel" forces from Mexico. These figures kidnap Ophelia and plan to destroy Chon and Ben's business. Lively is the leading lady in all this crime mayhem, though she wasn't at the fore when it came to the box office performance of "Savages." Instead, all eyes were laser-focused on Kitsch, who was fresh off two massive 2012 bombs, "Battleship" and "John Carter."

Opening over the July 4 weekend in 2012, "Savages" didn't provide Kitsch or anyone in the production with a surprise smash hit for the ages. However, it didn't flame out either, scoring an $82 million worldwide gross on a $45 million budget. Narrowly avoiding profitability, "Savages" likely would've done better with two more high-profile leading men. Hinging this motion picture on two untested male actors was a risk that didn't pay off. Opening just days after R-rated hits "Magic Mike" and "Ted" also didn't do "Savages" any favors in attracting adult moviegoers.

After two back-to-back hits ("The Age of Adaline" and "The Shallows") where she was the sole star attraction, Blake Lively's next star vehicle in 2018 paired her with two more famous faces: co-star Anna Kendrick and writer-director Paul Feig. This twisty-turny thriller revolving around potential murder and double-crosses features Lively as the "ideal" mom before transforming into something more morally complicated than her previous big-screen characters. She also had to do all of this while rocking outfits that sent lesbians everywhere swooning.

Watching Lively depart from her typical cinematic persona proved enough of an attractive offer for a solid crop of moviegoers to check out "A Simple Favor" theatrically. Preceded by a stylish and colorful marketing campaign from domestic distributor Lionsgate, "A Simple Favor" grossed $97.6 million worldwide, including $53.5 million domestically. On a $20 million budget, "A Simple Favor" was already plenty profitable just from its North American performance. It also went on to have a second life on streaming too, topping Netflix charts six years after its premiere. The film's lucrative performance wasn't just a step up from the box office hauls of many past Lively movies. It also gave Kendrick one of her most lucrative box office performers outside of the "Pitch Perfect" and "Twilight" franchises.

Audiences love shark movies. Dating back to the historic box office haul of "Jaws" in 1975, the prospect of seeing ancient sea beasties chomping on plucky humans has been a constant draw for people. Whether it's "Deep Blue Sea," "The Meg," or "47 Meters Down," shark thrillers tend to make a pretty penny in theaters. Entering this lucrative domain in June 2016 was the Blake Lively movie "The Shallows." This particular title was one of Lively's sparsest star vehicles. The story largely focuses on her alone in the middle of the ocean facing off against a hungry shark that's preventing her from returning to shore. Only a plucky bird named Steven Seagull is around to keep her company. This means Lively was the sole star attraction in "The Shallows" beyond her character's great white adversary.

The elegant simplicity of "The Shallows" seemed like a risk on paper. However, in execution, it was a key reason "Shallows" became a major sleeper hit. Worldwide, "The Shallows" became the first (and, to date, only) Blake Lively star vehicle to crack $100+ million worldwide. With a haul of $118.7 million worldwide, including $55.1 million domestically, "The Shallows" was exceedingly profitable on just a $13 million budget. Not only did "The Shallows" benefit from people's enduring interest in sharks, but it also flourished as compelling original counterprogramming in a summer full of sequels. Opening against "Independence: Day Resurgence" and "Now You See Me 2," Blake Lively's 2016 thriller offered audiences something new ... while building on long-standing moviegoer affection for sharks.

For his second directorial effort, "The Town," Ben Affleck assembled a stacked cast combining new beloved actors (Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall) with iconic faces that'd been in cinema for decades (Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper). Blake Lively was one of those hot new faces in this feature, taking on one of her first dramatic performances. Here, she plays Krista, the ex-lover of Affleck's bank robber protagonist Douglas. "The Town" certainly wasn't sold as a Blake Lively movie in its marketing. However, her casting spoke volumes about how much confidence Hollywood had in her career. 

Putting all those recognizable names in one crime thriller turned out to be a potent recipe for box office success. "The Town" furthered Affleck's directorial career with a box office smash hit. This motion picture grossed $152.5 million on a $37 million budget. This feature did roughly 2.5 times its pricetag in the U.S. alone thanks to a hefty $92.1 million domestic gross. Beyond all those familiar actors in its cast, "The Town" also benefited from the strong box office track record of movies focusing on organized crime. Audiences previously showed up in sizable numbers for titles like "American Gangster" and "Get Shorty." Those features provided a great historical bedrock for "The Town" to build on.

Strictly looking at Blake Lively's box office history, the 2011 superhero movie "Green Lantern" looks like a big smash hit. The film united her on-screen with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, with Lively starring as his love interest, Carol Ferris. As of this writing, it's the only movie featuring Lively in a live-action capacity to crack both $100 million domestically and $200 million worldwide. Its box office haul is also considerably ahead of any other movie she's appeared in. "Green Lantern's" domestic haul alone more than doubled "A Simple Favor's" North American gross. Of course, box office matters are more complicated than all that. "Green Lantern" is technically the highest-grossing movie Lively has ever appeared in. However, it's also the only massive blockbuster she's acted in. Of course a $200 million budgeted superhero film with a sprawling marketing campaign would make more moolah than "The Age of Adaline."

Worldwide, "Green Lantern" made $219.5 million, $116.6 million of which came from North American territories. On a $200 million budget, the film was nowhere near profitable. Its gross also fell way behind other DC Comics blockbusters. "Green Lantern" failing wasn't the fault of Lively, who was barely featured in the movie's marketing. A widely lambasted promotional campaign and dismal audience word-of-mouth doomed this costly boondoggle. Even with the well-reported failures of "Green Lantern," the film's sheer scale and summer blockbuster mold ensured it outgrossed all other motion pictures Lively has appeared in.